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It was clear two months into 2015 that Montana solar power had taken a peculiar turn. NorthWestern Energy, the state’s largest utility, had received 22 hookup applications, about 19 more than it had ever received. By April, the applications numbered more than 100.

NorthWestern was feeling a little sunburned.

“There’s a whole shelf of solar projects that we do not have consumer demand for,” said Butch Larcombe, a NorthWestern spokesman. “We think we’ve got at least, possibly 130 solar projects. We’ve had 43 of them filed this year alone.”

Lacrombe’s comments came at the beginning of May, as NorthWestern was petitioning the state of Montana to pull the regulatory breaker on the burgeoning interest in solar. The utility wants Montana’s Public Service Commission to quickly cut in half the price NorthWestern is required to pay for small commercial solar projects, which would certainly eclipse the industry’s sudden rise.

Net metering gaining popularity in Montana It wasn’t even high noon, but already the new solar array atop L.P. Anderson Tire in Billing…

“Montana is currently very attractive to these developers because their profits are so much higher under the current rates set for NorthWestern,” explained John Hines, the utility’s vice president of supply. “Entering into these contracts at the current rate results in customers paying higher prices than they should for the energy.”