Home Solar Systems as easy as ABC Solar Power.

YAN BERRY, Billings Gazette

On the grid solar

In the last three years, residential solar panel users grew to nearly 1% of all energy customers in Montana. Most solar users in Montana stay on the power grid with a ‘net metering’ system.

Instead of an off-grid system, which stores extra energy in batteries, when solar panels create energy it is immediately used to power the home. But if no energy is being used, or a residence is using less than the panels generate, the excess power is sent to the power grid.

The exported energy shows up as an energy credit, which essentially gives the owner free power when the solar panels are not creating energy. Brad Van Wert, owner of Harvest Solar in Bozeman, told The Gazette the ideal solar array would allow homeowners to never pay for energy again.

“The term is net zero,” Van Wert said. “Depending on how much power someone uses, and the size of their roof, they could just be paying a membership bill for power.”

Update 2/2022

What Is Net Metering?

Net metering allows customers who generate some or all of their own power to offset their purchased power regardless of the time of day that they generate or use electricity. Because it doesn’t matter when the power is generated or used, the impact of generated kilowatt hours (kWh) is particularly helpful for solar power generated during the day and wind power generated at night.

Net metering has been one of the major drivers in growing small, distributed generation, especially for homeowners. Take, for example, a homeowner with solar panels mounted on the roof of their home. These panels send power into the grid all day while the owner is away at work. When the homeowner returns and turns on the lights, cooks dinner, or watches TV in the evening, the energy used is offset by the energy generated during the day. As a result, when the homeowner’s energy bill arrives at the end of the month, billable kWh can be close to zero. Sounds like a good deal, right?

Update 2/19: 

Huge Win for Residential Solar Power Installations! 

On Friday, Feb. 19th in the House Energy Committee, Rep. Brewster withdrew HB359 before it even had its hearing. Thank you to all of the Montanans who signed up to oppose the bill, submitted comments, and made phone calls. There were more than a thousand comments submitted in opposition to the bill! This loud and vocal opposition helped earn this huge victory for rooftop solar power installations. Onward! House Bill 359 being introduced by Rep. Brewster (R, Billings) will effectively destroy Montana’s solar industry and cost the state hundreds of well-paying jobs provided by local businesses across the state. The issue at hand is net metering, which is a billing mechanism that allows Montanans who invested in rooftop solar energy and small wind systems to get credits…

APR 2021

April 29, Update: HB448 was tabled in a Select Conference Committee meeting. MREA engineered a last-ditch effort to try and preserve the good parts of the bill, but that effort narrowly failed. The bill was then tabled, meaning it is dead. This is ultimately a great victory! The hijacked version would have been terrible for solar energy in Montana - for solar owners and consumers, as well as for our state's solar power professionals. We are both thrilled and relieved that we were able to stop the bad version from moving forward. Thank you to all those who helped and supported us during this bill's long and tumultuous journey this session!

Update by Shaina Mishkin 4/23/19

Solar panels are good for the environment, but are they good for the value of your home? A new study suggests the answer is yes — although whether it's enough to actually cover the cost of the panels depends on where you live.

Americans are investing in solar power, installing enough systems to power 12.3 million homes in 2018, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association, a trade group. But whether or not those solar panels pay off depends on a lot of factors, from the cost of electricity in your area to the shape of your roof. One of those factors: their impact on your home's value.

On average, solar panels raise a home's value by 4.1% across the U.S., according to a new Zillow analysis of homes across the country— that's a boost of $9,274 on a $226,300 home, according to the study.\

Jim Hilger, the Roofing and Solar Blog

The residential solar energy credit is a tax credit that can be applied to you federal income taxes for a percentage of the overall cost of your solar photovoltaic (PV) system. There are other credits available for other types of renewable energy however for our purpose we will stick to those incentives that apply to solar or solar panels. 

Your tax credit should be applied to the tax year that the system was installed and placed in service or it started to generate electricity for your home. Typically your date of installation is sufficient. 

Recently congress passed an extension of the ITC that provides homeowners with a 26% tax credit for systems installed during the years 2020-2022. From there it is expected that the credit will be reduced to 22% with the credit expected to retire in the year 2024. There is no maximum amount that may be claimed.

Solaria, March 2022  

2022 is the last year the Federal Solar Tax Credit will be at 26% for residential properties. Starting in 2023, the credit will drop to 22%, and by 2024 the credit will be eliminated. We’ve said it before, and we will keep saying it— the time is NOW for solar energy.  

Solar can be an expensive investment and maybe you’ve been putting it off in hopes that prices will drop. While the price of solar power installations has dropped considerably compared to ten years ago, the current rate of decline has hit somewhat of a plateau. That means the savings associated with the Federal Solar Tax Credit, also called the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), are significant and something you do not want to miss out on. 

See How Much You Can Save With Solaria Solar Panels

Use the Solaria Solar Savings Calculator to learn how much money you can save on your electric bill using Solaria high power solar panels for home energy. Reduce your energy bills and power your home and EV with beautiful, efficient and high energy solar panels by Solaria.

Have questions about where to start with solar? Schedule a call with one of our Solar Experts!