BILLINGS, Mont. — A Texas-based energy company has introduced preliminary plans for a large-scale battery storage facility in Yellowstone County, adding to a growing list of major energy and infrastructure proposals taking shape in the region.
Representatives from NextEra Energy appeared before Yellowstone County commissioners Thursday to outline the proposed McFarland Energy Storage Project, which would be built near a NorthWestern Energy substation off Shorey Road approximately 10 miles northwest of Billings. The facility would occupy roughly 10 acres if approved and is designed to support electric grid reliability and meet growing regional energy demand.
County Commissioner Mark Morse described the presentation as introductory in nature, with company representatives indicating the project remains in early development and is not expected to be operational until around 2030. Morse said NextEra representatives noted they had taken an option on land in the area but were not seeking immediate approvals.
The proposed facility would connect into the existing NorthWestern Energy substation on Shorey Road. Discussions also touched on the possibility of high-voltage transmission lines between substations in the area, though specific details were limited.
The announcement comes as Yellowstone County is already weighing another significant infrastructure proposal — a large-scale artificial intelligence data center south of Broadview put forward by Quantica Infrastructure on approximately 5,000 acres. Representatives from NextEra told commissioners the battery storage proposal is unrelated to the data center project.
If built, the McFarland facility would not be Montana’s first utility-scale battery storage system. The Glacier Battery System near Cut Bank became operational earlier this year, becoming the first such facility in the state with enough storage capacity to power approximately 60,000 homes.
Questions remain about the potential impact of projects like McFarland on agricultural land and rural communities, particularly regarding the conversion of farmland to energy infrastructure. Morse emphasized that the proposal is still preliminary and would require years of planning and permitting before any construction could begin.
By: Big Sky Broadcasting Newswire