Wind power in Montana

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Wind power in Montana is a growing industry. At a nameplate capacity of 210 megawatts (MW),[1][2] the $500 million[3] 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.[4] The project had been delayed due to issues with the Montana-Alberta Tie Line, which connects wind farms in the area to Lethbridge, Alberta.[5][1][6] 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.

Contents

[edit] Installed capacity growth

Montana Wind Generation Capacity by Year
Megawatts of Installed Generating Capacity[7][8] [9]
Montana Wind Generation by Year

[edit] 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 3.8 Wheatland

[10] [11][12]

[edit] Wind generation

Montana Wind Generation (GWh, Million kWh)
Year Total Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec
2009 821 104 59 81 77 64 41 37 24 49 75 130 82
2010 930 82 55 92 104 85 69 62 61 60 81 101 80
2011 1,265 144 108 85 112 102 84 74 59 73 113 138 164
2012 1,238 158 87 128 94 97 107 57 58 37 119 123 162

Source:[12]

[edit] See also

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[edit] References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wind power in Montana
  1. ^ a b c "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. Retrieved 2010-03-27. [dead link]
  3. ^ a b c "210-Megawatt Glacier Wind Farm Becomes State's Largest" (PDF). Great Falls Tribune. 2009-10-22. Retrieved 2010-03-27. [dead link]
  4. ^ Acciona gets contract for nacelles
  5. ^ "NatureEner Wind Farm project a go; construction underway". Cut Bank Pioneer Press. Retrieved 27 December 2011. 
  6. ^ Rim Rock Wind Farm near Cut Bank hosts welcoming ceremony
  7. ^ 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. 
  8. ^ Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (2010-02-04). "Installed Wind Capacity by State". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2010-03-12. 
  9. ^ a b "AWEA 4th quarter 2012 Public Market Report". American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). January 2013. Retrieved January 30, 2013. 
  10. ^ Department of Environmental Quality Retrieved September 29, 2012
  11. ^ Wind Project Retrieved February 25, 2013
  12. ^ a b EIA (January 23, 2013). "Electric Power Monthly". United States Department of Energy. Retrieved 2013-02-25. 
Wind power by state
Wind-turbine-icon.svg
Large wind farms
Wind power companies
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