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Gridcensus

Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412

Federal Excess

Cascade County, Montana · WECC

DC Readiness
51.2
Fair / 100

At a glance

Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 is a federal excess datacenter candidate site in Cascade County, Montana, scoring 51.2/100 DC Readiness — 109th of 114 scored sites in the county. It sits in the WECC grid region and the NORTHWESTERN ENERGY LLC - (MT) service territory, where interconnection has averaged 1.1 years from request to operation.

Power & interconnection

UtilityNORTHWESTERN ENERGY LLC - (MT)investor ownedfavorable to large load · terms ≥ 50 MW

Speed to power

Interconnection outlookFavorable
≈ 1.1 yrs typical interconnection wait

Shorter queues and healthier completion here — a faster path to energization than the national norm.

ISO / RTO regionWECC
Queue depth170
Avg queue wait1.1 yrs
Recent queue wait1.1 yrs
Completion rate16%
Withdrawal rate84%

Connectivity

Nearest IXPMontana Opticom
IXP distance123.2 mi
Fiber providers9
Fiber coverage37.9%

Site characteristics

Acreage8 ac
Buildable load (est.)~3–8 MWland-based
Former useAll Other

Risk & environment

Environmental constraintNone (0/100)
Water stress (WRI)Medium-High
Wetlands (NWI)—
Critical habitat—
Superfund nearby—
Hazard sub-score88/100

Location context

Nearest datacenterDatacenter 00758426349
DC distance117.7 mi
County hazard (FEMA NRI)Very Low (12)
DC tax incentiveYes (property_tax_abatement)
Commercial electricity8.22¢/kWh
Industrial electricity6.45¢/kWh
Cooling degree days400
Heating degree days7,600
Land price / acre$1,234

Regulatory climate

Moderatestate posture · as of 2026-08

No notable statewide DC restriction on record; confirm local zoning and utility tariffs.

DC tax incentiveNo / suspended

Incentive detail: New/expanding industry tax abatement available for DC construction.

Site location

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≥ 7560–7540–60≤ 40
This site + 8 nearby

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How does Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 compare with other sites in Cascade County?

Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 ranks 109th of 114 scored candidate sites in Cascade County. Its 51.2/100 is roughly in line with the county average of 53.3. It is roughly in line with the Montana average of 54.3 and roughly in line with the national average of 53.2.

Against the Montana average, its strongest sub-score is natural hazard (88 vs 88) and its weakest is power availability (30 vs 37). Power and speed to power each carry 20% of the composite score, fiber 12%, water 7% and hazard 6%.

How close is Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 to power, fiber and other datacenters?

For connectivity, the nearest internet exchange facility is Montana Opticom at 123.2 miles. 9 fiber providers report service at the location in FCC broadband data. The closest operating datacenter on record is Datacenter 00758426349, 117.7 miles away.

What are the flood, water and hazard risks at Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412?

At the county level, FEMA's National Risk Index rates Cascade County "Very Low".

Full DC Readiness breakdown

All 13 weighted sub-scores (0–100) behind the composite DC Readiness score.

Power availability20%
30
Speed to power20%
63
Fiber connectivity12%
60
Energy cost10%
50
Water risk7%
56
Natural hazard6%
88
Buildability7%
50
Labor market4%
50
DC cluster4%
20
Land / acreage3%
41
Construction cost3%
50
Gas pipeline2%
10
Tax incentive1%
100
Climate / cooling1%
100

Nearby comparable sites

Other scored datacenter candidate sites in Cascade County, ranked by DC Readiness.

Sites near Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412
SiteTypeVoltageCapacityQueue waitScore
UNKNOWN206325Substation-Adjacent230 kV300 MW1.1 yrs62.5
GREAT FALLS (RAINBOW)Substation-Adjacent230 kV300 MW1.1 yrs62.0
DUTTON PUMPSubstation-Adjacent230 kV300 MW1.1 yrs62.0
UNKNOWN206326Substation-Adjacent230 kV300 MW1.1 yrs61.9
GREAT FALLS (RAINBOW)Substation-Adjacent230 kV300 MW1.1 yrs61.3
MORONY DAMSubstation-Adjacent115 kV100 MW1.1 yrs58.1
TAP206227Substation-Adjacent138 kV100 MW1.1 yrs58.0
UNKNOWN204147Substation-Adjacent115 kV100 MW1.1 yrs57.7

Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412: common questions

What is the DC Readiness score of Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412?

Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 scores 51.2/100 on the GridCensus DC Readiness scale, rated fair. It ranks 109th of 114 scored sites in Cascade County. The Cascade County average is 53.3 and the Montana average is 54.3.

Which electric utility serves Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412?

NORTHWESTERN ENERGY LLC - (MT) (investor owned) holds the retail service territory that contains the site; its holding company is NORTHWESTERN ENERGY.

What grid region is Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 in?

Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 is in the WECC region. Projects interconnecting there have averaged a 1.1-year wait from queue request to operation.

How far is Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412 from an internet exchange?

The nearest internet exchange facility is Montana Opticom, about 123.2 miles away; 9 fiber providers report service at the location.

Related pages

About this data

Source: GridCensus composite of HIFLD transmission and substation data, EIA, FEMA National Risk Index, FCC broadband data, PeeringDB and ISO interconnection queues, as published October 10, 2026 — GridCensus refreshes it monthly. See the methodology for how records are matched, cleaned and scored.

Cite as: GridCensus, “Great Falls at 47.450, -111.412, Cascade County, MT”, https://gridcensus.com/datacenter-sites/montana/cascade-county/great-falls-918657c6 (data as of October 10, 2026).

Dataset updated . Screening estimates derived from public data sources.

Figures are screening estimates derived from public infrastructure data. Catalogued capacity reflects theoretical candidate capacity, not deliverable or committed interconnection. Confirm all values with the utility, ISO, and on-the-ground due diligence.

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