Colorado Aims to Develop First "Solar Garden"

The Coloradoan community of Fort Collins is looking to grow the world’s first “solar garden,” reported Business Green last month.  The solar garden sprouted from other community energy projects conceived and constructed in Germany, Spain and the Netherlands.  These energy projects follow the same guiding principles as community solar farms; the solar garden will consist of an array of solar panels with grid-connected subscribers who will receive net metering benefits. 

Under current net metering policies in Colorado, customers who own solar panels that generate surplus electricity may sell that excess power back to the utility company.  Homes and businesses will now have the opportunity to simply invest in the solar garden in return for a bill credit as if they generated surplus energy from panels on their own roofs. 

The advantage of both a solar garden and community solar farm is that people are not constrained by the structure of their houses.  A homeowner that has a tree shading the property or a rooftop ill-suited for solar can still invest in the solar garden and thus receive the net metering benefits.  These types of projects create additional ways in which the public can support clean energy use and production.

The solar garden term was first conceived by FortZED, which is the Fort Collins program established to cut fuel emissions.  The program is working to reduce emissions by 20 percent by 2020 while also increasing Colorado’s use of renewable energy. FortZED is currently in talks with prospective commercial partners to design a 300kW solar garden that will be based somewhere within the city.    

In addition to the solar garden, FortZED is also planning to develop a wind farm at the foot of the Rocky Mountains.  According to FortZED, several other energy projects are in the works.

The Chanler Group is actively engaged in the review and analysis of incentive-based renewable energy programs to determine potential benefits to our clients.  Global energy consumption continues to increase each year and, with this increase, the demand for safe, clean, and unlimited energy is on the rise.  The Federal and State governments promote this interest through a variety of financially-beneficial incentives.  Our understanding of these laws allows us to guide homeowners, businesses, and/or developers through the various ways to take advantage of these incentive-based benefits.  With the appreciation that renewable energy laws and regulations are constantly changing, The Chanler Group is committed to investing in its understanding and practice of this area of law.