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Whitefish solar project powers homes, offsets peak demand
By JULIE ENGLER,
2026-09-23The sun understood the assignment and shone brightly over Monegan Road on Wednesday, Sept. 16 as Flathead Electric Cooperative, Bonneville Environmental Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the city of Whitefish and several citizens celebrated the completion of a new solar project. “This is an exciting day for us because it reflects the kind of community driven project that this board wants to support – one shaped by local ideas, strong partnerships and meaningful benefits for our members,” said Stacey Schnebel, Flathead Electric Cooperative board president. The solar array, built on city land near the wastewater treatment plant, is made up of 448 solar panels that each generate about 700 kWh per year. The project is expected to generate enough power for 21 average homes. A battery system on site stores energy for peak demand. People may purchase a panel’s power generation for $700 per panel, which will result in a reduction on their power bill by about $43 per year, per panel. The solar array in Whitefish is the third community solar project Flathead Electric Coop has built. The first was built in 2015 off Whitefish Stage Road and the second, in 2018 in Kalispell. “This project came online earlier
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