Solar in Colorado: payback, sun by city and utility-scale capacity
Colorado pays back in 12.3 years at $3.00 a watt (rank 17 of 51), 1.2 years shorter than the middle state. 1,534 kWh per kW (rank 9) at 15.85 ¢ (rank 22 from the top): sunshine drives it. Across 5 Colorado cities, yearly output runs from 1,476 kWh per kW in Fort Collins to 1,657 in Pueblo. May is the best month at 156 kWh per kW and Dec the worst at 94. Utility-scale solar in Colorado: 3,263 MW in 181 plants, 9.9% of 2025 generation; 2,738 MW more under construction or planned.
Net metering and CO2 in Colorado
EIA-861 (2024): 182,376 home net-metered systems in Colorado, 71.3 per 1,000 accounts (rank 5), average 6.0 kW.
6 kW in Colorado: 9,202 kWh a year displaces 4.5 t CO2 at 0.492 kg per kWh, +1.5 t against the average state.
Colorado: payback 12.3 years, rank 17 of 51
| Measure | Value | Rank of 51 | Median state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Output of 1 kW a year, kWh | 1,534 | 9 | 1,372 |
| Home price, ¢ per kWh | 15.85 | 22 | 15.37 |
| Value of 1 kW a year | $243 | 17 | $222 |
| Payback at $3.00 a watt | 12.3 years | 17 | 13.5 years |
EIA-861 (2024): 182,376 home net-metered systems in Colorado, 71.3 per 1,000 accounts (rank 5), average 6.0 kW.
Utility-scale solar in Colorado: 3,263 MW
Colorado: 3,263 MW of operable utility-scale solar in 181 plants across 35 counties (EIA-860, 2025), rank 12 of 51; 562 W per resident, rank 12. Solar made 9.9% of Colorado's net generation in 2025 (EIA-923), rank 11, +3.1 points against the national share. Biggest plants: Neptune Energy Center Hybrid in Pueblo County, 325 MW (2023); Rocky Mountain Solar in Pueblo County, 325 MW (2025); Thunder Wolf Energy Center Hybrid in Pueblo County, 248 MW (2023). By county: Pueblo 1,476 MW, Weld 303 MW, El Paso 290 MW, Las Animas 170 MW. Proposed: 567 MW under construction (23 plants) and 2,171 MW planned (16 plants); batteries 470 MW running and 1,848 MW proposed.
| Colorado year | MW added | Cumulative share of today's MW |
|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 75 | 2% |
| 2020 | 82 | 5% |
| 2021 | 383 | 17% |
| 2022 | 226 | 23% |
| 2023 | 889 | 51% |
| 2024 | 190 | 57% |
| 2025 | 889 | 84% |
Sizes and prices per watt in Colorado
| Colorado kW | kWh a year | Value a year | Cost at $2.50 | At $3.00 | At $3.50 | t CO2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 6,134 | $972 | $10,000 | $12,000 | $14,000 | 3.0 |
| 6 | 9,202 | $1,458 | $15,000 | $18,000 | $21,000 | 4.5 |
| 8 | 12,269 | $1,945 | $20,000 | $24,000 | $28,000 | 6.0 |
| 10 | 15,336 | $2,431 | $25,000 | $30,000 | $35,000 | 7.5 |
| 12 | 18,403 | $2,917 | $30,000 | $36,000 | $42,000 | 9.1 |
| Colorado $ per watt | 100% retail | 75% | 50% | 25% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $2.00 | 8.2 | 11.0 | 16.5 | 32.9 |
| $2.50 | 10.3 | 13.7 | 20.6 | 41.1 |
| $3.00 | 12.3 | 16.5 | 24.7 | 49.4 |
| $3.50 | 14.4 | 19.2 | 28.8 | 57.6 |
| $4.00 | 16.5 | 21.9 | 32.9 | 65.8 |
Colorado: 1,534 kWh/kW × 15.85 ¢ = 243 a year per kW; the 30% column (8.6 years at $3.00) is arithmetic only.
