Climate Connections: Bet on solar power
Abby Huseth
It’s been a typical busy summer week here in Missoula: from the peaceful No Kings rally which drew more than 6,000 downtown last Saturday (a record crowd at Caras Park), to the annual Juneteenth celebration yesterday and Pride festivities this weekend, I’m proud to live in such a vibrant, caring community.
It’s also been a typical busy summer week at my house. It’s the first official week after school’s out, so my kids are in camp. Out-of-town family is descending on us for their first Montana visit. Most exciting of all, this week we’re getting solar panels installed on our house! By the time the crew is done, we’ll have 19 panels capable of producing about 8,000 kilowatt-hours per year – enough to supply our family’s entire annual electricity needs.
It feels fitting to be going solar on the summer solstice, as we celebrate the longest day of the year and all that this season of abundant sunlight brings. That auspicious timing is just one reason why I’m excited about this final step in our process of transitioning to an all-electric home, powered by clean solar energy. Plan to join me and the Climate Smart Missoula team at our upcoming Solar Info Session on July 1st to learn more about the process of going solar on your own home or business!
My family’s story – why we’re electrifying and going solar
Here in Missoula and across our country, our homes and buildings are responsible for about half of all climate-warming emissions. Because “natural” gas is primarily composed of methane – a greenhouse gas that traps 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide in the short term – switching from gas to electric appliances has an outsized positive climate impact. Electrifying and going solar are both great climate solutions – but putting them together is the sweet spot when it comes to climate and financial benefits.
That was our family’s long-term goal when we moved into our house a year and a half ago. We planned to do it in phases, since we didn’t have the cash to make the upgrades we wanted right away. We started with our gas water heater last fall, replacing it with a super-efficient heat pump water heater (and taking advantage of a great local rebate – it’s still available!). Then we worked with SBS Solar, a local installer, and got on their schedule this summer. The last element of our all-electric plan, a heat pump furnace, would have to wait.
Or so we thought. But while breaking ground on the ADU my parents are building in our backyard, our gas line turned out to be right in the way. We decided to turn off the gas permanently, and we were able to get a loan for both solar and the heat pump through Clearwater Credit Union. Our new heat pump will be up & running just in time to keep our house cool this summer. (Did I mention heat pumps are awesome because they heat and cool?!) That cooling ability will be especially helpful on days that are both hot and smoky, enabling us to have clean and cool indoor air.
Fighting rising energy rates
There’s yet another reason why I’m so excited about solar. Over the last several years, NorthWestern Energy’s rates have continued to climb. During their most recent “rate case” which concluded earlier this week, NorthWestern sought approval from the Public Service Commission for further increases: by July 1st, customers could be paying an incredible 39% more than they did in August 2022. Regardless of the rate case outcome, installing solar is one way our family can take back some control over our energy costs and insulate ourselves from future increases.
Solar success and challenges
Thanks to extended and expanded tax credits in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, over the past couple years the movement toward electrification has taken off. And solar continues to be a massive success story: the U.S. installed a record 50 gigawatts of solar capacity in 2024.
Unfortunately, backwards politics threaten to slow that growth. Frustratingly, Governor Gianforte just vetoed SB 188, which passed the Montana legislature with bipartisan support and would have enabled shared solar (AKA community solar) development and increased access to solar for many more Montanans.
Solar is also under threat from Trump administration policies and tariffs, and now from Congress’ proposed budget bill, which would end the IRA’s clean energy and efficiency credits that were supposed to be in effect until 2032. Talk about making it hard for families and businesses to plan ahead – let alone local solar installers whose livelihoods are on the line.
There’s still time to let our members of Congress know we expect them to defend these important tax credits that help Montana residents, businesses and nonprofits reduce their energy bills. Please call your senators and representatives today!
I don’t have a crystal ball, but this could be a really good year to go solar if you’re able - and consider taking steps towards electrification, too. Join Climate Smart Missoula for our Solar Info Session on July 1st from 5-6:30pm at Goodworks Place where we’ll share the latest updates on policy and everything you need to know about going solar.
Despite current challenges to solar, we’re not betting against it. Growth may slow temporarily here in the U.S., but it’s not going away. Solar – from rooftops to massive solar farms - is sprouting in every corner of the globe, because it’s cheap, abundant, reliable, and easy to build. And that will only become truer as energy storage costs keep dropping.
Let’s bet on solar in our community, too, by adding it on our own homes and buildings, supporting local solar development, and continuing to advocate for policy that doesn’t stand in the way. And of course, by celebrating the power of the sun this summer solstice in this beautiful place we call home.
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Abby Huseth is the Deputy Director at Climate Smart Missoula. Climate Smart Missoula brings this Climate Connections column to you twice per month. Learn more about our work, support our efforts, and sign up for our e-newsletter at missoulaclimate.org.
More upcoming local climate happenings:
- June 27: Home Resilience Workshop. Join Climate Smart Missoula, the Home Upgrade Hub and the Office of Emergency Management for an engaging morning all about getting wildfire and heat ready! Details & RSVP here.
- July 19: Volunteer to be a Heat Watch monitor. Join this 1-day citizen science project to collect data on local hot spots. Details & interest form here.