The Lewis and Clark Brewing Company is changing the way it gets some of its energy on Earth Day.
Around 275 solar panels are being installed on the brewery's roof, which will produce 150 kilowatt hours of electricity, or about two megawatts annually. The overall power bill for the complex is expected to drop by 30-40%.
This will be one of Helena's largest solar arrays, and the brewery even has plans to back-feed some of its produced energy into the power grid.
Improvements made to the facility are using funds from a 1.2 trillion dollar infrastructure bill signed into law back in 2021.
"Well, I think it's super important for a number of reasons," says Max Pigman, owner of Lewis and Clark Brewing Company. "Obviously, it makes an impact on the environment. But from a financial standpoint, let's face it, electricity costs continue to rise over the years. By having this whole package that's going to be rated for 30 years, power is going to continue to go up, and we're going to be saving that much more every time there's a power increase."
Around 200 panels are already up as of April 22nd, and the project is set to be completed in three weeks.
