Power plants in Montana

Montana has 73 power plants of 1 MW or more in the 2025 EIA-860 data, with 7,662 MW of nameplate capacity, the 42nd-largest total among the 50 states and DC. Hydroelectric accounts for 35% of that capacity. The biggest single site is Colstrip at 1,647 MW. Units that came online from 2020 to 2025 add 1,750 MW, led by wind at 77%. Units retired since 2016 at plants still operating total 790 MW, most of it coal.

Hydroelectric2,684 MW35%
Wind2,147 MW28%
Coal1,811 MW24%
Natural gas705 MW9.2%
Solar181 MW2.4%
Oil and petroleum68 MW0.9%
Other sources61.6 MW0.8%
Biomass and waste6 MW0.1%

What is running, by the decade it came online

CoalNatural gasOil and petroleumHydroelectricWindSolarBiomass and wasteOther sources

Columns above the line show capacity still operating in 2025, stacked by fuel. Below the line: capacity retired in each decade at plants that still operate.

The 25 largest plants

Rank	Plant	Runs on	Capacity	First unit	Operator
1	Colstrip	Coal	1,647 MW	1984	Talen Montana LLC
2	Libby	Hydroelectric	525 MW	1975	USACE Northwestern Division
3	Noxon Rapids	Hydroelectric	488 MW	1959	Avista Corp
4	Hungry Horse	Hydroelectric	428 MW	1952	U S Bureau of Reclamation
5	Clearwater Wind I	Wind	366 MW	2022	Clearwater Energy Resources LLC
6	Yellowtail	Hydroelectric	278 MW	1966	U S Bureau of Reclamation
7	Beaver Creek Wind Facility	Wind	248 MW	2025	Puget Sound Energy Inc
8	Pryor Mountain Wind	Wind	240 MW	2021	PacifiCorp
9	Selis Ksanka Qlispe	Hydroelectric	228 MW	1938	Energy Keepers Inc
10	Clearwater Wind East	Wind	208 MW	2024	Portland General Electric Co
11	Yellowstone County Generating Station	Natural gas	207 MW	2024	NorthWestern Energy (MT wind/thermal)
12	Dave Gates Generating Station	Natural gas	203 MW	2011	NorthWestern Energy (MT wind/thermal)
13	NaturEner Rim Rock Energy	Wind	189 MW	2012	NaturEner Rim Rock Energy LLC
14	Fort Peck	Hydroelectric	180 MW	1943	USACE-Omaha
15	Judith Gap Wind Energy Center	Wind	135 MW	2005	Invenergy Services LLC
16	Hardin Generator Project	Coal	116 MW	2006	Heorot Power Management
17	Culbertson Generation Station	Natural gas	108 MW	2010	Basin Electric Power Coop
18	NaturEner Glacier Wind Energy 1	Wind	106 MW	2008	NaturEner Glacier Wind Energy 1 LLC
19	NaturEner Glacier Wind Energy 2	Wind	104 MW	2009	NaturEner Glacier Wind Energy 2 LLC
20	Clearwater Wind II	Wind	103 MW	2023	Clearwater Wind II, LLC
21	Clearwater Wind III	Wind	100 MW	2024	Clearwater Wind III, LLC
22	Thompson Falls	Hydroelectric	98.1 MW	1915	NorthWestern Energy (MT Hydro)
23	Glendive GT	Natural gas	83.7 MW	1979	Montana-Dakota Utilities Co
24	Apex Solar	Solar	80 MW	2023	Apex Solar LLC
25	MTSUN	Solar	80 MW	2023	Greenbacker Renewable Energy Corporation

All 73 plants in the finder

Largest plant for each main fuel

Main fuel	Plants	Capacity	Largest plant	Its capacity
Hydroelectric	23	2,684 MW	Libby	525 MW
Wind	23	2,147 MW	Clearwater Wind I	366 MW
Coal	4	1,811 MW	Colstrip	1,647 MW
Natural gas	8	705 MW	Yellowstone County Generating Station	207 MW
Solar	9	181 MW	Apex Solar	80 MW
Oil and petroleum	1	68 MW	Yellowstone Energy LP	68 MW
Other sources	3	61.6 MW	OREG 1 Inc	30 MW
Biomass and waste	2	6 MW	Flathead Landfill to Gas Energy Facility	3.2 MW

Balancing areas

Area	Plants	Capacity
NorthWestern Energy	50	4,260 MW
Bonneville Power Administration	4	959 MW
Avista	2	588 MW
WAPA Upper Great Plains West	4	523 MW
Puget Sound Energy	1	366 MW
PacifiCorp East	2	244 MW
NaturEner Power Watch, LLC (GWA)	2	210 MW
NaturEner Wind Watch, LLC	1	189 MW

Biggest operators here

Operator	Plants	Capacity
Talen Montana LLC	1	1,647 MW
U S Bureau of Reclamation	3	764 MW
USACE Northwestern Division	1	525 MW
Avista Corp	1	488 MW
NorthWestern Energy (MT Hydro)	10	461 MW
NorthWestern Energy (MT wind/thermal)	4	460 MW
Clearwater Energy Resources LLC	1	366 MW
Puget Sound Energy Inc	1	248 MW
PacifiCorp	2	244 MW
Energy Keepers Inc	1	228 MW