​About the Project

​Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) is preparing to evaluate the environmental effects* of the Beartooth Energy Storage Project (Project) in which Beartooth Energy Storage, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of esVolta, LP, has submitted a project proposal to WAPA for potential financing under the Transmission Infrastructure Program (TIP) for the proposed Project.  WAPA could provide project financing from the United States Treasury under authority granted to WAPA under Section 402 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) (Public Law 111-5), which amended the Hoover Power Plant Act of 1984 (Public Law 98-381).  The proposed Project would involve the construction of a 50-megawatt (MW) battery energy storage facility adjacent to the existing NorthWestern Energy (NWE) Baseline Substation within Yellowstone County, Montana.

*DISCLAIMER:  WAPA’s performance of an environmental review related to this Project is not a final decision or determination as to whether WAPA will provide project financing for this Project.

Project Feature

The proposed Project would construct a 50-MW battery storage facility in Yellowstone County, Montana. The proposed battery storage facility would utilize advanced technology batteries and control systems contained within an approximately 17-acre area and screened by 8-foot-tall security fencing. The proposed battery storage facility would consist of battery storage containers, inverters/transformers, communications equipment, switchgear, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) units. In addition, transmission poles and associated electricity transmission facilities would connect the project site to the NWE Baseline Substation to the south.

Current Status

​​WAPA has completed its environmental review of the proposed Beartooth Energy Storage Project and the Categorical Exclusion can be found in the DOCUMENTS section below.  The next steps would be for WAPA to potentially provide Project financing under the TIP Office. The completed environmental review helps inform WAPA’s consideration of any loan application under its borrowing authority from the U.S. Treasury.

Contact

For more information on this proposed Project, please contact:

Mail: Western Area Power Administration, HQ
ATTN: Andrew M. Montaño, NEPA Document Manager
P.O. Box 281213
Lakewood, CO 80228-8213
Email: montano@wapa.gov
Phone: (720) 962-7253

Documents

Last modified on November 29th, 2024