The Power of Renewable Energy

"Our hydro facilities make up about 44 percent
of our Montana electric generation portfolio,
making them our largest single source of electricity."

NorthWestern Energy’s 11 hydro facilities play a crucial role in our ability to deliver affordable and reliable electricity to our customers 24/7. Our hydro facilities make up about 44 percent of our Montana electric generation portfolio, making them our largest single source of electricity.

NorthWestern’s hydro facilities include Thompson Falls Dam on the Clark Fork River; Madison Dam on the Madison River, as well as Hebgen Lake reservoir; Mystic Lake Dam on West Rosebud Creek; and Hauser, Holter, Black Eagle, Rainbow, Cochrane, Ryan and Morony dams on the Missouri River.

NorthWestern Energy is proud to provide a clean, sustainable energy source for our Montana customers, and we’re also committed to the stewardship of Montana’s river resources, as well as maintaining vibrant and significant recreational opportunities.

In 2019, NorthWestern Energy is providing $1.59 million to support 57 fisheries, wildlife and habitat improvement projects within the 550-mile corridor of the Madison-Missouri River from Yellowstone National Park to the headwaters of Fort Peck Reservoir.

NorthWestern participates in a public-private partnership to provide public recreation opportunities along the Missouri and Madison rivers. The Missouri-Madison River Fund is a $6.7 million trust fund for public recreation, the earnings from which fund recreation improvement projects.

Since 2007, the River Fund has awarded nearly $4.5 million that NorthWestern has matched partially with a $1.25 million contribution in support of 126 projects. In addition to this amount, agencies and private partners have made contributions of $3.4 million resulting in more than $9 million in recreation enhancements in the Missouri-Madison Corridor.

Since purchasing the hydro facilities in 2014, NorthWestern Energy has made substantial upgrades to many of the facilities, with more upgrades planned in coming years. This is a way for NorthWestern to efficiently increase our carbon-free generation.

Water Furnace

A  geothermal heat pump is the greenest, most efficient, and most cost effective heating and cooling system available, according to the EPA. That’s because it harnesses the power of the sun to transform the way we use energy, rather than burning fossil fuels. These systems also minimize the threats of acid rain, air pollution, the greenhouse effect, and global warming.

 Renewable energy is most commonly thought of in conjunction with wind or solar technologies, but geothermal heat pumps provide even more renewable capacity in a typical installation than the other options. We like to call geothermal “The Reliable Renewable” because it doesn’t rely on external factors to generate renewable energy like wind or sunshine. That’s not to say that wind or solar is bad—in fact, installing a geothermal system alongside a wind or solar application can allow your property to generate as much energy as it needs to operate. 

 WaterFurnace is the most recognized and respected name in geothermal and has been synonymous with geothermal and water source heat pump technology since 1983.

For more on Water Furnace, go to: www.waterfurnace.com