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Montana, United States

374GWh
every year, from one 325-watt panel on each of 905,804 buildings.

What that is equal to

🏠 35.6 thousand
homes powered for a year
at the US average of 10,500 kWh per household
🌍 139 thousand t
CO₂ avoided annually
displacing grid power at 0.371 kg CO₂e/kWh (EPA eGRID)
🚗 30.2 thousand
cars taken off the road
an average passenger vehicle emits 4.6 t CO₂e a year
⚡ 1.07 billion
electric vehicle miles
at roughly 0.35 kWh per mile

The pay-off

It pays for itself here. A panel on this roof delivers electricity at 9.3¢ a kWh against a local price of 14.7¢ — 37% cheaper than local power. The install is repaid after 15.4 years, inside the panel's 25-year life.
9.3¢ vs 14.7¢
cost per kWh: this panel vs the grid
levelised over 25 years including 0.5%/yr degradation
$815 million
to fit every building here
905,804 panels at $900 installed each
15.4 years
to break even
saving $54.9 million a year area-wide at today's price

Assumes $900 to install one 325 W panel — hardware, mounting, microinverter, electrical work, labour and permitting — repaid only by the electricity it avoids buying. No subsidies, tax credits, net-metering premium, financing cost or future price rises are counted, and the figure is undiscounted. Electricity price is the MT residential average (EIA, May 2026). A single panel is unusually expensive per watt because it carries a whole array's fixed costs, which is why these numbers look worse than rooftop solar generally does.

How this is calculated

Buildings with roofs905,804
×  Panel rating325 W
×  Annual yield per panel here412.8 kWh
Annual generation373,929,633 kWh
Assumptions and limitations
  • Yield is specific to this location: 412.8 kWh per panel per year, from NASA POWER climatology transposed onto a tilted roof plane. The same panel makes roughly 596 kWh in Phoenix and 265 kWh in Anchorage.
  • Assumes a south-facing roof at a typical residential pitch, with a ~22% total system loss for soiling, shading, wiring, inverter, and heat.
  • Counts every above-ground structure with a footprint of at least 20 m², so garages and outbuildings are excluded but barns and sheds of real size are not. Building data is machine-derived and imperfect.
  • No account is taken of roof orientation, obstructions, structural condition, or whether the owner wants a panel.

Counties in Montana

Yellowstone County · 40.2 GWhFlathead County · 29.5 GWhGallatin County · 28.4 GWhMissoula County · 25.6 GWhCascade County · 23.2 GWhLewis and Clark County · 21.8 GWhRavalli County · 17.1 GWhLake County · 11.3 GWhLincoln County · 9 GWhSilver Bow County · 10.2 GWhPark County · 7.92 GWhFergus County · 7.17 GWhSanders County · 5.85 GWhChouteau County · 6.43 GWhHill County · 6.23 GWhCarbon County · 6.49 GWhMadison County · 6.02 GWhStillwater County · 5.04 GWhValley County · 4.83 GWhCuster County · 4.93 GWhGlacier County · 4.51 GWhBig Horn County · 4.96 GWhRichland County · 4.77 GWhJefferson County · 4.54 GWhBeaverhead County · 4.67 GWhRoosevelt County · 4.05 GWhRosebud County · 4.13 GWhTeton County · 3.84 GWhDawson County · 3.9 GWhBlaine County · 3.51 GWhPondera County · 3.21 GWhDeer Lodge County · 3.31 GWhBroadwater County · 3.27 GWhPowell County · 3.2 GWhSheridan County · 3.18 GWhMusselshell County · 3.11 GWhPhillips County · 2.97 GWhToole County · 2.89 GWhJudith Basin County · 2.48 GWhSweet Grass County · 2.46 GWhMineral County · 1.99 GWhGranite County · 2.16 GWhFallon County · 2.18 GWhPowder River County · 1.99 GWhDaniels County · 1.85 GWhMcCone County · 1.79 GWhWheatland County · 1.7 GWhCarter County · 1.7 GWhGarfield County · 1.54 GWhMeagher County · 1.47 GWhLiberty County · 1.24 GWhPrairie County · 1.04 GWhWibaux County · 944 MWhGolden Valley County · 755 MWhTreasure County · 730 MWhPetroleum County · 547 MWh

Metro areas in Montana

Billings, MT · 51.7 GWhKalispell, MT · 29.5 GWhBozeman, MT · 28.4 GWhMissoula, MT · 25.6 GWhHelena, MT · 26.4 GWhGreat Falls, MT · 23.2 GWhButte-Silver Bow, MT · 10.2 GWh

Places like Montana

Nevada · 651 GWhIdaho · 490 GWhMaine · 350 GWhSouth Dakota · 319 GWhNorth Dakota · 279 GWhNew Hampshire · 256 GWh