The Colstrip power plant, consists of 2 active coal-fired generating units capable of producing up to 1,480 Megawatts of electricity.
Units 3 and 4 each have about 740 megawatts of generating capacity; Talen subsidiary, Talen Montana has 30 percent ownership in Unit 3 and no ownership in Unit 4. Talen Montana operates the plant. Units 1 and 2 were retired in January 2020.
Talen Montana’s share in the plant’s generating capacity is approximately 222 Megawatts. The plant is owned by Talen Montana, Puget Sound Energy Inc., Portland General Electric Company, Avista Corporation, PacifiCorp and NorthWestern Energy.
Low-sulfur coal and state-of-the-art scrubbers restrict sulfur dioxide emissions to less than levels required by the Clean Air Act. The plant also meets Environmental Protection Agency standards for nitrogen oxides emission. The plant consistently ranked as one of the lowest-cost fuel plants in the Western Electricity Coordinating Council, a regional member of the North American Electricity Reliability Council that includes all the western states and the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia.