1st largest plant in Montana · 135th nationally
Colstrip is a coal power plant in Montana with a nameplate capacity of 1,647 MW. It generates roughly 10.8M MWh per year — enough to power about 1,030,518 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 75% puts it in the middle range — running steadily but not full-time. At 2217 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
Ghost bars are each month's theoretical maximum (1,647 MW nameplate × hours in the month). Filled bars are actual net generation reported to EIA Form 923. The gap between them is capacity factor made visible.
| Plant Name | Colstrip |
|---|---|
| Operator | Talen Montana Llc |
| City | Colstrip |
| County | Rosebud County |
| State | Montana |
| ZIP | 59323 |
| Coordinates | 45.88310, -106.61400 |
This plant highlighted in navy-ringed pin; other generators within 25 miles shown as fuel-colored dots.
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 824 MW | Operating | 1984 |
| 4 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 824 MW | Operating | 1986 |
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 358 MW | Retired | 1975 |
| 2 | Conventional Steam Coal | Subbituminous Coal | 358 MW | Retired | 1976 |
| Owner | Location | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Talen Montana Llc | Colstrip, MT | 4333.3% |
| Puget Sound Energy Inc | Bellevue, WA | 3750.0% |
| Northwestern Energy (Mt Hydro) | Butte, MT | 3000.0% |
| Portland General Electric Co | Portland, OR | 2000.0% |
| Avista Corp | Spokane, WA | 1500.0% |
| Pacificorp | Portland, OR | 1000.0% |
Ownership reported to EIA Form 860. Percentages reflect reported generator-level ownership share, averaged when a plant has multiple generators.
| CO₂ | 12.0M metric tons |
|---|---|
| SO₂ | 5.3k metric tons |
| NOₓ | 8.7k metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 2217 lb/MWh |
Annual totals and CO₂ rate reported by EPA eGRID for 2023. Reference averages are approximate U.S.-wide figures from the same dataset.
| NERC Region | WECC |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Northwestern Energy (Nwmt) |
Coal plants burn pulverized coal to boil water and spin steam turbines. They emit substantial CO₂, SO₂, and NOₓ along with mercury and particulate matter. Modern units include scrubbers and selective catalytic reduction; older units are increasingly being retired or converted to natural gas as economics shift.