Rainbow P-2188

General information
Waterway	Missouri River
Current status	Active license
Type of facility	Conventional Hydro
Mode of hydropower generation	Run-of-river/Upstream Peaking
Type of permit	FERC License
FERC information
FERC docket #	P-2188
FERC project name	Missouri-Madison
Other projects with this FERC number	Ryan P-2188 Morony P-2188 Madison P-2188 Holter P-2188 Hauser P-2188 Cochrane P-2188 Black Eagle P-2188
Permit issued	9/22/00
Permit expiration	8/27/40
Ownership and operation
Owner	Northwestern Coporation
Owner type	Wholesale Power Marketer
Year first online (conventional hydro)	2013
Transmission or distribution system owner	NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)
Power and generating capacity
Number of units	1
Total capacity from hydraulic turbine-generator units within each plant	59.0 MW
Average annual net hydropower generation	275,733.7 MWH

Download license summary for the Missouri-Madison projects.

The Missouri-Madison project consists of nine developments on the Madison and Missouri Rivers in Gallatin, Madison, Lewis and Clark, and Cascade Counties, in southwestern Montana.

The Missouri-Madison Hydroelectric Project develops hydropower on a 324-mile stretch of the Madison and Missouri Rivers.^[1] The Madison River combines with the Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers^[2] to form the Missouri River, which flows north toward the City of Great Falls, Montana. The Hebgen and Madison Developments are located on the Madison River. The other seven developments (Hauser, Holter, Black Eagle, Rainbow, Cochrane, Ryan, and Morony) are located on the Missouri River, downstream from the Bureau of Reclamation’s Canyon Ferry Hydroelectric Project. The last five developments are clustered near and downstream of the City of Great Falls. All nine developments have dams. Eight of the nine developments have power generating facilities, while the Hebgen Development is used as a storage facility.

^[1]The nine developments are located between river miles 40 and 103 of the Madison River, and between river miles 2,105 and 2,237 of the Missouri River.

^[2]These rivers were explored by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark during their epic journey of 1804-1806. James Madison was at that time serving as Secretary of State in President Thomas Jefferson’s cabinet, while Albert Gallatin was Secretary of the Treasury.