Pivot Energy was selected by Xcel Energy to develop a 41 MW portfolio of community solar in Colorado. This portfolio will only serve income-qualified households below an established income threshold. The eight projects are located throughout Boulder, Logan and Mesa Counties.
Pivot Energy can offer affordable community solar subscriptions for income-qualified households. This will allow them to serve groups that have been historically excluded from the clean energy transition, and are most at risk of adverse climate impacts. This community solar portfolio shows how solar development can be used to create positive impacts beyond emissions reductions.
“We are pleased to be working with Pivot Energy on this community solar portfolio,” says Emmett Romine, vice president of customer solutions and innovation for Xcel Energy. “Subscribing to these community solar gardens will bring energy-bill savings to our income-qualified customers and help them be part of the clean-energy transformation.”
The development of an income-qualified portfolio of this size is possible in Colorado because of the state’s renewable energy regulatory landscape, which is designed to address energy equity issues while fulfilling the public demand for a transition to clean, emissions-free energy production.
“I am proud to see Pivot Energy, a Colorado-based company, leading efforts to expand renewable energy access for low-income households,” comments Bill Ritter, a former governor of Colorado. “The clean energy transition will only be successful if it can provide clean, reliable energy for all of us, regardless of income, and developing a 100 percent income-qualified solar portfolio on this scale will support countless Coloradans.”
Pivot works with community organizations to allocate subscriptions to the most in need. They manage them through their proprietary cloud-based software, SunCentral.
“Pivot Energy is thrilled to deploy this portfolio, which will deliver profound benefits – both environmental and economic – to thousands of income-qualified households,” adds Tom Hunt, CEO of Pivot Energy. “As the renewable energy industry strives to advance both energy equity and the clean energy transition, I hope to see other states and utilities emulate the leadership and constructive collaboration of Xcel Energy and the state of Colorado to facilitate more equitable access to clean energy.”