Hydropower
The Hydropower Program administers the development and operation of hydropower facilities on state-owned water projects pursuant to 85-1-500 through 85-1-514 MCA. To date, one hydropower facility, the Broadwater Power Project near Toston, has been built. With a maximum capacity of 10 megawatts, the project began generating power in June 1989. DNRC owns and operates the facility and contracts with North Western Energy to sell the energy.
Earned revenues are used to pay for rehabilitating other state-owned water
projects. The main purpose of these funds is to help in the maintenance
and repair of state-owned water projects, which include 24 designated
high hazard dams and 250 miles of irrigation canals. Most of these large
projects were completed in the 1930s and 1940s and have significant needs.
In a 1980 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' statewide inspection, many of
these dams were classified as unsafe due to spillway capacities that are
inadequate, according to federal guidelines.
In an average year (assuming mean runoff), the facility is capable of
generating roughly 56 million kilowatt-hours of electricity and earns
roughly $3.5 million in revenue from energy and capacity sales at 2003
contract rates. After debt payments and operating expenses, approximately
$ 1.3 million is available to rehabilitate state-owned dams. A statutory
appropriation of $500,000 per biennium is also available to fund emergency
repairs and maintain an emergency repairs fund.
