Washington state utility Puget Sound Energy (PSE) announced that construction has commenced on the Battle Butte Solar Project, a 130‑megawatt photovoltaic farm in Montana.

The solar farm is situated on the high plains near the Rapelje community in Stillwater County, roughly 15 miles north of Columbus, and will occupy 1,400 acres of flat, open ranch land.

Battle Butte is co‑located with PSE’s 248‑MW Beaver Creek wind farm and will use existing transmission capacity on the Colstrip line, which was activated in summer 2025.

The project is expected to generate enough electricity to meet the annual consumption of about 20,000 homes.

Commissioning is targeted for mid‑2028, aligning with Washington’s Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) requirements that PSE must meet to achieve its clean‑energy goals.

PSE projects the construction phase will create roughly 250 jobs and generate local tax revenue for Stillwater County.

Senior Vice President Craig Pospisil highlighted the project as a critical component of PSE’s clean‑energy strategy and noted the utility’s ongoing relationship with the Stillwater County community.

PSE, which supplies electricity and natural gas to the Puget Sound region of western Washington, completed the removal of coal from its generation mix at the end of 2025.