Wind power in Montana

Judith Gap

Wind power in Montana is a growing industry. At a nameplate capacity of 210 megawatts (MW),[1][2] the $500 million[3][4] Glacier Wind Farm, which is located in Toole and Glacier counties,[1] became Montana's largest in October 2009,[3] surpassing the 135 MW Judith Gap Wind Farm in Wheatland County.[3]

Rim Rock Wind Farm, brought online in September 2012, is located about 25 miles due north of the Glacier project. The wind farm has 126 wind turbines of 1.5 megawatts each, to be supplied by Acciona.[5] The project had been delayed due to issues with the Montana-Alberta Tie Line, which connects wind farms in the area to Lethbridge, Alberta.[1][6][7] Montana added two significant wind projects in 2012. The Gordon Butte Wind Farm, 9 MW, was completed early in the year and the Rim Rock Wind Project, 189 MW, was completed in September.

Montana had over 650 MW of wind generation capability at the start of 2015 and a new 240 MW project had been started in Carbon county.[8]

Installed capacity growth

Wind Farms

List of wind farms in Montana
Wind farm Installed
capacity (MW) 		Turbine
Manufacturer 		County Date in Service
Glacier Wind Farm I and II (NaturEner) 210 Acciona 1.5MW Glacier/Toole 2008-2009
Rim Rock Wind Farm (NaturEner) 189 Acciona 1.5MW Glacier/Toole 2012
Judith Gap Energy Center (Invenergy) 135 GE 1.5MW Wheatland 2005
Diamond Willow Wind Farm (Montana-Dakota Utilities) 30 GE 1.5MW Fallon 2007
Musselshell Wind Project 1 and II 20 GW 1.5-87 1.5MW Musselshell 2012
Gordon Butte Wind 9.6 GE 1.6MW Meagher 2012
Horseshoe Bend Wind Park (United Materials of Great Falls) 9 GE 1.5MW Cascade 2006
Two Dot Wind Farm 9.8 GE 1.6MW Wheatland 2014 [12]
Fairfield wind project 10 GE 1.6/1.7MW Wheatland 2014[12]
Greenfield wind farm 29.9 GE 2.3 2016 [13]

[14][15][16] [17]

Wind generation

Montana Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2012 1,262 160 88 130 96 99 108 58 58 37 121 127 164
2013 1,755 206 189 140 164 132 110 88 57 85 127 197 259

Source:[16] EIA - Electricity Data Browser

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "NaturEner plans another massive wind farm in Glacier, Toole counties in Montana". San Francisco Examiner. 2009-09-15.
  2. ↑ "U.S. Wind Energy Projects - Montana". American Wind Energy Association. 2009-12-31. Archived from the original on November 18, 2008. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  3. 1 2 3 "210-Megawatt Glacier Wind Farm Becomes State's Largest" (PDF). Great Falls Tribune. 2009-10-22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-04. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  4. ↑ "NaturEner shows off $500 million Glacier Wind farm". Cut Bank Pioneer Press. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
  5. ↑ Acciona gets contract for nacelles
  6. ↑ "NatureEner Wind Farm project a go; construction underway". Cut Bank Pioneer Press. Retrieved 27 December 2011.
  7. ↑ Rim Rock Wind Farm near Cut Bank hosts welcoming ceremony
  8. 1 2 "AWEA 4th quarter 2014 Public Market Report Summary" (PDF). American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). January 2015. Retrieved February 3, 2015.
  9. ↑ Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (2010-03-05). "U.S. Installed Wind Capacity and Wind Project Locations". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  10. ↑ Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (2010-02-04). "Installed Wind Capacity by State". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-03-12.
  11. ↑ "AWEA 4th quarter 2012 Public Market Report" (PDF). American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). January 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013.
  12. 1 2 AWEA 2nd Quarter 2014 Market report
  13. ↑ [https:www.awea.com "Fourth Quarter 2016 AWEA Market Report Public Version"]. AWEA. January 26, 2017.
  14. ↑ Department of Environmental Quality Retrieved September 29, 2012
  15. ↑ Wind Project Retrieved February 25, 2013
  16. 1 2 EIA (January 23, 2013). "Electric Power Monthly". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2013-02-25.
  17. ↑ Murray, David. "Wind farm breaks ground". Great Falls Tribune. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
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