I’m not going to lie — I’m a sucker for community solar projects. In terms of pure output or emissions reduction, they don’t touch utility-scale solar projects. However, they bring a lot more people into the economic benefits that come from solar power.

The latest community solar news I’ve seen is that Pivot Energy, which is “Colorado’s largest community solar developer,” and Standard Solar are jointly developing 3 new community solar projects in Colorado. Together, the power capacity of the 3 community solar farms will be 4 megawatts (MW), producing enough electricity for 700 homes, in theory.

Furthermore, 1 MW out of the 4 MW “is solely dedicated to serving low-income subscribers.” Local municipalities and organizations are buying the other 3 MW of the project capacity. “Pivot Energy developed and constructed the solar gardens and will provide customer management services, while Standard Solar will finance, own, and maintain the systems,” the companies announced.

“Our continued partnership with Standard Solar has been a tremendous success as we work to meet the growing demand by Coloradans for more clean energy,” said Jon Fitzpatrick, vice president of project development for Pivot Energy. “This is an exciting portfolio for us to develop that will support local jobs and create economic benefits for Garfield Jefferson counties while advancing the state’s clean energy progress.”

“Developing these projects alongside Pivot Energy was a true collaboration leveraging our joint resources and our shared values in renewable energy and accessibility,” said Shaun Laughlin, Head of US Strategic Development for Standard Solar. “We’re proud to do our part to accelerate the energy transition through acquiring high-quality, renewable energy assets projects like these throughout the U.S.”

Two of the community solar gardens, both of which will be in Garfield County, will be coming online in a matter of days, in June 2021. The third project, this one located in Jefferson County, will start pumping out electricity later in the summer. Live in the state and want to subscribe to a community solar garden? If so, head to: https://platform.pivotenergy.net/residential

Image courtesy of Clean Energy Economy for the Region (CLEER)

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