Solar Panels Colorado Law

While it isn t explicitly a solar carve out colorado does require that at least 3 of the electricity sold by the state s investor owned utilities come from distributed energy resources.

Solar panels colorado law. Colorado is home to many solar installers which are ranked annually by the amount of power inst. According to the solar energy industries association. Colorado consumers typically obtain varying amounts of solar power from rooftop solar community solar gardens and larger solar farms. Renewable energy generation devices colo.

The actual law states that any hoa with a covenant restriction stating that solar panels are prohibited or restricted in any way is unenforceable under colorado law c r s. These sorts of restrictions can make it difficult or costly for a homeowner to go solar. Colorado is home to more than 454 solar companies employing about 6 000 people throughout the state. 38 33 3 106 5 1 5 the law provides that n otwithstanding any provision in the declaration bylaws or rules and regulations of the association to the contrary an association shall not effectively prohibit renewable energy generation devices as defined in section 38 30 168.

Colorado ranked 11th in the nation for installed solar capacity with 925 8 mw of solar energy installed as of 2016. More than 510 million in colorado solar investments were made in 2016. The purpose of these laws is to prevent homeowner s associations from banning solar panels and often also prevents them from having contracts that restrict homeowners from installing solar panels on their homes. Solar panel cost in colorado the average cost for an installed residential solar system in colorado is currently 10 834 after claiming the 26 federal solar tax credit.

A solar collector or other device or a structural design feature of a structure which provides for the collection of sunlight and which comprises part of a system for the conversion of the sun s radiant energy into thermal chemical mechanical or electrical energy solar panels clearly fall within this definition. That s a fancy way of saying that they need lots of homeowners to serve electricity to the grid and we think the best way is through generation of clean reliable solar power. This is 2 44 per watt. The state was the first in the nation to establish a renewable portfolio standard for its electric utilities.

Co is one of the earliest proponents of community solar which allows interested residents to subscribe to an off site solar array effectively offering you the benefits of solar without installing panels on your roof. The second thing to know is that you do have to let your hoa know that you are going solar. Colorado community solar if you don t own your property or your home doesn t have a roof suitable for solar fear not. Some of the common restrictions that hoas and historic districts put on solar installations include requiring flush mounted panels prohibiting ground mounted solar panels requiring that rooftop installations aren t visible from the public right of way and using equipment that matches the color of the roof.