Talen Energy is a privately-owned Independent Power Producer (IPP) that generates and sells electricity, capacity, and related products from a fleet of power plants that use diverse fuel sources including zero-carbon nuclear, clean, and flexibly dispatched natural gas, and efficient, resilient coal. Talen is developing a large-scale portfolio of renewable energy, battery storage, and digital infrastructure assets across its expansive footprint. Silverthorn Wind will help further diversify Talen’s generation portfolio, adding renewable energy to its fleet.

Talen Energy operates 15 generation facilities across 6 states, which produce approximately 12,400 megawatts of electricity. Talen’s plants have long-term connections with their communities and their facilities receive industry-leading performance rankings, from operations to safety and commercial management.

Pattern Energy is one of the world’s largest privately-owned developers and operators of major clean energy and transmission infrastructure. With more than 30 facilities across North America, Pattern’s operations use proven, best-in-class technology to deliver affordable, reliable power to millions of customers. Its nearly 10,000 MW operating and under construction portfolio is meeting critical energy needs and growing demand. Pattern Energy is guided by a long-term commitment to serve customers, strengthen communities and responsibly Power the Future.

Pattern Energy was founded in 2009 and is responsible for building more than 6 GW of renewable energy projects. Our leadership and core management have worked together for more than 15 years, uniting deep industry knowledge with investment expertise.

Silverthorn Wind LLC is a project-level company that owns the assets related to our wind energy efforts located in Rosebud and Treasure counties. Silverthorn Wind LLC is jointly owned by Pattern Energy and Talen Energy.

Silverthorn Wind represents a roughly $1 billion investment within Rosebud and Treasure counties. Throughout development, construction, and operations, residents can expect to see direct and indirect job creation, economic investment, and tax revenue. We anticipate that the project will generate more than $150 million dollars in additional property tax revenues over a 30-year operating life.

Approximately 450-600 workers will be on-site during construction, which will take between one and two years. Local workers and subcontractors will be involved to the greatest extent possible – from building access roads and turbine foundations to assembling and installing turbine components. Subcontractors will be engaged to conduct civil work – grading, excavation, concrete – electrical work, and mechanical assembly. Activities will also include site preparation before infrastructure installation begins and site restoration after construction. Once operational, a Facility Manager and Assistant Facility Manager will oversee site activities, utilizing between 12-20 Turbine Technicians and a variety of local vendors and contractors when possible to provide maintenance services, including for communications, operations, the maintenance building, access roads, the substation, and truck fleet.

Yes! Silverthorn Wind and our contractors take our commitments to the local communities where we build our projects very seriously. We will actively pursue local vendors, job seekers, and local union labor during development and we will hold a job fair before construction to engage interested companies and workers. We will keep a list of interested applicants and vendors during project development to share with the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction company that is selected to hire subcontractors for construction. We will also establish a vendor and worker application portal.

Silverthorn Wind will encourage our contractors to hire locally to the greatest extent possible. We will also support the community through sponsorships of local causes. Please reach out to us at Outreach@SilverthornRenewables.com if you have suggestions on how we can better engage with the community members and support local initiatives.

Yes. Any owner or owners would be required to continue to comply with the terms of the Lease and further, as a condition of any sale, would need to be fully qualified to own and operate a large-scale wind project.

The amount of land required depends on the size of the project. Each wind turbine, however, typically needs less than one acre of land after construction, allowing landowners to continue farming and ranching around them.

The project is not receiving government grants or other direct payments from taxpayers.

Today, the cost of wind energy is competitive with other energy sources and the cheapest source of new electricity in many parts of the country, and often, contributes to lower energy prices.

No. Wind turbines do not produce any greenhouse gas emissions, water discharges, or solid waste byproducts.

We aim to source our equipment from domestic suppliers.

Helicopter surveys are federally required protocol in the permitting process. By using helicopters, we are able to avoid disrupting natural habitats in our survey process. To prevent any unnecessary disruptions, the team is listening to feedback and increasing notifications ahead of surveys. The team is also marking and taking note of no-fly zones and sensitive areas. If you have any concerns, please reach out to your Silverthorn representative at Outreach@SilverthornRenewables.com.

