Nye Substation

To allow NorthWestern Energy to upgrade rural transmission lines from 50kV to 100kV in Montana’s more rural Carbon and Stillwater counties, the utility serving customers in Montana, South Dakota, and Nebraska has planned a 10-year project that includes multiple phases. Phase One included construction of a new substation in a remote area close to an active platinum and palladium mine.

To enable the utility to provide additional capacity for growth in this area, Barnard constructed a greenfield 100/50kV substation in support of NorthWestern Energy’s Carbon-Stillwater Electric Transmission Infrastructure Project as part of Phase One. The remote site in the Beartooth Mountains of southcentral Montana posed several weather and geotechnical challenges. Construction began in spring 2017. Work included foundations, grounding, conduit, cable trench, structural steel, equipment installation, bus work, control/power cable, station service, security, and finish grading. When an accompanying Phase One new 53-mile 100kV transmission line is completed (built by others), the substation will be transformed. Ultimately, this location will become a 100kV switchyard as it is entirely built to 100kV.

Nye Substation