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

Yellowstone County Generating Station

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 #1954 of 10,938 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).

207Source-backed 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 Climate TRACE source record; scope not independently normalised
OwnerNorthWestern Energy Group Inc Climate TRACE
Commissioned2024 Climate TRACE
TechnologyEngine Climate TRACE

Modelled source data

CO₂ emissions149,320 t CO₂/yr modelled · Climate TRACE

Calculated from dataset

Capacity rank in country#1954 of 10938 calculated
Fuel-specific rank in country#903 of 2165 calculated
Capacity vs country/fuel peers1.71× · 121 MW median · 2165 peers 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

The capacity and/or fuel fields on this page include a source-backed provenance label from GEM, an official registry, Wikidata, OSM, or a cross-source match.

capacity: GEM tracker 2026 (location L100000408876); fuel: Climate TRACE source-record fuel

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 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:

35kpassenger cars driven for a year
19khomes' yearly energy use
2.5 milliontree seedlings grown 10 years to absorb it

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

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).

Owner

Operated by NorthWestern Energy Group Inc. All plants by this company →

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

For a plant’s outdoor hardware — heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG), expansion joints, valves, flanges and their insulation — the local climate sets how fast unprotected steel and coatings degrade. 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

Higher environmental severity is exactly where protective removable insulation pays back most: a sheltered micro-climate slows corrosion, UV and thermal-cycling damage and extends outdoor hardware service life. This is an indicative site-climate context — not a condition assessment of any specific plant or operator.

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 source-record gas power plant in Montana, United States of America, commissioned in 2024.

How many homes can Yellowstone County Generating Station power?

Its output is enough to supply roughly 233,141 homes (estimated).

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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