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kenoatman (Ken Oatman) says…

You asked: “How do we get Vestas Wind or Namaste Solar to develop wind and solar in Northwest Colorado?”

You might start with the Yampa Valley Electric Association. Their website states: “The Association does not provide any upfront financial incentives to install solar equipment.”

Very much like Namaste, I work for one of Colorado's larger solar companies, Astralux Power Systems. We do provide solar installation services all over Colorado. And, we're happy to help develop solar in Northwest Colorado as well. But most state utilities provide some assistance for solar electric systems, since it prevents them from having to build or expand expensive coal or gas burning power plants. So, please contact them ask them when they plan to adopt a more forward-thinking policy.

For Yampa Valley Electric customers who want solar regardless, solar panel prices have dropped in half in just one year. And YVEA does allow for “net metering”, meaning we can install grid-tied (no battery) solar panel systems that use the grid as the backup source when needed, at night and cloudy days. This is the simplest, least expensive type of photovoltaic energy for the average house or commercial building.

See our website http://www.AstraluxSolar.com, or email me for a quote, oatman@aessolarenergy.com We just dropped prices this week, to $5.95 per watt installed. That's a 25%+ drop in less than two months, so even without the usual utility rebates available, that provides a ~5% return on your investment over the warrantied life of the system.