List of power stations in Montana explained

This is a list of electricity-generating power stations in the U.S. state of Montana, sorted by type and name. In 2022, Montana had a total summer capacity of 6,439 MW through all of its power plants, and a net generation of 27,088 GWh.[1] In 2023, the electrical energy generation mix was 44.8% coal, 29.7% hydroelectric, 17.7% wind, 3.9% natural gas, 1.9% petroleum, 0.9% solar, 0.1% biomass, and 0.9% other. Small-scale solar, including customer-owned photovoltaic panels, delivered and additional 76 GWh to the state's electrical grid in 2023.

During 2019, Montana exported about one-half of the electricity generated by its power plants to other states. Montana has the largest recoverable deposits of coal in the nation, accounting for 30% of U.S. reserves. In recent years three-quarters of the coal mined in Montana has been exported, with over one-third going to Asia via western Canada.[2]

Nuclear power stations

Montana had no utility-scale plants that used fissile material as a fuel in 2022.

Fossil-fuel power stations

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration serves as a general reference.

Coal

A useful map[3] of coal generation plants is provided by the Sierra Club.

Name Location Coordinates Capacity
(MW) 		Year
Opened 		Scheduled Retirement Refs
Rosebud County 1480 1975 (Unit 1- 340MW)
1976 (Unit 2- 340MW)
1984 (Unit 3- 740MW)
1986 (Unit 4- 740MW)		2020 (Unit 1- closed)
2020 (Unit 2- closed)
2027 (Unit 3)
2027 (Unit 4)		[4] [5] [6]
Colstrip Energy LP PlantRosebud County 38 1990TBD[7] [8]
Hardin Generator Project Big Horn County 1072006 TBD [9]
Lewis & Clark Station Richland County 53 19582021 (closed)[10] [11] [12] [13]
Sidney Sugars Plant Richland County 4.01950 TBD[14]
The Hardin facility was mostly idle and is re-ramping to service cryptocurrency mining.[15]

Natural Gas and Petroleum

Name Location Coordinates Capacity
(MW) 		Fuel
Type 		Generation
Type 		Year
Opened 		Refs
Basin Creek Generation Plant Silver Bow County 54 gas Reciprocating Engine (x9) 2006 [16] [17]
Culbertson Generation Station Roosevelt County 85 gas 2010 [18]
Dave Gates Generating Station Deer Lodge County 150 gas Simple Cycle (x3) 2011 [19]
Glendive Gas Turbine Dawson County 75 gas Simple Cycle (x2) 1979/2003 [20]
Lewis & Clark 2 Richland County 19 gas Internal Combustion (x2) 2015 [21] [22]
Miles City Gas Turbine Custer County 24 gas Simple Cycle 1972 [23]
OREG 1 & 2 Roosevelt County 40 waste heat from gas compressor turbine ORC Generator (x8) 2006/2009 [24]
Phillips 66 Billings Refinery Yellowstone County 1.5 petroleum gases 2007
Yellowstone Energy Yellowstone County 52 petroleum Steam Turbine 1995 [25]
formerly Mill Creek Generating Station

Renewable power stations

Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration serves as a general reference.

Hydroelectric

See also: List of dams and reservoirs in Montana. Additional Montana hydroelectric general references:[27] [28]

Name Location Coordinates Capacity
(MW) 		Number of
Turbines 		Year
Opened 		Refs
Bigfork HydroFlathead4.531908
Cascade County 21 3 1927 [29]
Broadwater County 9.7 1 1989 [30]
Lewis and Clark County 57.6 3 1953-1954 [31]
Cascade County 62 2 1958
Flint Creek Hydro Granite County 2.0 1 2013 [32]
McCone County 218 5 1943/1948/
1951/1961 		[33]
Lewis and Clark County 18.2 6 1911
Cascade County 53.2 4 1918
Flathead County 427 4 1952-1953 [34]
Lincoln County 525 5 1975-1976/
1984 		[35]
Madison County 8.0 4 1906/1908
Cascade County 49 2 1930
Stillwater County 12 2 1925
Sanders County 580 5 1959-1960/
1977 		[36]
Cascade County 64 1 2013
Cascade County 69.5 6 1915-1916
Seli's Ksanka Qlispe' Hydro
(formerly Kerr Dam Hydro) 		Lake County 206 3 1938/1949/
1954
South Dry Creek Hydro Carbon County 2.0 1 1985 [37]
Sanders County 94 7 1915-1917
Liberty County 7.5 1 2004
Turnbull Hydro Teton County 13 2 2011 [38]
Big Horn County 278 4 1966 [39]

Wind

See also: Wind power in Montana.

