Alternative Energy Resources in Montana
Below is a short summary of alternative energy resources for Montana. For more information on each technology, visit the State Energy Alternatives Technology Options page.
For more information, including links to resource maps, energy statistics, and contacts for Montana, visit EERE's State Activities and Partnerships Web site's Montana page.
Biomass
Studies indicate that Montana has fair biomass resource potential. For more state-specific resource information, see Biomass Feedstock Availability in the United States: 1999 State Level Analysis.
Geothermal
Montana has high-temperature resources that are suitable for electricity generation as well as direct use and heat pump applications. For more information on geothermal resources, including resource maps, visit GeoPowering the West.
Hydropower
Montana has a very good hydropower resource as a percentage of the state's electricity generation. For additional resource information, check out the Idaho National Laboratory's Virtual Hydropower Prospector (VHP). VHP is a convenient geographic information system (GIS) tool designed to assist you in locating and assessing natural stream water energy resources in the United States.
Solar
To accurately portray your state's solar resource, we need two maps. That is because different collector types use the sun in different ways. Collectors that focus the sun (like a magnifying glass) can reach high temperatures and efficiencies. These are called concentrating collectors. Typically, these collectors are on a tracker, so they always face the sun directly. Because these collectors focus the sun's rays, they only use the direct rays coming straight from the sun.
Other solar collectors are simply flat panels that can be mounted on a roof or on the ground. Called flat-plate collectors, these are typically fixed in a tilted position correlated to the latitude of the location. This allows the collector to best capture the sun. These collectors can use both the direct rays from the sun and reflected light that comes through a cloud or off the ground. Because they use all available sunlight, flat-plate collectors are the best choice for many northern states. Therefore, this site gives you two maps: one is the resource for a concentrating collector and one is the resource for a flat-plate collector.
What do the maps mean? For flat-plate collectors, Montana has good, useful resources, especially in the southern region of the state. For concentrating collectors, Montana has useful resources for some technologies, but thermal electricity systems are not effective with this resource.
The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West estimated the annual solar electricity generation potential in Montana to be 101 billion kWh. This estimate is based on the following assumptions:
- Rooftop and open space installed systems represent 0.5% of the total area of the state.
- Solar panels occupy 30% of the area set aside for solar equipment.
- The average system efficiency is 10%.
Wind
Wind Powering America indicate that Montana has wind resources consistent with utility-scale production. Good to excellent wind resource areas are distributed throughout the eastern two-thirds of Montana. The region just east of the Rocky Mountains in northern Montana has excellent to superb wind resource; other outstanding resource areas are on the hills and ridges between Great Falls and Havre. The region between Billings and Bozeman also has excellent wind resource areas. Ridge crest locations have the highest resource in the western third of Montana. In addition, small wind turbines may have applications in some areas. For more information on Montana's wind resource, visit Wind Powering America's Montana Wind Activities.
The Renewable Energy Atlas of the West estimated the annual wind electricity generation potential in Montana to be 1,020 billion kWh. The estimate excludes 100% of the following areas, which are assumed to be infeasible for wind development:
- Landforms – land with a slope greater than 20%.
- All National Park Service lands.
- All fish and wildlife lands.
- All Forest Service or BLM lands with "special" designations, such as national recreation areas or national wilderness areas.
- All bodies of water.
- Wetlands.
- Urban areas.
Energy Efficiency
Energy efficiency means doing the same work, or more, and enjoying the same comfort level with less energy. Consequently, energy efficiency can be considered part of your state's energy resource base - a demand side resource. Unlike energy conservation, which is rooted in behavior, energy efficiency is technology-based. This means the savings may be predicted by engineering calculations, and they are sustained over time. Examples of energy efficiency measures and equipment include compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), and high efficiency air conditioners, refrigerators, boilers, and chillers.
Saving energy through efficiency is less expensive than building new power plants. Utilities can plan for, invest in, and add up technology-based energy efficiency measures and, as a consequence, defer or avoid the need to build a new power plant. In this way, Austin, Texas, aggregated enough energy savings to offset the need for a planned 450-megawatt coal-fired power plant. Austin achieved these savings during a decade when the local economy grew by 46% and the population doubled. In addition, the savings from energy efficiency are significantly greater than one might expect, because no energy is needed to generate, transmit, distribute, and store energy before it reaches the end user.
Reduced fuel use, and the resulting decreased pollution, provide short- and long-term economic and health benefits.
For more information on current state policies related to energy efficiency, visit the Alliance to Save Energy's State Energy Efficiency Index.