CO Net Metering

The CO Net Metering governs how Colorado credits excess solar generation sent back to the grid, one of the state's DSIRE-tracked solar policies. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of Retail rate credit. DSIRE lists no scheduled sunset, though enabling legislation and appropriations can still be revised year to year.

That baseline is slower than most states, which raises the stakes for every incentive on the table. Colorado averages 5.5 kWh/m²/day of usable sunlight and residential rates of 14.2¢/kWh, producing an estimated 9,636 kWh/year and $1,368 of annual utility offset on a typical 6 kW system costing $16,800. That baseline already implies a 12.3-year simple payback and a 25-year modeled net of roughly $17,400 before this incentive - every dollar this net metering delivers compresses that payback further.

A handful of other levers are worth checking alongside this one. Colorado has 5 solar incentive programs indexed in DSIRE, including adjacent options like CO Renewable Energy Sales Tax Exemption, CO Residential Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption, Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards. The state's net-metering policy is classified as full, which governs how excess generation is credited and often decides whether a given program is worth claiming for a specific household.