Name Location Coordinates Capacity
(MW) 		Number of
Turbines 		Year
Opened 		Turbine
Mfg Spec 		Refs
Big Timber Wind Farm (Greycliff) Sweet Grass County 25 14 2018 GE 1.8MW [40]
Diamond Willow Wind Facility Fallon County 30 20 2008 GE 1.5MW
Fairfield Wind Teton County 10 6 2014 GE 1.6/1.7MW
Glacier County
Toole County 		210 140 2008 Acciona 1.5MW [41]
Gordon Butte Wind Meagher County 17.7 9 2012
2018 		GE 1.6MW
GE 2.7MW
Greenfield Wind Teton County 25 13 2016 GE 2.3MW
Horseshoe Bend Wind Park Cascade County 9.0 6 2006 GE 1.5MW
Judith Gap Wind Energy Center Wheatland County 135 90 2006 GE 1.5MW
Musselshell Wind Project I&II Wheatland County 20 14 2013 GE 1.5MW
Pryor Mountain Wind Project Carbon County 240 114 2020 Vestas 2.0/2.2MW
GE 2.3MW[42] 		[43] [44]
Glacier County
Toole County 		189 126 2012 Acciona 1.5MW [45] [46]
Spion Kop Wind Farm Judith Basin County 40 25 2013 GE 1.6MW [47]
Stillwater Wind Stillwater County 80 31 2018 Siemens-Gamesa 2.3/2.6MW [48]
South Peak Wind Judith Basin County 80 29 2020 GE 2.3/2.5MW [49]
Two Dot Wind Farm Wheatland County 9.7 6 2014 GE 1.6MW
formerly Mud Springs Wind

Solar

See also: Solar power in Montana.

Project NameLocationCoordinatesCapacity
(MWAC)		Year
Opened		Refs
Black Eagle Solar Cascade County 47.5475°N -111.254°W 3.0 2017 [50]
Great Divide Solar Lewis and Clark County 46.8057°N -112.249°W 3.0 2017 [51]
Green Meadow Solar Lewis and Clark County 46.6945°N -112.0636°W 3.0 2017 [52]
Magpie Solar Golden Valley County 46.2914°N -108.9379°W 3.0 2017 [53]
River Bend Solar Stillwater County 45.7038°N -109.5652°W 2.0 2017 [54]
South Mills Solar Big Horn County 45.7301°N -107.6326°W 3.0 2017 [55]

