Glacier Wind Farm

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Glacier Wind Farm
Official nameGlacier Wind Farm
CountryUnited States
LocationGlacier and Toole County near Ethridge, Montana
Coordinates48°30′28″N 112°05′27″W / 48.50778°N 112.09083°W / 48.50778; -112.09083Coordinates: 48°30′28″N 112°05′27″W / 48.50778°N 112.09083°W / 48.50778; -112.09083
StatusOperational
Construction beganJuly 2007
Commission dateOct 2008 (phase I),
Oct 2009 (phase II)
Construction cost$500 million
Owner(s)NaturEner
Operator(s)NaturEner
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Power generation
Units operational140 turbines
Make and modelAcciona AW77 1.5 MW
Nameplate capacity210 MW
Capacity factor29.5% (average 2010-2019)
Annual net output542 GW·h
[edit on Wikidata]

The Glacier Wind Farm spans southwest Glacier County and southeast Toole County in northern Montana. With a total generating capacity of 210 megawatts (MW), it became the largest wind farm in the state when the second construction phase came online at the end of 2009. A portion of the electricity is purchased by San Diego Gas and Electric.[1]

Facility details[]

The facility is located off of U.S. Highway 2 south of the unincorporated community of Ethridge, between the cities of Cut Bank and Shelby, and spans about 25,000 acres. It was constructed in two phases by Mortenson Construction, starting with a groundbreaking celebration in July 2007.[2] The completed facility consists of 140 wind turbines and their foundations, electrical substations, maintenance buildings, access roads, underground collection lines, and overhead transmission lines.[3]

Phase I entered service in October 2008 and uses 71 Acciona 1.7 MW turbines.[4][5] Phase II came online in October 2009 and uses an additional 69 Acciona 1.7 MW turbines.[1][6] The 189 MW Rim Rock Wind Farm was subsequently completed about 15 miles to the north in 2012. In addition to the hundreds of construction jobs and millions of dollars in cumulative land lease payments and tax revenues, about 10-15 permanent local jobs were also created to maintain the facilities over their lifetime.[7]

The project was originally developed by Great Plain Wind & Energy LLC.[8] The Spanish company NaturEner, in partnership with Morgan Stanley, purchased the project in 2006, financed the construction, and continues to own and operate the facility. Performance is continuously monitored from its operations center in San Francisco.[9]

Electricity production[]

Glacier Wind Farm Electricity Generation (MW·h)
Year Glacier I
(106.5 MW) [10]		 Glacier II
(103.5 MW) [11]		 Total Annual
MW·h
2009 249,079 43,184* 292,263
2010 211,679 215,595 427,274
2011 308,543 321,846 630,389
2012 290,267 286,948 577,215
2013 284,762 276,187 560,949
2014 272,897 259,192 532,089
2015 260,622 258,022 518,644
2016 284,566 290,305 574,871
2017 287,367 286,219 573,586
2018 260,131 248,208 508,339
2019 254,813 264,259 519,072
Average Annual Production (years 2010-2019) ---> 542,243
Average Capacity Factor (years 2010-2019) ---> 29.5%

(*) partial year of operation

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ a b LeAnne Kavanagh (October 28, 2009). "Glacier Wind Farm is state's biggest wind energy project". Shelby Promoter.
  2. ^ LeAnne Kavanagh (July 23, 2008). "NaturEner shows off $500 million Glacier Wind farm". Cut Bank Pioneer Press.
  3. ^ "Glacier Wind Farm Phase I and II". mortenson.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  4. ^ Karl Puckett (October 15, 2008). "Glacier Wind Farm goes live". Great Falls Tribune.
  5. ^ "Glacier I (USA)". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  6. ^ "Glacier II (USA)". thewindpower.net. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  7. ^ "Rim Rock Wind Farm, Montana". Power Technology. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  8. ^ Vicky Boyd. "NaturEner respects nature with Montana wind project". enerG (July/Aug 2013). Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  9. ^ "NaturEner Operations Center". NaturEner. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  10. ^ "Glacier I, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  11. ^ "Glacier II, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved April 30, 2019.

External links[]

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