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 19 generation facilities across 6 states, which produce over 13,000 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 nation’s largest private renewable energy companies, with a proven track record achieved through local and intentional engagement and support in the communities where we have a presence. Headquartered in the United States, Pattern Energy is in the business of building opportunity and that work starts with listening to local communities, developing relationships on the ground, and tailoring benefit programs to each community. Our business is guided by commitments to safety, serving our customers, protecting the environment, strengthening communities, and creating shared value.

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.

Construction of the wind project will inject millions of dollars into the economy while utilizing local materials and creating local jobs. During the approximately 18-month construction period, it is estimated that the wind project will result in 450 – 600 new construction jobs, including heavy equipment operators, electricians, laborers, and others. After construction, 12 – 16 full-time local jobs will be created by the wind project to operate and maintain the wind and solar facilities. New jobs during both the construction and operation phases create increased earnings for the county as well as increased demand for local vendors and services, including lodging, food services, gas, groceries, and others.

Yes! Silverthorn Wind and our contractors take our commitments to the local communities where we build our projects very seriously. We will actively seek out local vendors and job applicants during development and hold a job fair prior to 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 (EPC) 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.

The development period (prior to construction of the wind farm) includes many important steps, including obtaining land rights, collecting meteorological data, performing environmental studies, and obtaining local permits, to name a few. This can typically take anywhere from two to five years and even longer in some cases. We are currently targeting the commencement of construction as early as 2024. Depending on factors such as seasonal conditions and final project design, construction is expected to last between 1-2 years.

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

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. Additionally, the cost of electricity from wind energy is predictable and stable as there are no fuel costs, unlike conventional forms of energy where the cost of fuel can fluctuate significantly over time.

The project is not receiving government grants or other direct payments from taxpayers. Like nearly all infrastructure in the US (including Oil and Gas), the project’s owner will receive federal tax credits for a portion of the project value. For wind energy this is called the Production Tax Credit.

Wind turbines in Montana are expected to generate energy between 80-90% of the time in an average year. Wind forecasting technology makes wind energy easier to predict and more reliable than ever before. Electric grids are designed to handle variability in both demand and supply. Because of the natural variations in demand, the electric grid always has more power available than it needs in the form of reserves. During a power plant outage – whether a conventional plant or a wind plant – backup is provided by the entire interconnected utility system.

No power plant operates 100% of the time. There are periods when power plants shut down for maintenance and repairs and times when resources run low or unexpected outages occur. At some conventional power plants, the entire plant may have to be shut down for repairs, whereas wind farm maintenance takes place one turbine at a time, without having to shut down the entire plant.

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.

Scientific evidence to date, including the twenty-five peer-reviewed studies referenced in “Summary of Main Conclusions Reached in 25 Reviews of the Research Literature on Wind Farms and Health” compiled by Professor Simon Chapman and Teresa Simonetti of the Sydney University Medical School, indicates that at common residential setback distances there is no direct health risk from wind turbine noise, including low-frequency noise and infrasound.

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.