Colorado Solar Kits

Aurora
Lakewood
Fort Collins
Thornton
Westminster
Denver
Colorado Springs

Colorado is one of leading solar and alternative energy users in the country. It is actually ranked higher than California, a very sunny state compared to Colorado, in new solar kits and ones under construction. California still produces more electricity from the wind using home wind turbines and solar power, but they also consume it much more quickly. Considering that there is a 29 million person difference in population between the two states there is a lot more power per person being generated in Colorado.

A state that is high in the mountains doesn’t seem like it could be one of the largest solar power markets. There is not nearly as much sunlight as southern California, but there is one thing that Colorado has that California lacks, huge tracts of undeveloped land. This allows for large fields of photovoltaic arrays to be set up in places where they are less visible and out of the way. Heavy snowfall can prevent light from reaching the solar cells which drastically reduces efficiency. This often requires the snow to be removed manually, but the panel’s ability to track the sun mechanically can also allow it to tilt enough for the snow and ice to slide off. Photovoltaic cells actually produce more electricity when they are cold, maximum efficiency is reached right around freezing point and slowly diminishes until roughly 100 degrees F when it begins to rapidly lose its efficiency.

Snow is very reflective as well, so on a cold sunny day with snow covered ground there could actually be more power flowing out of a photovoltaic cell than on a hot sunny day in the desert. That, coupled with beneficial tax laws and government rebates for solar power has lured many solar companies to establish their businesses in Colorado. Solar City, one of the largest photovoltaic installers in California is moving to Colorado to set up shop. They specialize in group installations where they convince at least 50 homeowners in the same neighborhood to go solar which decreases installation costs by over 50% and allows for bulk purchase of panels lowering the cost even more.

There are a wide variety of commercial and private applications to alternative energy sources. The real advantage is that any surpluses of energy, no matter where they come from, are tied back into the power grid and result in cheaper costs for everyone. It is very difficult for anyone to store this electricity effectively so it is only logical that it would be better to use it than lose it.

Solar energy could change the way we think about power. Instead of relying on one large local power company whose costs are affected by the price of coal, maintaining power lines and power stations, and even the cost of fuel to transport the coal and maintenance vehicles, we could rely on the interconnectedness of power being generated from every house and building to power everything. Traditionally one power line can supply power to hundreds of houses, and that line is supplied from other larger power lines. When one line fails it can take out power for thousands of houses. With solar power, houses are interconnected to each other, when one wire fails power is merely redirected until it is fixed, or the house has to rely on their own solar panels until they are reconnected. This would make large scale power outages a thing of the past. Enough initial investment and the entire state, and eventually the world, could rely solely on solar power.