Solar Co-op Launches in Fort Collins

The first of its kind solar co-op has recently been launched in Fort Collins as part of a statewide initiative. Bryce Carter of Solar United Neighbors says that the idea is that co-op members will be working together to save money by leveraging the bulk purchasing power of participating home and business owners.

Co-op members participate in the RSP (request for proposals) process, and then proceed to set up an election committee to review proposals for installation. The installer will meet with each individual homeowner to agree on prices. Throughout most of the process the homeowners themselves create the system for their specific neighborhoods.

Solar United Neighbors provides information to streamline this process for the customers to take about 3 to 6 months total.

Carter says that the city of Fort Collins is supporting the scheme as it benefits communities trying to reach their renewable energy goals.

“It actually is something we do regularly in terms of working with municipalities. We had a press event the other day where it was said that the need forcing these to deploy climate change is 10 dollars, and the city’s only able to provide 1 dollar of investment to figure out how we follow through with the issues before us. So they’re really looking to the private sector and the nonprofits to help fill that gap. So that’s where they saw the benefit of Solar United Neighbors of Colorado, because we can help facilitate growth in the solar sector, making it more affordable for folks, and we can deploy those resources.”

Solar United Colorado are working with more communities than just the ones on Fort Collins, and there’s more information on that subject on their website.

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