CSVSun inside Colorado: 5 cities, 11% apart
| Colorado city | kWh per kW a year | Against state point | Sun, kWh/m2 a day | Payback at $3.00 | Residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 1,602 | +4.5% | 5.72 | 11.8 | 713,734 |
| Colorado Springs | 1,629 | +6.2% | 5.75 | 11.6 | 483,099 |
| Fort Collins | 1,476 | -3.7% | 5.24 | 12.8 | 169,705 |
| Pueblo | 1,657 | +8.0% | 5.94 | 11.4 | 111,514 |
| Grand Junction | 1,603 | +4.5% | 5.71 | 11.8 | 67,027 |
Colorado state point 39.59, -105.11; city points Denver 39.76, -104.88; Colorado Springs 38.87, -104.76; Fort Collins 40.55, -105.06; Pueblo 38.27, -104.61; Grand Junction 39.09, -108.57. Panel and method: solar method.
Output by month in Colorado cities: 12 rows
| Colorado month | Denver | Colorado Springs | Fort Collins | Pueblo | Grand Junction |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 98.6 | 104.7 | 96.7 | 109.5 | 95.9 |
| Feb | 114.1 | 111.8 | 96.8 | 110.7 | 106.1 |
| Mar | 142.6 | 153.7 | 136.2 | 154.9 | 139.4 |
| Apr | 150.9 | 155.8 | 134.1 | 156.5 | 155.3 |
| May | 163.9 | 158.2 | 147.9 | 167.9 | 167.9 |
| Jun | 161.8 | 153.0 | 152.9 | 158.2 | 169.8 |
| Jul | 162.8 | 154.6 | 146.0 | 164.7 | 160.4 |
| Aug | 150.8 | 146.8 | 139.9 | 153.4 | 153.4 |
| Sep | 140.7 | 139.3 | 133.6 | 141.9 | 140.8 |
| Oct | 120.1 | 136.2 | 108.7 | 132.1 | 126.1 |
| Nov | 104.0 | 113.0 | 97.3 | 106.5 | 102.2 |
| Dec | 91.7 | 102.2 | 86.1 | 100.4 | 85.6 |
Colorado: 5 cities, best month 170 and worst 86 kWh per kW across them.
CSVBest and worst month in Colorado: May 156, Dec 94 kWh per kW
| Colorado month | kWh per kW | Price ¢ | Value per kW | kWh per kW per sun unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 94.5 | 14.93 | $14.11 | 0.83 |
| Feb | 113.2 | 15.08 | $17.07 | 0.82 |
| Mar | 139.1 | 15.04 | $20.92 | 0.80 |
| Apr | 142.8 | 15.50 | $22.13 | 0.78 |
| May | 155.7 | 15.58 | $24.26 | 0.75 |
| Jun | 147.6 | 16.04 | $23.68 | 0.73 |
| Jul | 146.9 | 15.99 | $23.49 | 0.72 |
| Aug | 137.6 | 16.37 | $22.53 | 0.73 |
| Sep | 134.6 | 16.70 | $22.48 | 0.75 |
| Oct | 120.3 | 16.26 | $19.56 | 0.78 |
| Nov | 107.9 | 16.35 | $17.64 | 0.82 |
| Dec | 93.6 | 16.12 | $15.09 | 0.84 |
Colorado: December to February give 20% of a year (rank 43 of 51, 1 = most winter); the best month is 1.7 times the worst. Output per unit of sun is highest in Dec (0.84) and lowest in Jul (0.72); PVWatts lowers cell output when the panel is hot, and the sun angle changes with the season. Our runs use one fixed 14% loss figure for every place, so snow or soiling in Colorado is not modelled separately.
