Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro Overview
Estimated Average Annual Energy: 1300 GWh
Estimated Installed Capacity: 400 MW
Number of Proposed Turbine Generators: 3
Head (Height Between Reservoirs): 1,025 feet
Reservoirs Size: Approximately 4,000 acre-feet
Montana based, Absaroka Energy, LLC is developing the Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro Project through its wholly owned subsidiary GB Energy Park, LLC (GBEP). The project will be located on private land in Meagher County, Montana, three miles west of the small town of Martinsdale. Our project is designed to take advantage of the unique geological features of Gordon Butte to create a new closed-loop pumped storage hydro facility. This facility will provide ancillary and balancing capabilities to Montana’s emerging renewable energy industry, while also supplying multiple services to provide stability, reliability, growth and longevity to existing energy infrastructure and resources in the state and region.
The Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro facility will consist of upper and lower closed-loop reservoirs connected by an underground concrete and steel-lined hydraulic shaft. Our pumped storage hydro project will be an off-stream facility, constructed outside of any existing watersheds, thereby minimizing impacts to the local waterways and riparian ecosystems. Each reservoir will be approximately 4,000 feet long and 1,000 feet wide with depths of 50 to 75 feet. As currently designed, an underground powerhouse with three turbine-generators will be located at the lower reservoir. These turbine-generators will provide an installed nameplate capacity of 400 megawatts, allowing for an estimated annual energy generation of 1300 gigawatt hours.
GB Energy Park received its preliminary permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in 2013. This was followed by a multi-year consultation process with state and federal agencies, local landowners, environmental groups, and other interested stakeholders to identify, study and mitigate important issues related to the construction of this project. October 1, 2015, GB Energy Park filed the Final License Application for the project with FERC. The Commission accepted the license application as complete on November 16, 2015 and issued its Environmental Analysis with a Finding of No Significant Impacts on September 27, 2016.
On December 14, 2016, GBEP received an Original License for the Gordon Butte Pumped Storage Hydro Project. This license authorizes GBEP to construct and operate the facility for a period of 50 years.
Click the button to the right to view a comprehensive overview of the Gordon Butte Closed Loop Pumped Storage Hydro Project.
“The Gordon Butte Project represents Montana taking a leadership role in defining the nation’s energy future. This state-of-the-art facility provides an incredible opportunity to preserve our natural legacy while creating jobs where they are most needed. ”