The City of Westminster Sustainability Office, Adams County, the City of Northglenn and Solar United Neighbors (SUN), a national solar nonprofit, successfully completed the 2022 Adams Solar Co-op. The Co-op was the first multi-municipality solar co-op in Colorado. Initially, 202 Adams County residents expressed interest in learning more about installing solar on their homes, of which 93 were Westminster residents. Of that total number, 39 residents signed contracts with the selected solar installer, Photon Brothers; 20 of those were Westminster residents.
The Co-op helped residents become more energy independent, save money on electricity bills, and reduced the upfront cost of installing solar. These benefits are seen in the following results:
- The total kilowatt capacity of the installed systems is 279.3 kilowatts, which is roughly equivalent to the power generated by the solar panels on top of the Colorado Convention Center.
- The total private dollars spent on the installations was $1,005,776 and will result in a 25-year energy savings of $1,313,893 for the homeowners.
- Homeowners also saw a 15-20% savings from participating in the co-op compared to an average price for solar installation.
- The City in total permitted ~800 solar installations for all building types in 2022
Overall, Westminster had the highest number of both installed solar systems and energy generated of any of participating municipalities. This shows a high demand for solar energy among city homeowners. The City and its partners will be exploring additional solar co-ops in the future. Residents and businesses interested in exploring solar and renewable energy options can access resources and learn more on our renewable energy website: https://www.westminsterco.gov/Residents/CityServices/Sustainability/RenewableEnergy
Back to The Westy Word