USDA awards $1.3 million for renewable energy projects in rural Montana - Bozeman Daily Chronicle
USDA awards $1.3 million for renewable energy projects in rural Montana | Environment | bozemandailychronicle.com
LaVonne Stucky’s wool mill in Belgrade is almost completely powered by the sun.
Two solar arrays sit atop the wool mill’s roof. One heats the water that Stucky uses to clean and process wool, and the other harnesses power to run electricity and the handful of machines inside the shop.
The system generates some 45,024 kilowatt hours annually — enough energy to power four homes, according to project documents. The solar arrays are supplemented with propane, especially in winter months when there’s less sunshine to harness.
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: solar
Declining costs and government encouragement have resulted in a rapid increase in solar energy production in the United States over the past 10 years, although solar’s share remains small: 1.6 percent of all electricity generation in 2018. That rapid growth is projected to continue.