Solar power in Colorado
What has driven the rising popularity of Colorado’s solar development has been their renewable portfolio standard (RPS). The state’s RPS set a goal to have all investor-owned utilities generate 30% of their electricity from renewable energy by 2020. The RPS also pushed utilities to provide hefty rebates and incentives in order to help reach their required goal.
Now is the best time to go solar in Colorado in order to receive utility incentives and the federal tax credit. Combine those incentives with the state’s net metering law, and you have a great foundation to go solar in Colorado.
Compare solar quotes from the top solar companies in Colorado
Colorado solar power facts
$2.73 watt
Average cost: 5kW solar power system
?8 Years 3 Months
Average payback time
$59,621
Average lifetime savings
?5¢ kWh
Levelized cost of solar energy
22¢ kWh
If you don't get solar
?15,968 kWh
Annual power production
Cash flow graph based on cash purchase of a 10.88kW system
This 10.88kW system would offset 100% of your energy usage if your typical monthly bill in Colorado is $164, however, your situation may vary so try our solar calculator to get a result tailored to you.
6
Solar companies in Colorado that provide pricing through the SolarEstimate marketplace.
How much can solar panels save you in Colorado
Average total cost of solar panel installation in Colorado
| System Size | Cash purchase After 26% solar tax credit |
Financed purchase After 26% solar tax credit |
|---|---|---|
| 3kw | $6,371 | $6,881 |
| 4kw | $8,288 | $8,951 |
| 5kw | $10,101 | $10,909 |
| 6kw | $11,855 | $12,803 |
| 7kw | $13,468 | $14,545 |
| 8kw | $14,978 | $16,176 |
| 9kw | $16,450 | $17,766 |
| 10kw | $17,760 | $19,181 |
How much do solar panels cost in Colorado?
$2.73 per watt
Cash purchased solar system
Before 26% solar tax credit
$3.22 per watt
Financed solar system
Before 26% solar tax credit
$16.9¢ /kWh
Lease/PPA
Ave 15 year term, 2.5% price escalator
What are the pros and cons of installing solar panels in Colorado?
The advantages of installing solar panels in Colorado are that there are both utility-based incentives and the federal tax credit. The state also requires utilities to offer net metering, which will help you get the most savings from your solar system.
And with above-average power costs, the overall return on investment for an installation of residential solar panels in Colorado is slightly higher than you would see in other states.
SolarPowerRocks provides a great breakdown of solar incentives and policy for each state within the US.
The disadvantage of installing solar panels is that incentives are diminishing as Colorado gets closer to its 30% renewable energy target.
If you own a home in Colorado, you’ll be kicking yourself in a few years that you didn’t install solar panels while all of these great incentives were still around.
Enter your details to calculate the potential costs and savings you can expect to see when installing solar panels for your home.
Best solar companies in Colorado
Find local city information
Find local information for cities in Colorado
Compare solar quotes from the top solar companies in Colorado
Best brands of solar panels
To find the best brands of solar panels you can use America's most trusted solar panel comparison and reviews website, SolarReviews.
However, reviews of solar panels can be a bit meaningless because most consumer owners have not had any issues and so while solar company reviews are very important when choosing solar installers they are of less use when choosing solar panels.
For more information to help you make an informed decision about this topic, I would recommend this article about buying solar panels.
How much electricity will solar panels produce in Colorado
Solar panels produce different amounts of energy in different locations.
Around the Denver area solar panels installed on a south-facing 27-degree pitch roof will typically produce:
1,150kWh
per year per 1kW of peak DC
(direct current) capacity
For more information about how your location, roof direction, and roof tilt affects solar power production use the solar panels calculator and enter your zip code.
I want to buy a solar panel kit and install it myself
What rebates, solar tax credits and other solar incentives are available in Colorado
Renewable Portfolio Standard
Colorado’s RPS has been primarily responsible for fueling the fire for solar incentives. The state set an ambitious goal of having utilities derive 30% of their electricity from renewable sources by 2020.
Of that, 3% needs to come from distributed energy sources, like residential solar panels. The standards are met by collecting renewable energy credits (RECs) and solar renewable energy credits (SRECs).
Xcel Energy, one of the largest utilities in the state, offers a Solar Rewards Program in order to meet their RPS standards. Through this program, Xcel Energy will pay you $0.005 per kilowatt hour (kWh) in exchange for your solar renewable energy credits.
You can find more about this program by checking out Xcel’s website here. A similar program is offered by Black Hills Energy.
Net metering in Colorado
Net metering allows you to get credit for excess energy your solar system exports to the grid. Colorado requires investor-owned utilities to offer their customers full 1-to-1 net metering, which means you will receive the full retail amount for each excess kWh you export to the grid.
Tax exemptions
Colorado homeowners save big on their property taxes when they install residential solar panels. Historically, installing a solar system on one’s property would cause an increase in property taxes, however, the property tax exemption exempts 100% of the assessed costs associated with the solar system from the homeowner’s property taxes.
Not to mention, through the state’s sales and use tax exemption, solar system equipment is cleared of state sales tax, leading to even more savings.
RENU Loan Program
Colorado does not have any state-based incentives, but they do offer a state-funded loan program. The RENU loan program has loans available from $500 to $50,000 to help finance solar projects. These loans have low fixed interest rates with variable terms ranging from 3-15 years.
Colorado Solar Calculator
Regardless of what you want to know about the economics of installing solar panels for your home or business in Colorado, we have a solar calculator that can show you exactly the information you require.
What you can find out about installing solar panels in Colorado using our full monthly solar calculator
This solar calculator requires you to input your address, utility company, your average monthly power spend - It tells you:
- What size solar system do you need?
- Answers the question of How many solar panels do I need?
- How many square feet of roof space you need for solar panels
- Solar electricity production in annual kWh (kilowatt-hours) you can expect from your solar system in Colorado
- The value of solar tax credits and other incentives you are entitled to based on the estimated size of system you need, your location and your utility provider.
- Likely cost based on an average of prices charged for solar systems of that size in the last year in Colorado or Denver ;
- The likely payback period on your solar panels and your investment return.
- Your total lifetime solar savings based on each of the major solar finance options, a cash purchase, a cash purchase funded with a HELOC sol (home equity line of credit) and a zero-down PPA or third party lease product.
If you want to see all of the above but also see live pricing, the three best solar deals available in your city and get binding quotes from each of these solar companies then use this Colorado solar panels calculator. This calculator requires you to also input your name and contact details because most of our 200+ installer partners will only authorize the sharing of their live solar pricing where we have validated that you are a real homeowner with a home in their service area. We respect the privacy of your data and only share your contact details with the solar companies you ask us to get binding quotes from.
Going solar in Colorado
Check out all of the ways energy providers of Colorado can help you be more energy-efficient and save money.
The following programs are available:
Find your local rebates and incentives
Your city may have further incentives to offer. Please keep in mind that the best source of up-to-date information on incentives is the solar installers who specialize in your area.