Storage power stations

Montana had no utility-scale storage power stations in 2019. A proposed facility is the 400MW/1300MWh Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Project.[56]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Montana Electricity Profile . U.S. Energy Information Administration . 2023-03-30.
  2. Web site: Montana Electricity Profile Analysis . U.S. EIA . 2021-01-13.
  3. https://content.sierraclub.org/coal/coal-plant-map Sierra Club-Beyond Coal
  4. Web site: Colstrip Steam Electric Station - Colstrip, Montana . Talen Energy . 2020-11-19.
  5. Web site: 2019-06-11. Colstrip Steam Electric Station Units 1 and 2 to Retire. prnewswire.com.
  6. Web site: Colstrip Steam Plant - Global Energy Monitor. 2021-01-10. Global Energy Monitor. en.
  7. Web site: Colstrip Energy LP Plant . Global Energy Observatory . 2020-11-20.
  8. Web site: Colstrip Energy LP, monthly electricity data . U.S. Energy Information Administration . 2020-11-20.
  9. Web site: Hardin coal-fired power plant sells to possible cryptocurrency company . Billings Gazette . 2019-03-01 . Tom Lutey .
  10. Web site: Lewis & Clark Station . 26 September 2018 . Montana-Dakota Utilities . 2020-11-20.
  11. Web site: Tom Lutey. 2019-02-19. MDU to shutter Eastern Montana coal power plant in 2020. Billings Gazette.
  12. Web site: Eastern Montana coal plant closes . 31 March 2021 . . 2021-04-01.
  13. Web site: rjean@willistonherald.com. Renée Jean. Lewis and Clark Station could find new life in a world class way. 2021-01-10. Sidney Herald. 30 December 2020 . en.
  14. Web site: Sidney Sugars - Facility Information . American Crystal Sugar Company . 2021-01-13.
  15. Web site: Bitcoin Miners Are Giving New Life to Old Fossil-Fuel Power Plants . Wall Street Journal . Brian Spegele and Caitlan Ostroff . 2021-05-21.
  16. Web site: Basin Creek 51.8 MW Generation Plant . ITG Henneman Engineering Inc. . 2020-11-20.
  17. Web site: The little power plant that could . Montana Standard . 2010-02-27 . Tim Trainor.
  18. Web site: Culbertson Station . Basin Electric Cooperative . 2020-11-20 .
  19. Web site: NWE electricity generation - Dave Gates Generating Station at Mill Creek . Northwestern Energy . 2020-11-19.
  20. Web site: Glendive gas turbine . 20 August 2018 . Montana-Dakota Utilities . 2020-11-20.
  21. Web site: Montana-Dakota Utilities To Add Generation At Lewis And Clark Station Site . 27 January 2015 . Montana-Dakota Utilities . 2024-07-23.
  22. Web site: Montana-Dakota Utilities Lewis & Clark Closure & Post Closure . 26 September 2018 . Montana-Dakota Utilities . 2024-07-23.
  23. Web site: Miles City gas turbine . 20 August 2018 . Montana-Dakota Utilities . 2020-11-20.
  24. Web site: Recovered Energy Generation . Ormat Technologies, Inc. . 2021-01-13.
  25. Web site: Yellowstone Energy Oil Plant . Global Energy Observatory . 2021-01-13.
  26. Web site: Montana Biomass Energy Projects . Montana Department of Environmental Quality . 2021-01-13.
  27. Web site: Montana's Hydroelectric Portfolio . Montana Department of Environmental Quality . 2020-11-20.
  28. Web site: Hydroelectric projects in Montana . Foundation for Water and Energy Education . 2020-11-20.
  29. Web site: NWE Hydroelectric Facilities . Northwestern Energy . 2020-11-19.
  30. Web site: Toston Dam (Broadwater-Missouri) Factsheet . Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation . 2014-10-31 . 2020-11-20 .
  31. Web site: Canyon Ferry Dam . U.S. Bureau of Reclamation . 2020-11-19.
  32. Web site: Turning on the juice: Flint Creek dam to resume producing hydroelectric power in Granite County . The Montana Standard . George Plaven . 2011-09-05.
  33. Web site: USACE Hydropower at Fort Peck . U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . 2020-11-20.
  34. Web site: Hungry Horse Powerplant . U.S. Bureau of Reclamation . 2020-11-20.
  35. Web site: Libby Dam and Lake Koocanusa . U.S. Army Corps of Engineers . 2020-11-20.
  36. Web site: Clark River Project - Noxon Rapids . Avista Corp. . 2020-11-20.
  37. Web site: South Dry Creek Hydro Plant . Global Energy Observatory . 2021-01-14.
  38. Web site: Project aims to turn irrigation ditch into power . Northwest Renewable News . 2009-11-09 . 2020-11-20.
  39. Web site: Yellowtail Dam . U.S. Bureau of Reclamation . 2020-11-20.
  40. Web site: MSU Wind Applications Center - Active Wind Project . Montana State University . 2020-11-20 .
  41. Web site: Glacier Wind Farm is state's biggest wind energy project . Shelby Promoter . October 28, 2009 . LeAnne Kavanagh.
  42. Web site: Pryor Mountain Wind Project . Rocky Mountain Power . 2020-11-20.
  43. Web site: Bridger wind farm could be finished by end of year . Billings Gazette . 2020-08-07 . Tom Lutey.
  44. Web site: Wind farm projects lining up to call hills around south-central montana town home . Billings Gazette . 2020-01-12 . Tom Lutey.
  45. Web site: Rim Rock Wind Farm Is Largest-Capacity Wind Site in Montana . ENR Mountain States . Paula Moore . 17 June 2013 . 12 January 2014.
  46. Web site: Rim Rock Wind Farm, Montana . Power Technology . 1 May 2019.
  47. Web site: Wind Generation . Northwestern Energy . 2020-11-20.
  48. Web site: Pattern's Stillwater Wind Comes To Life In Montana . North American Windpower . November 19, 2018 .
  49. Web site: Renewable energy sites - South Peak . Allete Clean Energy / Allete Inc. . 2020-11-20.
  50. Web site: Construction on Black Eagle Solar well underway . Great Falls Tribune . Jo Dee Black . 2017-06-01 . 2021-01-13.
  51. Web site: Great Divide . OneEnergy Renewables . 2021-01-13.
  52. Web site: Green Meadow Solar . 2021-01-13 . Renewable Northwest.
  53. Web site: Magpie Solar Project . Solar Energy Resources . 2021-01-13.
  54. Web site: River Bend Solar . 2021-01-13 . Renewable Northwest.
  55. Web site: South Mills Solar . 2021-01-13 . Renewable Northwest.
  56. Web site: Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Project . Gordon Butte Energy Park LLC. . 2021-04-02.

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