Colorado’s state Congress may have an interesting bit of legislation before them this session: a bill that would allow solar panels installed in community gardens to qualify for the solar rebates currently available through Xcel Energy. The brainchild of State Rep Claire Levy (D-Boulder), the bill would allow multiple people to buy into an off-site solar installation and, like shareholders, all receive a portion of the benefits of the solar energy, from installation cost reductions to any net-metering credits for excess electric generation. Levy told the Daily Camera that:

“It’s for people who are renters, who live in condominium projects and don’t have rooftops, people whose lots are shaded, people whose houses aren’t the right orientation — a whole variety of things.”

Being able to take advantage of solar incentives for off-site solar installations could be a huge boon to urban dwellers. If this bill passes and successfully engenders more solar capacity in urban areas in Colorado, perhaps such legislation could serve as a model for other states where space is at a premium and few people own the rooftop real estate to host solar energy systems.

Right now, Xcel Energy customers can take advantage of the Solar Rewards program, which offers both solar rebates and solar renewable energy credits (SREC) purchasing to defray the costs of solar installations. The rebate is equal to $2/watt for systems under 500 kw; larger systems are treated on an individual basis. The SREC payments are structured differently for small, customer-owned systems and for larger and third party-owned systems, but are all for 20 year contracts. This predictable value makes your solar investment more transparent and sweetens an already sweet deal–now is a great time to get solar in Xcel Energy territory.