Half a dozen towns along Interstate 70 in Colorado are getting solar energy operations.
Pivot Energy and Standard Solar, two leading national solar companies are behind the 10.3 megawatt projects that will provide power to towns, school districts and low income housing authorities.
Standard Solar will finance, own, and maintain the six community solar gardens that Pivot Energy developed and constructed. Comprising both ground mount and rooftop arrays, the solar projects are expected to produce 18,644,960 kWh of energy. That is equivalent to offsetting the greenhouse gas emissions from 2,971 passenger vehicles driven for one year and CO2 emissions from 15,181,506 pounds of coal burned.
Four of the solar gardens are already 100% subscribed:
- 100 kW: located on land owned by Garfield Housing Authority, Parachute, Colo.
- 1 MW: located west of Silt, Colo.
- 2 MW: located on south side of Palisade, Colo.
- 2 MW: located in an industrial area in Grand Junction, Colo.
The projects in Parachute and Palisade are currently under construction while the Silt and Grand Junction sites will begin construction before the end of the year.
Two additional community solar projects located in Silt and Grand Junction are currently seeking subscriptions and will be built in 2019.
According to the Colorado Energy Office, Colorado leads the nation with nearly 70 community solar projects in operation generating more than 50 MW, with many more in development.