Colorado utilities and solar payback
| Colorado utility | Homes | Price ¢ | Value of 1 kW | Payback at $3.00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Service Co of Colorado | 1,365,053 | 15.05 | $231 | 13.0 yr |
| City of Colorado Springs | 216,771 | 14.45 | $222 | 13.5 yr |
| CORE Electric Cooperative | 165,067 | 15.04 | $231 | 13.0 yr |
| United Power, Inc | 101,502 | 15.75 | $242 | 12.4 yr |
| Black Hills Colorado Electric, LLC | 89,252 | 17.05 | $261 | 11.5 yr |
| City of Fort Collins | 70,803 | 13.21 | $203 | 14.8 yr |
| Mountain View Elec Assn, Inc | 59,789 | 15.52 | $238 | 12.6 yr |
| Holy Cross Electric Assn, Inc | 49,982 | 12.04 | $185 | 16.3 yr |
| Poudre Valley REA, Inc | 49,587 | 12.21 | $187 | 16.0 yr |
| City of Longmont | 40,855 | 12.30 | $189 | 15.9 yr |
| La Plata Electric Assn, Inc | 39,931 | 16.71 | $256 | 11.7 yr |
| City of Loveland | 37,007 | 14.40 | $221 | 13.6 yr |
Colorado among its neighbours
| Closest to Colorado | Payback, years | kWh per kW | Price, ¢ | Utility-scale solar, points of generation | Miles away |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colorado (this page) | 12.3 | 1,534 | 15.85 | 9.9 | - |
| Wyoming | +2.1 | +15 | -2.47 | -8.8 | 229 |
| New Mexico | -1.2 | +250 | -0.77 | +6.0 | 349 |
| Utah | +2.6 | +7 | -2.78 | +7.4 | 368 |
| Nebraska | +4.5 | -94 | -3.51 | -9.2 | 432 |
Colorado against its neighbours in the payback ranking
- -1 places, Alaska -1.0 years against Colorado
- +0 places, Michigan -0.6 years against Colorado
- Colorado, rank 17: 12.3 years
- +2 places, Wisconsin +0.1 years against Colorado
- +3 places, Pennsylvania +0.2 years against Colorado
Your numbers for Colorado
Limits in Colorado
Colorado: with the old 30% credit (IRS, ended 2025) payback would be 8.6 years instead of 12.3, so the calculator starts at 0%. No Colorado export rates in our data: output counts at 15.85 ¢. All limits.
Sources for Colorado
- PVWatts v8 (NLR), 5 Colorado cities and one state point: 1,534 kWh per kW
- EIA-860 2025 and EIA-923 2025: 3,263 MW of solar in Colorado
- EIA-861 2024: 182,376 net-metered systems in Colorado
- EIA retail sales 2025: 15.85 ¢ per kWh in Colorado
- IRS 25D (ended 2025): 8.6 years in Colorado with it; licences and periods for Colorado
More about Colorado
Colorado electricity hub, Colorado EV charging: 2,893 stations, where Colorado ranks for rooftop solar, 12.3 years against 51 states, Colorado calculators.
Questions
Net metering in Colorado?
182,376 systems, 71.3 per 1,000 accounts, rank 5.
Colorado sunshine for solar panels?
1,534 kWh per kW a year at the state point, rank 9 of 51; from 1,476 in Fort Collins to 1,657 in Pueblo.
Winter cut in Colorado solar output?
December to February give 20% of the year; May makes 156 kWh per kW and Dec 94.
Colorado electricity from solar, what share?
9.9% of 2025 net generation, rank 11 of 51, +3.1 points against the nation.
Colorado utility-scale solar capacity?
3,263 MW in 181 plants (EIA-860), 562 W per resident, rank 12; 2,738 MW proposed.
Where in Colorado is solar best?
Yes: 11% between Fort Collins and Pueblo in yearly output.
Solar payback in Colorado?
12.3 years at $3.00 a watt; 10.3 at $2.50; 14.4 at $3.50; 1,534 kWh per kW at 15.85 ¢.
Colorado pays half price for exports?
Payback 24.7 years at a 50% retail share.
CO2 displaced in Colorado?
4.5 t a year on 6 kW at 0.492 kg per kWh.
Federal solar credit in Colorado: still available?
Ended 2025 (IRS 25D); with it Colorado payback would be 8.6 years, not 12.3.