All power generated by Silverthorn Renewables will be combined with the energy generated through other power plants that transmit their power from the local Colstrip substation for distribution.

No, Independent Power Producers (IPPs), like the teams developing Silverthorn Renewables cannot use eminent domain for projects. Silverthorn Renewables is not a regulated utility, and therefore cannot use eminent domain. We are private companies working directly with private landowners.

Tax abatements are a type of incentive offered by governments to businesses to encourage investment in the region. Tax abatements are designed to stimulate economic growth, attract investment, and promote specific industries or initiatives. Tax abatements can have positive economic impacts by attracting investment, creating jobs, and spurring economic growth. A portion of any tax savings received via the abatement process has to be allocated back to the county in the form of an Impact Fee under Montana law.

In the case of Silverthorn Renewables and other energy projects in Montana – developers and county leaders work together to decide upon a set amount for the Impact Fee that adequately defers some of the disruptions or “impacts” of new developments. The impact fee is also a critical part of the negotiation of tax abatements that allow both the county to keep local funding and the developer to have tax certainty for a set amount of time.

Yes, Silverthorn Wind LLC plans to set aside a bond for decommissioning the wind farm at the end of its useful life or, in the very unlikely scenario that the company goes out of business or is unable to continue operating the project. A decommissioning plan must be put in place with Montana DEQ within 12 months after the start of project operation and the project lease has included these requirements contractually for decommissioning. Provisions for removal of turbines and infrastructure, provisions for land restoration, and provisions for Silverthorn Wind to provide financial assurance, accessible by the Montana DEQ, to carry out the decommissioning are all captured as requirements in the lease.

Please reference the Montana DEQ website for further information.

https://deq.mt.gov/Energy/Programs/renewable

Through careful site selection, project design and use of best management practices during construction and operations, Silverthorn Wind is designed to minimize impacts to the natural environment, including wildlife and habitat.

Wind power is far less harmful to wildlife than traditional energy sources it displaces, including to birds and their critical habitats. Overall, wind causes less than 0.01% of all human-related bird deaths. Other causes include buildings (550 million), cars (80 million), pesticide poisoning, (67 million), and radio and cell towers (6.8 million).

Yes. The FAA has guidelines for air navigation in close proximity to wind farms. Silverthorn Wind will work closely with the FAA to ensure proper protocols are in place to avoid material impacts to air navigation in the area. FAA guidelines advise that aircraft should not navigate within 500 feet of a wind turbine both laterally and vertically. Should this impact a landowner’s ranch operations, the lease is structured to include any designated Restricted Areas where turbines cannot be sited.

No. For more than 40 years people have been living near more than 350,000 wind turbines operating globally and more than 50,000 wind turbines operating in North America. There is no scientific evidence indicating that wind turbines have caused any adverse health effects. Overall, health and medical agencies agree that the sound from wind turbines is not loud enough to cause hearing impairment and is not causally related to adverse effects.

Wind turbine sounds are not unique. Based on the levels and frequencies of the sounds, a multidisciplinary scientific advisory panel comprised of medical doctors, audiologists, and acoustical professionals concluded that there is no evidence the audible or sub-audible sounds emitted by wind turbines have any direct adverse physiological effects. The noise most wind turbines emit is around 40 to 45 decibels, which is similar to the noise from most refrigerators (40 decibels) and less than the noise from an average air conditioner (50 decibels).

In the rare case of a wind turbine fire, there are a set number of measures and steps taken by operators to prevent impacts. We can remotely turn wind turbines off and turbines are well equipped with fire suppression technology. There is also a measured set back around the turbine, should the fire spread beyond the engine. We will also coordinate with local emergency response in order to adequately respond to these events and minimize their impacts.

Studies show, if sited correctly there are no health impacts from wind turbine’s electromagnetic field (EMF). In fact, many common household electrical items have been shown to produce higher EMF levels.