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 impor ...

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, or a power company, is a company in the electric power industry (often a public utility) that engages in electricity generation and Electricity retailing, distribution of electricity for sale generally in a regulated market. El ...

. Colorado consumers typically obtain varying amounts of solar power from rooftop solar, community solar gardens, and larger solar farms. 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, and Primestar Solar. Colorado was the first state where Dow introduced some of the earliest solar shingles. The Colorado Solar and Storage Association (COSSA), a state affiliate of the national non-profit Solar Energy Industries Association, supports solar use and industry growth through its efforts which include both business and residential consumer education. The 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, and for other news affecting industry developments in the state. 8day25-1

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 fields such as sociology, anthropology, psychology, economi ...

subjects of energy, environment, and

sustainability Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...

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 Moun ...

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 and ...

and to the Golden Field Office of the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 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 energy production, the research and development of nuclear power, the military's nuclear w ...

. The Rocky Mountain Institute 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 aphanite, 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 planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

in also especially dedicated to promoting

efficient energy use Efficient energy use, or energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. There are many technologies and methods available that are more energy efficient than conventional systems. For ...

within the world's rapidly developing economies.

Solar farms

The 7.7

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), 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 quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

( MW_AC) Alamosa Photovoltaic Power Plant completed in 2007 in the San Luis Valley 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 commerciall ...

. 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 Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

was the state's largest solar farm as of 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 in honor ...

of cumulative solar capacity installed.

Generation

References

External links

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

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

Solar power in Colorado

Solar farms

Installed capacity

Generation

See also

References

External links