The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved PPL Montana’s request to nearly double the amount of clean, renewable electricity produced at its Rainbow hydroelectric plant on the Missouri River near Great Falls.
The project, scheduled to begin next year, would include the construction of a new powerhouse with a 60-megawatt turbine that has an improved, fish friendly design.
“We appreciate FERC’s thorough review of our request to amend our Rainbow operating license, an important step in the redevelopment of our Rainbow hydroelectric plant,” said David Hoffman, director of External Affairs for PPL Montana.
“This project will add renewable energy, enhance river fisheries and help meet the region’s need for new sources of clean, reliable electricity generation,” he said. “It’s part of our commitment to make sound financial investments, while operating our generating plants safely and conserving river resources.”
Starting in early 2010, PPL Montana will begin construction of a new powerhouse. All eight of the smaller existing units at Rainbow Dam, which have a combined capacity of 35 megawatts, will be eventually replaced with a single 60-megawatt unit — big enough to power about 45,000 homes.
The project, targeted for completion in spring 2012, will create many construction jobs for Montanans during its two-year schedule, starting with preconstruction work later this year.
In addition, the new larger turbine offers a significantly more fish friendly design than the current small turbine configuration, including wider flow passages, fewer rotating surfaces and improvements to the turbine intake screens.
“PPL Montana is working closely with state and federal fish and wildlife agencies and takes responsibility for not only improving the efficiency of this plant but also for implementing an improved turbine design that protects Montana’s valuable fish habitat,” Hoffman said.
As part of the project, a new powerhouse will be built on the hillside about 200 feet downstream of the existing powerhouse, which will be shut down upon completion of the project.
The redevelopment is part of PPL Montana’s Project 2188 license with FERC.
This clean, renewable energy would be a significant addition to the region’s renewable generation capacity, and highlights PPL’s ongoing commitment to renewable energy development.
PPL Montana also operates the Black Eagle, Cochrane, Ryan and Morony dams on the Missouri River near Great Falls.
PPL Montana provides safe, reliable energy from coal-fired power plants at Colstrip and Billings, as well as 11 hydroelectric plants along West Rosebud Creek and the Missouri, Madison, Clark Fork and Flathead rivers. It has a combined generating capacity of more than 1,200 megawatts and has offices in Billings, Butte and Helena. PPL Montana and its 500 employees are dedicated to Montana and its communities, supporting educational, environmental and economic development programs across the state. PPL EnergyPlus operates a trading floor in Butte that markets and sells power for PPL Montana in wholesale and retail energy markets throughout the western United States. PPL Montana and PPL EnergyPlus are subsidiaries of PPL Corporation (NYSE: PPL).