Home / North America / United States of America / Yellowstone County Generating Station

Yellowstone County Generating Station — United States of America

Gas power plant in Montana, United States of America. Approximate location 45.6599, -108.7608.

GasMontanaUnited States of AmericaEngineCO₂ modelled

Yellowstone County Generating Station is a 207 MW gas power station in Montana, United States of America. It is operated by NorthWestern Energy Group Inc. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 233k homes (estimated). It ranks #1900 of 10,884 United States of America power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 2024, it is around 2 years old — recently built. Its modelled annual emissions are 149,320 t CO₂/yr (Climate TRACE), equivalent to about 35k cars driven for a year. In context, gas supplies about 40.0% of United States of America's electricity; the national grid averages 384 gCO₂/kWh (43.0% low-carbon) (2025).

207MW installed capacity
233,141homes powered (est.)
149,320t CO₂ / yr (Climate TRACE)
2024commissioned (~2 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id CT-913.

Data status

Known data

FacilityYellowstone County Generating Station Climate TRACE
CountryUnited States of America · Montana Climate TRACE
Coordinates45.6599, -108.7608 Climate TRACE
FuelGas Climate TRACE
MW installed capacity207 MW GEM · 2026 · L100000408876; operating plant capacity
Verification noteQuality label backfilled from existing source-backed capacity provenance on 2026-07-05; capacity value was not changed. source-verified
OwnerNorthWestern Energy Group Inc Climate TRACE
Commissioned2024 Climate TRACE
TechnologyEngine Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions149,320 t CO₂·a⁻¹ modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1900 / 10884 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#903 / 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.71× · 121.2 MW · n=2165 calculated
Homes-powered equivalent233,141 calculated
Climate8.1°C · HDD 3,772 derived from coordinates
Environmental severityC1 · 37/100 derived from coordinates

Not available

GWh reported / yrNot available not in dataset

Known, modelled and calculated values are kept separate. Missing fields are shown as unavailable.

Data provenance

Source of the capacity and fuel values:

capacity: GEM · 2026 · L100000408876; fuel: Climate TRACE

In context: how this plant compares

At 207 MW, Yellowstone County Generating Station is well above the median gas plant in United States of America (121.2 MW). Technically it is described as Engine. Gas plants burn natural gas either in open-cycle turbines for fast peaking, or in combined-cycle units that recover exhaust heat in an HRSG to reach roughly 55–62% efficiency — the cleanest-burning fossil option.

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

~149,320 t CO₂/yr (modelled) — in everyday terms

This facility's annual emissions are roughly equivalent to:

2.7kmillion cubic feet of natural gas burned
31khomes' electricity use for a year
149kacres of US forest absorbing CO₂ for a year
0.02%of the CO₂ from all United States of America power plants with an emissions figure in PowerAtlas

Equivalencies via US EPA Greenhouse Gas Equivalencies; modelled emissions from Climate TRACE.

Key facts

Share of United States of America gas capacity
less than 0.1% of 789,950 MW across 2,165 plants in this dataset
Age among peers
1,845 of 1,973 dated gas 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)).

Capacity vs largest gas plants in United States of America

Fermi America Project Matador power station: 6,000 MW6kFermi Amer…Chevron AI Data Center Project: 5,000 MW5kChevron AI…GW Ranch Energy Center: 5,000 MW5kGW Ranch E…West County Energy Center: 4,263 MW4kWest Count…Pittsylvania power station: 3,800 MW4kPittsylvan…Bruce Mansfield power station: 3,641 MW4kBruce Mans…Crystal River: 3,449 MW3kCrystal Ri…Schahfer Generating Station: 2,958 MW3kSchahfer G…

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Local climate & thermal context

This gas plant burns natural gas in a turbine — often in a combined-cycle setup — to generate electricity. It sits in a cold semi-arid steppe climate (Köppen BSk) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 45.7°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

8.1°Cannual mean temp
3,772heating degree-days (base 18°C)
189cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
1,122 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -5 °CJF: -2 °CFM: 3 °CMA: 8 °CAM: 13 °CMJ: 18 °CJJ: 21 °CJA: 21 °CAS: 15 °CSO: 9 °CON: 1 °CND: -4 °CD21 °C

Heating degree-days here run 53% 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: 81/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

A gas turbine here also runs ~0% below its ISO (15°C) rating at this annual mean (typical CCGT curve, estimate).

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.

C1ISO 9223 corrosivity (indicative)
37/100environmental-severity index
26.1°Cseasonal temperature swing
1059 kmdistance to coast

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 #903 largest gas power plant of 2165 in United States of America by capacity.

United States of America has 2165 gas power plants in this dataset, together about 789,950 MW of capacity.

Nearby power plants

Location

Coordinates 45.6599, -108.7608 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Frequently asked questions

What type of power plant is Yellowstone County Generating Station?

Yellowstone County Generating Station is a 207 MW gas power plant in Montana, United States of America, commissioned in 2024.

Who operates Yellowstone County Generating Station?

Yellowstone County Generating Station is operated by NorthWestern Energy Group Inc.

How much CO₂ does Yellowstone County Generating Station emit?

Yellowstone County Generating Station has modelled emissions of about 149,320 tonnes of CO₂ per year (Climate TRACE).

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