Read the full stored bill text
****
69th Legislature 2025 SB 283.1
- 1 - Authorized Print Version – SB 283
1 SENATE BILL NO. 283
2 INTRODUCED BY B. PHALEN, V. RICCI, B. LER, J. SCHILLINGER, L. DEMING, B. USHER, G. KMETZ, T.
3 TEZAK
4
5 A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: “AN ACT GENERALLY REVISING WIND GENERATION FACILITY LAWS;
6 ESTABLISHING WIND TURBINE TOWER HEIGHT AND LIGHTING REQUIREMENTS; PROVIDING
7 DEFINITIONS; AND PROVIDING A DELAYED EFFECTIVE DATE.”
8
9 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
10
11 NEW SECTION. Section 1. Definitions. As used in [sections 1 through 3], unless the context clearly
12 indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply:
13 (1) "Aircraft detecting lighting system" means sensor-based lights that utilize radar that activate
14 when an aircraft enters the light activation volume and deactivates when an aircraft departs.
15 (2) "Turbine rotor hub" means a device attached to a wind turbine tower's drivetrain that holds the
16 turbine's blades and the turbine's hub together.
17 (3) "Wind generation facility" means any combination of a physically connected wind turbine or
18 turbines, associated prime movers, and other associated property, including appurtenant land and
19 improvements and personal property, that are normally operated together to produce electric power from wind
20 and that have a nameplate capacity greater than or equal to 25 megawatts.
21 (4) "Wind turbine tower" means the structural base of a wind turbine.
22
23 NEW SECTION. Section 2. Wind turbine tower height requirements. (1) Beginning on January 1,
24 2026, a wind turbine tower constructed or installed may not exceed 350 feet in height, as measured from the
25 natural ground level at the base of the tower to the middle of the turbine rotor hub.
26 (2) This section does not apply to wind turbine towers constructed or installed prior to January 1,
27 2026.
28
****
69th Legislature 2025 SB 283.1
- 2 - Authorized Print Version – SB 283
1 NEW SECTION. Section 3. Wind turbine lighting requirements. (1) Beginning on January 1, 2026,
2 a wind turbine and its components may not be excessively lit, except for the minimum requirements set forth by
3 the federal aviation administration.
4 (2) Beginning on January 1, 2026, federal aviation administration-approved aircraft detection
5 lighting systems must be installed on all wind generation facilities that contain wind turbine towers exceeding
6 200 feet in height, as measured from the natural ground level at the base of the tower to the middle of the
7 turbine rotor hub.
8
9 NEW SECTION. Section 4. Codification instruction. [Sections 1 through 3] are intended to be
10 codified as an integral part of Title 75, chapter 26, and the provisions of Title 75, chapter 26, apply to [sections
11 1 through 3].
12
13 NEW SECTION. Section 5. Effective date. [This act] is effective January 1, 2026.
14 - END -