Lewis & Clark — United States of America

Lewis & Clark is a 68.6 MW coal power plant in Montana, United States of America. It is operated by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. Based on reported annual generation of 264 GWh, it can supply roughly 75k homes. It ranks #3287 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1973, it is around 53 years old — an older, legacy facility. In context, coal supplies about 16.3% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id USA0006089.

Data provenance

Capacity and fuel are the upstream open-dataset record, not yet matched to a 2026 registry or GEM entry.

capacity: WRI GPPD; fuel: WRI GPPD

In context: how this plant compares

At 68.6 MW, Lewis & Clark is below the median coal plant in United States of America (558 MW). Coal plants burn pulverised coal to raise high-pressure steam for a turbine; they run as baseload but are the most carbon-intensive mainstream source and the first targeted for retirement or efficiency retrofits.

Capacity comparison computed from the WRI Global Power Plant Database; fuel-type context is general engineering background.

Key facts

Load factor

44%, from 264 GWh of reported generation; the median for 244 coal plants in United States of America that report generation is 41%

Generation trend

299 GWh in 2013 and 264 GWh in 2019 (−12%)

Highest and lowest year

2013: 299 GWh; 2015: 222 GWh

Share of United States of America coal capacity

less than 0.1% of 621,194 MW across 802 plants in this dataset

Age among peers

346 of 745 dated coal plants in United States of America are older

Calculated from the capacity and generation records in this dataset (WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0)).

Reported generation trend

Annual generation (GWh), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Montana-Dakota Utilities Co. All plants by this company →

Local climate & thermal context

This coal plant burns coal to raise high-pressure steam that spins a turbine-generator. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 47.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

Monthly mean temperature

Heating degree-days here run 73% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 87/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

Site climate & environmental severity

This site sits in a benign, low-corrosion environment (estimated ISO 9223 class C1 — Very low), with dust abrasion the leading environmental stress.

Indicative estimate via the ISO 9223:2012 informative method (atmospheric corrosivity from temperature, time-of-wetness and airborne salinity), using WorldClim climate normals, the Köppen-Geiger class and coast distance. Indicative, not a measured corrosion rate.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #717 largest coal power plant of 802 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 802 coal power plants in this dataset, together about 621,194 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

• Lewis & Clark Station · Coal · 50 MW · Montana
• Sidney MT Plant · Coal · 4 MW · Montana
• Lonesome Creek Station · Gas · 366 MW · North Dakota
• Culbertson Generation Station · Gas · 91 MW · Montana
• OREG 1 Inc · Cogeneration · 30 MW · Montana
• OREG 2 Inc · Cogeneration · 30 MW · Montana

Location

Coordinates 47.6785, -104.1566 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions