Solar power in Colorado has grown rapidly, partly because of one of the most favorable

net metering Net metering (or net energy metering, NEM) is an electricity billing mechanism that allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime, instead of when it is generated. This is particularly importa ...

laws in the country, with no limit on the number of users. The state was the first in the nation to establish a Renewable Portfolio Standard for its

electric utilities An electric utility is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. The electrical utility industry is a major p ...

. Colorado consumers typically obtain varying amounts of solar power from

rooftop solar A rooftop solar power system, or rooftop PV system, is a photovoltaic (PV) system that has its electricity-generating solar panels mounted on the rooftop of a residential or commercial building or structure. The various components of such a syste ...

, community solar gardens, and larger

solar farm Solar may refer to: Astronomy * Of or relating to the Sun ** Solar telescope, a special purpose telescope used to observe the Sun ** A device that utilizes solar energy (e.g. "solar panels") ** Solar calendar, a calendar whose dates indicate ...

s. Colorado is home to many solar installers which are ranked annually by the amount of power installed. Several thousand people are employed in solar-energy-related activities throughout the state. A few companies have attempted to establish solar panel manufacturing operations in Colorado: including Abound Solar,

Ascent Solar Ascent Solar Technologies, Inc. is a publicly traded photovoltaic (PV) company located in Thornton, Colorado. Its primary product is a flexible CIGS solar cell on a plastic substrate. Technology Ascent Solar's thin-film solar modules are manu ...

, and Primestar Solar. Colorado was the first state where Dow introduced some of the earliest

solar shingles Solar shingles, also called photovoltaic shingles, are solar panels designed to look like and function as conventional roofing materials, such as asphalt shingle or slate, while also producing electricity. Solar shingles are a type of solar energ ...

. Th
Colorado Solar Energy Industries Association (COSEIA)
a state affiliate of the national non-profit

Solar Energy Industries Association The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), established in 1974, is the national non-profit trade association of the solar-energy industry in the United States. In 2019, the group reported at least 1,000 member companies. SEIA is a 501(c ...

, supports solar use and industry growth through its efforts which include both business and residential consumer education. Th
Interstate Renewable Energy Council
is also a source for information on

consumer protection Consumer protection is the practice of safeguarding buyers of goods and services, and the public, against unfair practices in the marketplace. Consumer protection measures are often established by law. Such laws are intended to prevent business ...

workforce development Workforce development, an American approach to economic development, attempts to enhance a region's economic stability and prosperity by focusing on people rather than businesses. It essentially develops a human-resources strategy. Work-force dev ...

, and for other news affecting industry developments in the state. Colorado's colleges and universities support educational and research programs in solar power science and technology, and in the related

interdisciplinary Interdisciplinarity or interdisciplinary studies involves the combination of multiple academic disciplines into one activity (e.g., a research project). It draws knowledge from several other fields like sociology, anthropology, psychology, ec ...

subjects of energy, environment, and

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livi ...

Golden, Colorado Golden is a home rule city that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. The city population was 20,399 at the 2020 United States Census. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the base of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountai ...

is home to the

National Renewable Energy Laboratory The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in the US specializes in the research and development of renewable energy, energy efficiency, energy systems integration, and sustainable transportation. NREL is a federally funded research an ...

and to the Golden Field Office of the

Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is an office within the United States Department of Energy. Formed from other energy agencies after the 1973 energy crisis, EERE is led by the Assistant Secretary of Energy Efficiency an ...

, both of which are funded by the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

. The

Rocky Mountain Institute RMI (Rocky Mountain Institute) is an organization in the United States co-founded by Amory Lovins dedicated to research, publication, consulting, and lecturing in the field of sustainability, with a focus on profitable innovations for energy an ...

with offices in

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In ...

and

Basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...

in also especially dedicated to promoting

efficient energy use Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a building allows it to use less heating and cooling energy to ...

within the world's rapidly developing economies.

Solar farms

The 7.7

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James ...

( MW_AC) Alamosa Photovoltaic Power Plant completed in 2007 in the

San Luis Valley The San Luis Valley is a region in south-central Colorado with a small portion overlapping into New Mexico. The valley is approximately long and wide, extending from the Continental Divide on the northwest rim into New Mexico on the south. It c ...

was one of the first utility-scale solar farms in the U.S. utilizing

photovoltaics Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially ...

. More than a dozen additional facilities sized between 5 and 50 MW came online throughout the state during the following decade. The 120 MW Comanche Solar Project located near

Pueblo In the Southwestern United States, Pueblo (capitalized) refers to the Native tribes of Puebloans having fixed-location communities with permanent buildings which also are called pueblos (lowercased). The Spanish explorers of northern New Spain ...

is the state's largest solar farm as of year 2017.

Installed capacity

As of 2017, Colorado was the 12th largest solar state in the U.S., with nearly 1

gigawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wat ...

of cumulative solar capacity installed.

Generation

References

External links

Incentives and policies
{{Energy in the USA Energy in Colorado

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the ...

Solar power in Colorado

Solar farms

Installed capacity

Generation

See also

References

External links