What solar costs in Colorado
Berkeley Lab does not have enough reported installations in Colorado to publish a reliable local price, so the figures below use the national median. Treat them as a starting point, not a quote.
The numbers
High electricity prices make solar pay faster, so a red figure in the third box is good news for a solar buyer and bad news every other month of the year.
Holding a quote above $30,000? Installers in Colorado price the same system very differently. Two more bids is the cheapest way to find out where yours sits.
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What the roof makes month by month in Denver
A 1.8 to 1 swing, which is unusually flat. Output here is steadier month to month than almost anywhere else in the country, so monthly bills stay more predictable.
Figures are for an 8 kW array at 20 degrees facing south, modelled from NSRDB radiation data at Denver.
What different sizes cost in Colorado
| Size | Panels | Price | Output | Year one saving | Payback |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 kW | 10 | $15,000 | 6,032 kWh | $1,025 | 13.0 years |
| 5 kW | 13 | $18,750 | 7,540 kWh | $1,282 | 13.0 years |
| 6 kW | 15 | $22,500 | 9,048 kWh | $1,538 | 13.0 years |
| 7 kW | 18 | $26,250 | 10,556 kWh | $1,795 | 13.0 years |
| 8 kWtypical | 20 | $30,000 | 12,064 kWh | $2,051 | 13.0 years |
| 10 kW | 25 | $37,500 | 15,080 kWh | $2,564 | 13.0 years |
| 12 kW | 30 | $45,000 | 18,096 kWh | $3,076 | 13.0 years |
| 15 kW | 38 | $56,250 | 22,620 kWh | $3,845 | 13.0 years |
| 20 kW | 50 | $75,000 | 30,160 kWh | $5,127 | 13.0 years |
Payback is the same at every size because this table holds the price per watt flat at the national median of $3.75: price and output both grow in step with the system, so their ratio does not change. Real quotes are not quite linear. Permitting, design and connection cost roughly the same on any roof, so a small system usually costs more per watt and a large one less, and pays back correspondingly later or sooner than shown.
Colorado has too few reported installations for a local median, so the price is the national median of what households paid on host-owned systems installed in 2024-2025, compiled by Berkeley Lab. Local quotes can sit well above or below it.
28 programmes in Colorado
The 30% federal credit ended for installations completed after 31 December 2025. These state, utility and local programmes are unaffected by that, and are now the only thing that reduces the price.
| Programme | Type | Run by | Reach | Updated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C-PACE: Colorado Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy | PACE Financing | State | statewide | January 2, 2024 |
| City and County of Denver - Home Energy Rebates | Rebate Program | Local | statewide | February 26, 2025 |
| City and County of Denver - Solar and EV Charging for Nonprofits | Grant Program | Local | statewide | February 25, 2025 |
| City and County of Denver - Solar Outdoor Learning Incentive Program | Grant Program | Local | statewide | February 25, 2025 |
| City and County of Denver - Solar Rebate | Rebate Program | Local | statewide | February 25, 2025 |
| Eagle County - Walking Mountains Science Center Solar PV Rebate | Rebate Program | Local | statewide | September 26, 2025 |
| Interconnection Standards | Interconnection | State | statewide | May 29, 2024 |
| Local Option - Property Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Systems | Property Tax Incentive | State | statewide | November 20, 2025 |
| Local Option - Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Systems | Sales Tax Incentive | State | statewide | December 24, 2025 |
| Mountain Parks Electric - Clean Power Program Rebate | Rebate Program | Utility | statewide | September 26, 2025 |
| Net Metering | Net Metering | State | statewide | February 25, 2026 |
| Property Tax Exemption for Residential Renewable Energy Equipment | Property Tax Incentive | State | statewide | March 20, 2026 |
| Renewable Energy Property Tax Assessment | Property Tax Incentive | State | statewide | April 13, 2026 |
| Sales and Use Tax Exemption for Renewable Energy Equipment | Sales Tax Incentive | State | statewide | September 26, 2025 |
| Black Hills Energy - Solar Power Program | Performance-Based Incentive | Utility | partial | January 15, 2026 |
| City and County of Denver - Elevations Energy Loans | Loan Program | Local | partial | August 27, 2025 |
| City of Aspen and Pitkin County - Renewable Energy Mitigation Program Grants | Grant Program | Local | partial | September 23, 2022 |
| City of Boulder - Solar Access Ordinance | Solar/Wind Access Policy | Local | partial | December 22, 2025 |
| City of Boulder - Solar Grant Program | Grant Program | Local | partial | July 20, 2022 |
| City of Boulder - Solar Sales and Use Tax Rebate | Sales Tax Incentive | Local | partial | March 20, 2026 |
