Thompson Falls
Hydro power plant · Sanders County, Montana
Nameplate capacity
98 MW
Rank in Montana
#22
of 73 plants
In service since
2015
July 2015
Details
- Primary fuel
- Hydro
- Technology
- Conventional Hydroelectric
- Operator
- NorthWestern Energy (MT Hydro)
- County
- Sanders County
- Generating units
- 7
- Share of state capacity
- 1.28%
- Rank among hydro plants in Montana
- #7 of 23
- EIA plant code
- 2195
Generating units
| Unit | Technology | Nameplate | Summer | Online | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TF7 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 57 MW | 53 MW | 2015 | Operating |
| TF1 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 7.0 MW | 7.5 MW | 2017 | Operating |
| TF2 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 7.0 MW | 6.5 MW | 2017 | Operating |
| TF3 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 7.0 MW | 7.5 MW | 2016 | Operating |
| TF5 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 7.0 MW | 6.0 MW | 2015 | Operating |
| TF6 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 7.0 MW | 6.5 MW | 2015 | Out of service and NOT expected to return to service in next calendar year |
| TF4 | Conventional Hydroelectric | 6.0 MW | 6.5 MW | 2016 | Operating |
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
| Clearwater Wind II | Wind | 103 MW |
| Clearwater Wind III | Wind | 100 MW |
| Glendive GT | Natural gas | 84 MW |
| Apex Solar | Solar | 80 MW |
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 98 MW solar plant and a 98 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