45th largest plant in Montana · 4928th nationally
Lewis & Clark is a natural gas power plant in Montana with a nameplate capacity of 18.6 MW. It generates roughly 19.5k MWh per year — enough to power about 1,859 average U.S. homes.
Its capacity factor of 12% reflects intermittent or peaking operation. At 1105 lb CO₂/MWh, its emission rate sits above the national grid average of roughly 800 lb/MWh.
| Plant Name | Lewis & Clark |
|---|---|
| Operator | Montana-Dakota Utilities Co |
| City | Richland |
| County | Richland County |
| State | Montana |
| ZIP | 59270 |
| Coordinates | 47.67850, -104.15665 |
| ID | Technology | Fuel | Capacity | Status | Online |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Conventional Steam Coal | Lignite | 50.0 MW | Retired | 1958 |
| 2 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| 3 | Natural Gas Internal Combustion Engine | Natural Gas | 9.3 MW | Operating | 2016 |
| CO₂ | 10.8k metric tons |
|---|---|
| NOₓ | 214 metric tons |
| CO₂ Rate | 1105 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 | MRO |
|---|---|
| Balancing Authority | Midcontinent Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.. |
Natural gas plants are the workhorse of the modern grid. Combined-cycle units achieve very high efficiency and can ramp up and down quickly to balance variable renewables. They emit roughly half the CO₂ per MWh of coal and far less of other pollutants, but they still release upstream methane during fuel extraction.