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Gridcensus

Hauser

Brownfield

Helena, Lewis and Clark, Montana · NorthWestern Energy (MT Hydro)

Legacy capacity
12
MW

Hauser is a former hydro site in Helena, Lewis and Clark, Montana, retired 2023-09-01. Retired generation sites are among the most attractive datacenter redevelopment targets: the existing interconnection was sized for roughly 12 MW of generation, so the grid hookup, transmission rights, and often cooling-water access are already in place — collapsing the speed-to-power timeline versus a greenfield build.

Former use & capacity

Former useformer hydro site
Site typeretired_plant
Existing capacity12 MW
Retirement date2023-09-01
EIA plant ID#2185

Grid hookup & remediation

Nearest substation0.0 mi
Operator address7150 Hauser Dam Road, Helena, MT, 59602
Why this site is datacenter-attractive: a former hydro site of this scale leaves behind a high-capacity grid interconnection that a new load can re-use, frequently shaving years off the interconnection queue. Retired-plant sites also tend to be already zoned for heavy industrial use with established road, rail, and water infrastructure.

Site conditions & market — Lewis and Clark County

County-level intelligence for this site's location — the power economics, water, hazard, connectivity, and workforce a developer screens before ever visiting. Assembled from FEMA NRI, BLS QCEW, FCC BDC, USGS water-use, and EIA.

Market & workforce

Total employment (laborshed)28,110
IT / tech employment99
Construction employment2,173
Land value$1,762/acre
Datacenter tax incentiveproperty_tax_abatement

Power economics & interconnection

Commercial power rate8.21¢/kWh
Industrial power rate5.79¢/kWh
Load growth (FERC-714)0.4%

Water & cooling

Water stressMedium-High
Public water supply7.9 MGD
Industrial water use0.3 MGD
Cooling degree days400
Mean annual temp42°F

Hazard, flood & connectivity

FEMA risk index12.0 · Very Low
Fiber providers8 · 32% served

County-level context — address-level utility offerings and flood zoning vary within the county. Confirm site-specific service with the utility and a Phase I ESA.

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Nearby datacenter candidate sites

Scored candidate sites near Hauser, ranked by DC Readiness.

Candidate sites near Hauser
SiteTypeStateCountyVoltageCapacityQueue waitScore
OZ Lewis and ClarkGreenfieldMTLewis and Clark——1.1 yrs62.5
UNKNOWN207826Substation-AdjacentMTBroadwater County115 kV100 MW3.3 yrs57.2
UNKNOWN204437Substation-AdjacentMTBroadwater County115 kV100 MW3.3 yrs57.2
TAP205602Substation-AdjacentMTBroadwater County115 kV100 MW3.3 yrs56.7
UNKNOWN203083Substation-AdjacentMTLewis and Clark County69 kV50 MW3.3 yrs56.5
UNKNOWN204434Substation-AdjacentMTLewis and Clark County100 kV50 MW3.3 yrs56.2
UNKNOWN207825Substation-AdjacentMTBroadwater County69 kV50 MW3.3 yrs56.0
TAP204492Substation-AdjacentMTLewis and Clark County69 kV50 MW3.3 yrs55.9

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Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.

Brownfield attributes are derived from EIA retired-generator and EPA public data. Existing capacity reflects the retired plant's historical nameplate, not deliverable interconnection for a new load. Confirm reusable interconnection rights, remediation status, and site availability with the utility, ISO, and current owner.

Go deeper than the public screen

Every site and score for Hauser, Helena, Lewis and Clark, Montana is free to browse. Pro adds Watchtower on 25 sites, alerts when new candidate sites, datacenters or interconnection-queue requests appear in your markets, score and capacity history, and CSV export. Enterprise adds team seats, weekly data files for all 147,272 sites, the REST API and an MCP server for AI tools.