MT Net Metering

The MT Net Metering governs how Montana credits excess solar generation sent back to the grid, one of the state's DSIRE-tracked solar policies. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Retail rate credit. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.

That baseline is slower than most states, which raises the stakes for every incentive on the table. Montana averages 5 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 11.8¢/kWh, producing an estimated 8,760 kWh/year and $1,034 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,800. That baseline already implies a 16.3-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $9,050 before this incentive - every dollar this net metering delivers compresses that payback further.

A handful of other levers are worth checking alongside this one. Montana has 4 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like MT Solar Property Tax Exemption, MT Residential Renewable Energy Tax Credit. The state's net-metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.