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Big Fork

Hydro power plant · Flathead County, Montana

Nameplate capacity
4.1 MW
Rank in Montana
#59
of 73 plants
In service since
1927
July 1927

Details

Primary fuel
Hydro
Technology
Conventional Hydroelectric
Operator
PacifiCorp
County
Flathead County
Generating units
3
Share of state capacity
0.05%
Rank among hydro plants in Montana
#21 of 23
EIA plant code
6459

Generating units

Individual generating units at Big Fork
UnitTechnologyNameplateSummerOnlineStatus
1Conventional Hydroelectric1.7 MW1.9 MW1927Operating
2Conventional Hydroelectric1.7 MW1.9 MW1928Operating
3Conventional Hydroelectric0.7 MW0.8 MW2010Operating

Nameplate is the maximum rated output; summer capacity is what the unit can reliably deliver on a hot day, which is typically lower.

Similarly sized plants in Montana

About this data

From EIA’s inventory of operable generators, May 2026 release. Capacity is nameplate — the maximum rated output of the equipment, not what the plant actually generates over a year, which depends on how often it runs. A 4.1 MW solar plant and a 4.1 MW nuclear plant have the same entry here and produce very different amounts of electricity.

“In service since” is the earliest in-service date among the units still listed, so a site rebuilt around newer equipment can read as younger than the site itself. All Montana power plants · What Montana actually generates