A new facility could mark Black Hills Energy’s third partnership with Iowa community colleges
COUNCIL BLUFFS—Black Hills Energy recently entered into an agreement with Iowa Western Community College to acquire up to 13 acres near the school to build a new natural gas training and operations facility.
College President Dan Kinney said, “We are excited that a company of the stature and significance of Black Hills Energy is going to be our neighbor. This is going to be an outstanding expansion of the employment base for the Council Bluffs and a significant addition to the local economy. We look forward to developing a closer relationship with Black Hills Energy and helping them to meet the training and educational needs for their current and future employees.”
Tracy Peterson, vice president of Iowa gas operations at Black Hills Energy, told American Gas, “Our new facility will replace two other facilities located in Council Bluffs currently. We’ll have our gas operations team there in addition to a gas meter shop that provides gas measurement testing and inventory to our gas utilities companywide.”
The utility had examined a number of locations in the Council Bluffs area and identified this specific parcel as meeting its needs. “So, we met with the college to find out what they intended to do with it. After some discussions, we were able to agree that we’d be a good fit for one another,” said Peterson.
The site’s proximity to a community college was particularly appealing.
“Black Hills Energy has partnered with a couple of other community colleges in Iowa over the past 10 years, one just outside of Dubuque and one in Marshalltown,” said Peterson. “We were interested in partnering with them to start a gas operations training program for students as potential future employees, people who could come in with some knowledge about what we do and the lifestyle our employees have. This would be the third location, should the college decide to offer a similar program.”
Lynn Porter, community affairs manager for Black Hills Energy, told American Gas, “I know the college is very excited about the potential of this new program. They’ve already sent someone up to Marshalltown to see how the program runs. They’re looking at how they can work that into their curriculum.”
The company is on track to complete the new facility in time for a late spring 2020 opening.