Colorado · Performance incentive · Deep-stack program
Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards
Pays residential solar owners in Colorado based on actual output -- see the rate, eligibility, and how it changes payback below.
- $0.035/kWh
- stated benefit
- Residential
- eligible customers
- 12.3 yr
- Colorado baseline payback
- 4
- other Colorado programs
Deep-stack program · late directory
Colorado runs a 5-program DSIRE stack; this performance incentive is one layer on a 12.3-year modeled baseline, not the whole story.
- Stack5 programs
- In-state #4/4
- Type #8/8
- Baseline12.3 yr
In-state directory place #4 of 4 (late alphabet). National performance incentive directory #8 of 8. Amounts and eligibility change; verify with the official program page before relying on a dollar figure. Informational only - not financial advice. See our disclaimer.
Program description
Xcel Energy pays performance-based incentive for excess generation over 10-year term.
Program at a glance
- Program type
- Performance incentive
- Eligible customers
- Residential
- Stated benefit
- $0.035/kWh for 10 years
- State electricity rate
- 14.2¢/kWh
- Colorado solar score
- 45/100
Solar's trajectory in Colorado
The market this incentive operates in: total installed solar capacity in Colorado reported to the EIA.
Colorado's solar incentive stack
How this performance incentive sits among Colorado's 4 tracked programs, by type
- Tax exemption
Tax exemption
2 programs
- Net metering
Net metering
1 programs
- Performance
Performance
1 programs
What this shows Colorado tracks 3 incentive types, 1 of them performance-based like this one -- paid on actual output rather than a one-time credit, stacking with the state's other program types.
How this performance incentive layers inside Colorado's deep stack
The Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards pays based on actual measured generation rather than a one-time credit, one of Colorado's DSIRE-tracked solar incentive programs. Eligibility is scoped to residential customers, with a stated benefit of $0.035/kWh for 10 years. 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 performance incentive delivers compresses that payback further.
Colorado bundles a deep incentive stack, so this program rarely stands alone. 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, CO Net Metering. 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.
Other Colorado incentives
Frequently asked questions
Where does the Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards sit in Colorado's deep program stack?
How does this performance incentive work beside Colorado's other programs?
Who qualifies, and what does a late in-state directory place mean?
How does this incentive affect solar ROI in Colorado?
Which other Colorado programs stack with this one?
Incentive data from the DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency); state solar economics from NREL and the U.S. EIA. See our methodology · Colorado solar data · ROI calculator · All incentives.