| Colorado Residential Energy Upgrade (RENU) Loan program | Loan Program | Local | partial | November 24, 2025 |
| Colorado Solar/Wind Easements and Rights Law | Solar/Wind Access Policy | State | partial | December 23, 2025 |
| Fort Collins Utilities - Epic Loan | Loan Program | Utility | partial | November 25, 2025 |
| Holy Cross Energy - Renewable Energy Rebate Program | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | March 21, 2026 |
| San Miguel Power Association - Renewable Energy Rebate Program | Rebate Program | Utility | partial | March 21, 2026 |
| Xcel Energy - Residential Energy Efficiency Financing | Loan Program | Utility | partial | November 24, 2025 |
| Xcel Energy - Solar Rewards Program | Performance-Based Incentive | Utility | partial | November 18, 2022 |
| Xcel Energy - Solar*Rewards Program | Performance-Based Incentive | Utility | partial | September 26, 2025 |
Programme index from DSIRE, N.C. Clean Energy Technology Center, NC State University, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. “Partial” means it reaches only some utilities or counties. A listed programme can still be closed or out of budget, so check its own page before counting on it.
How Colorado ranks
Closest on payback: Vermont (12.3 yrs), Arizona (12.4 yrs), Alaska (13.1 yrs), Virginia (13.7 yrs).
Solar in Colorado, answered
How much do solar panels cost in Colorado?
An 8 kW system in Colorado, roughly 20 panels, costs about $30,000 before incentives. That is based on $3.75 per watt, the national median from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory for 2024-2025, because too few Colorado installations are reported to publish a local figure. There is no longer a federal tax credit to subtract from that figure.
Is there still a 30% solar tax credit in Colorado?
No. The federal Residential Clean Energy Credit under Internal Revenue Code section 25D was terminated by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for expenditures made after 31 December 2025, and it did not step down first. A Colorado homeowner buying a system with cash or a loan today receives no federal tax credit. Under a lease or power purchase agreement the credit survives as section 48E but belongs to the company that owns the equipment, not to the household. Colorado still has 28 state, utility or local programmes covering rooftop solar.
How long do solar panels take to pay for themselves in Colorado?
About 13.0 years in Colorado. An 8 kW system costs roughly $30,000 and saves about $2,051 in its first year at the state's average residential rate of 17.00 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026). That calculation includes no federal tax credit, because the residential credit ended after 31 December 2025.
How much electricity does a solar panel produce in Colorado?
Each kilowatt of panels in Colorado produces about 1,508 kilowatt-hours a year, modelled at Denver facing south at a 20 degree tilt using NSRDB radiation data. An 8 kW system therefore makes roughly 12,064 kilowatt-hours a year. The national average is about 1,332 kilowatt-hours per kilowatt installed.
Is solar worth it in Colorado?
It depends less on sunshine than on your electricity price. In Colorado power costs 17.00 cents per kilowatt-hour (EIA, July 2026), which makes an 8 kW system pay for itself in about 13.0 years and clear roughly $35,586 over 25 years. Solar from your own roof works out at 10.6 cents per kilowatt-hour over its life, against 17.00 cents from the utility.
How many solar panels do I need in Colorado?
A typical Colorado installation is about 20 panels, which is 8 kW at the 400 watt module that is now standard and needs roughly 440 square feet of roof. To size it to your own use, divide your annual kilowatt-hours by 1,508, which is what each kilowatt of panels produces in Colorado each year.
Do solar panels work in winter in Colorado?
Yes, but output falls sharply. In Denver a kilowatt of panels makes about 156 kilowatt-hours in Jun and about 85 in Dec, a swing of 1.8 to 1 across the year. A system sized to cover your annual consumption will therefore run a surplus in summer and leave you buying power in winter, so how your utility settles that difference matters as much as the size of the array.
Three competing quotes beat any amount of comparing panel brands
Sales cost and margin are over a third of an installed price in Colorado, and they are the part that competition removes. A single quote from whoever reached you first is how people end up in the top quarter of what their neighbours paid.
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Berkeley Lab publishes installed prices once a year, the EIA updates electricity rates every month, and Congress changed the tax treatment of all of this in 2025. One email when something on this site actually changes, and nothing else.
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