Rim Rock Wind Farm

Rim Rock Wind Farm is located near Cut Bank, Montana. Owned by NaturEner, this $370 million, 189 megawatt (MW) wind farm has been operational since 2012, and is Montana's largest wind-producing facility to be built in a single phase.[1][2]

Rim Rock Wind Farm
Official nameRim Rock Wind Farm
CountryUnited States
LocationGlacier and Toole County near Cut Bank, Montana
Coordinates48°50′10″N 112°03′44″W
StatusOperational
Construction beganOctober 2011
Commission dateDecember 2012
Construction cost$370 million
Owner(s)NaturEner
Operator(s)NaturEner
Wind farm
TypeOnshore
Power generation
Units operational126 turbines
Make and modelAcciona AW77 1.5 MW
Nameplate capacity189 MW
Capacity factor34.8% (average 2013-2019)
Annual net output577 GW·h

Details

The project was originally developed by Great Plains Wind & Energy LLC, and purchased in 2006 by the Spanish company NaturEner.[3] NaturEner subsequently partnered with Morgan Stanley to finance the facility.[4] Construction began in October 2011, and operation began in December 2012. There are 126 Acciona AW77 wind turbines, rated to operate at 1.5 MW each.[5] This is NaturEner's third project in the United States, and nearly doubled the company's electricity production in the country when completed. The energy harnessed is used to power approximately 60,000 homes in Toole and Glacier counties in Montana, as well as in California.[1][2]

In December 2013, San Diego Gas & Electric filed a lawsuit against NaturEner, claiming that NaturEner hid the possibility that nearby eagles would be harmed by the wind farm. NaturEner in turn filed a lawsuit against the state utility, claiming that the utility wanted out of the contract. Justices of the Montana Supreme Court ruled that the contractual issue would have to be resolved in Californian courts (and not Montana courts). No further announcements on the case have been made.[6][7]

Electricity production
Rim Rock Wind Electricity Generation (MW·h)[8]
YearTotal Annual MW·h
2012 56,893*
2013 335,840
2014 562,316
2015 603,536
2016 652,904
2017 657,608
2018 628,130
2019 597,163
Average (years 2013-2018) --->576,785

(*) partial year of operation

See also

References
  1. Paula Moore (17 June 2013). "Rim Rock Wind Farm Is Largest-Capacity Wind Site in Montana". ENR Mountain States. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  2. "Rim Rock Wind Farm, Montana". Power Technology. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  3. Vicky Boyd. "NaturEner respects nature with Montana wind project". enerG (July/Aug 2013). Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  4. Briana Wipf (12 October 2011). "NatureEner Wind Farm project a go; construction underway". Cut Bank Pioneer Press. Retrieved 12 January 2014.
  5. "Rim Rock (USA)". thewindpower.net. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. "Montana court sends wind farm clash to California". Flathead Beacon. 18 July 2014. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  7. Matthew Brown (18 July 2014). "Montana court sends wind farm clash to California". San Diego Union Tribune. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  8. "Rim Rock Wind, Annual". Electricity Data Browser. Energy Information Administration. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
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