PacifiCorp owns and operates the Bigfork Hydroelectric Project FERC Project No. 2652, a run-of-river hydroelectric power generating facility located on the Swan River near Bigfork, Flathead County, Montana, and licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Project has a nameplate rating of 4.15 MW and produces approximately 28,000 MWh annually.
The Bigfork Hydroelectric Project received a new operating license from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission July 25, 2003.
Project facilities include:
- A 12‑foot‑high, 300‑foot‑long concrete diversion dam with a 235‑foot‑long spillway;
- An impoundment with 73 surface acres;
- A water intake structure and 1-mile‑long flow line which includes a 1,500‑foot‑long concrete flume, a 1,800‑foot‑long canal with asphalt lining, a 1,800‑foot‑long pipeline (10-foot-diameter), and a 1,860‑foot‑long concrete flume and canal that parallels the pipeline;
- A forebay structure that directs water into three steel penstocks;
- A brick powerhouse with three turbine/generator units with a total installed capacity of 4.15 MW;
- A decommissioned fish ladder on the right abutment (north end of the dam);
- A 400-foot-long overhead transmission line from the powerhouse to the switchyard; (8) switch gear and step‑up transformers in the switchyard; and (9) appurtenant facilities.
The Bigfork Project operates run-of-river diverting water from the Swan River, creating a 1-mile-long bypassed reach.
