State solar profile · #8 of 51
Solar in Colorado: fast modeled payback
Colorado clears a modeled 12.3-yr break-even (#15 of 51) at 14.2¢/kWh and 5.5 kWh/m²/day, with 4 DSIRE programs in the stack.
- 5.5
- kWh/m²/day irradiance
- 14.2¢
- avg electricity rate
- 12.3 yr
- payback (#15)
- 4
- incentive programs
NREL/EIA solar strip
Nameplate CO · Colorado score #8/51
Colorado | 45/100 | 12.3 yr payback | 2.4 GW
- RATE 45/100
- PAY #8/51
- CAP 5.5 kWh
- PROG 14.2c/kWh
- NEM 12.3 yr
- PHOTO 2.4 GW
- BOOK 4 programs
- VS-AVG near Florida
Stamps derive from this state's NREL irradiance, EIA Form 860 / Electric Power Monthly nameplate, and DSIRE incentive row (score, rank, sun, rate, payback, capacity, programs, peer), not a quote or site assessment. Modeled figures use a typical 6 kW system; your roof, shading, and utility tariff decide the real return. See our disclaimer. Verify with EIA Form 860 → · Read with methodology → · Net-metering guide → · Personalized estimate → · All state rows → · States ranked → · Payback vs U.S. avg (14.2 yr): 1.9 yr faster
Modeled 6 kW payback · Colorado and nearest peers
Shorter bars = faster simple payback on the NREL/EIA model
- TX
Texas
12 years
- NV
Nevada
12 years
- FL
Florida
12 years
- CO
Colorado
12 years
- NJ
New Jersey
13 years
- DC
District of Columbia
13 years
What this shows Colorado sits at 12.3 years among nearest payback peers (1.9 yr faster vs the 14.2-yr U.S. average).
Fast-band 25-year ROI · Colorado
$16,800
system cost
$1,368/yr
modeled savings
12.3 yr
break-even
+$17,400
25-year net
At $16,800 and $1,368/yr, Colorado is already in the faster third of modeled paybacks. Roof, shading, and tariff still move the real number. Run a personalized estimate →
Installed solar capacity in Colorado, 2007–2024
Total solar nameplate capacity in Colorado reported to the EIA, utility-scale and reported distributed systems. The number of reporting facilities grew 161x (1 to 161) between 2007 and 2024, and the average site size grew from 8 MW to 15 MW per site, a shift toward larger utility-scale installations.
Colorado on the sun-and-speed corner
Irradiance 5.5 kWh/m²/day (at/above the 4.8 national mean) vs 12.3-yr payback (fast band vs 14.2-yr mean). Crosshairs mark those means.
Solar & grid details
- Net-metering policy
- full
- Renewable portfolio standard
- Mandatory (30% by 2030)
- Installed cost / watt
- $2.80/W
- Annual production (6 kW)
- 9,636 kWh
- Installed capacity (EIA 2024)
- 2.4 GW
- Notable programs
- Xcel Energy Solar*Rewards, PACE Financing
Top incentive programs
4 programs available for Colorado residents
All Colorado solar incentives (4)
CO Renewable Energy Sales Tax Exemption
Sales tax exemption
Solar energy equipment is exempt from Colorado sales and use tax.
Tax exemptionCO Residential Renewable Energy Property Tax Exemption
Full property tax exemption
Colorado exempts 100% of added solar value from residential property taxes.
Net meteringCO Net Metering
Retail rate credit
Investor-owned utilities must offer net metering at retail rate for residential customers.
Performance incentiveXcel Energy Solar*Rewards
$0.035/kWh for 10 years
Xcel Energy pays performance-based incentive for excess generation over 10-year term.
Other fast-payback peers for Colorado
Two non-geographic peer sets for Colorado: composite score neighbors and payback-year neighbors (deduped so each row links a distinct comparison).
Similar composite solar score
Nearest nationwide matches on the NREL/EIA/DSIRE blend (45/100 here).
- Florida · score 47/100
- Connecticut · score 41/100
- Massachusetts · score 41/100
- Texas · score 49/100
Similar modeled payback
Nearest payback-year peers nationwide (12.3 yr modeled here).
- Nevada · 11.9 yr payback
- New Jersey · 12.8 yr payback
Peers are nearest-neighbor matches on published composite scores and modeled 6 kW payback years; rankings above use the same fields but sort the full corpus.
Solar resource from NREL; electricity rates and installed capacity from the U.S. EIA; incentive programs from DSIRE. See our methodology.