Residential Solar Program

The Governor’s Energy Office (GEO) is pleased to offer a Residential Solar Program to interested municipalities, utilities and non-profit organizations. GEO has provided matching grants to select program partners with the goal of developing local solar electric and solar domestic hot water system rebate programs. Participants take part in either the Solar Electric or Solar Domestic Hot Water program and, in some cases, both. Partners are responsible for matching the GEO grant and providing the staff support required to administer the rebate program in accordance with GEO’s guidelines.

Solar Electric
Once energy efficiency has been optimized; grid-tied, net metered solar photovoltaic (PV) systems offer most households the option to further offset their electricity costs. Grid-tied PV systems allow the owner to send excess energy back into the grid and benefit the owner by mitigating the susceptibility to fluctuations in the price of electricity. In addition, distributed solar electric systems decrease the demand for electricity generated from centralized fossil fuel plants, which leads to reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

• The Solar Electric Program offers rebates of up to $12,000 per system ($6,000 from GEO and $6,000 from program partners) to qualified homeowners through their local partner.
  
• Only residential, grid-tied, net metered systems are eligible.
  
• Solar Electric Program participants will be required to demonstrate that a residential energy audit has been performed on the home prior to system installation.
  
• The Solar Electric Program is not available in Investor-Owned Utility (Xcel Energy and Aquila Colorado) service territories.
  

Solar Domestic Hot Water
Solar heated domestic hot water is perhaps one of the most cost effective ways to incorporate renewable energy into a home. In the average Colorado home, up to 15% of the annual energy consumed is used for domestic water heating. By using solar energy to heat domestic water, home owners can significantly reduce their water heating costs while also mitigating the consumption of fossil fuels.

• The Solar Domestic Hot Water Program offers rebates of up to $3,000 per system ($1,500 from GEO and $1,500 from program partners) to qualified homeowners through their local partner.
  
• Only residential, domestic hot water systems are eligible. Space heating applications are not eligible.
  
• The Solar Domestic Hot Water Program is available statewide.

How to Participate
This is not a direct-to-homeowner rebate from the state. GEO is working to provide these rebates through local program partners. The 22 program partners are currently determining how they will administer the rebates. Information about how homeowners can apply for the rebate will be posted here as soon as the details are determined for each participating jurisdiction.

If you represent a municipality, utility or non-profit organization and are interested in becoming a Residential Solar Program partner, please complete and submit the Interest Form available in the Funding Opportunities section of this website. Submission of the Interest Form informs GEO that you are interested in scheduling a follow-up meeting to discuss the program in more detail, and is not a commitment of partnership.

For More Information
Contact Jeff Lyng, Solar Program Manager, at Jeff.Lyng@state.co.us or (303) 866-2264.