Solar Panel Installation in Summit County, Colorado

What to know about going solar in Summit County

Summit County is a patchwork of jurisdictions, and where your address sits decides who permits the job. The Summit County Building Department handles unincorporated areas and issues smaller residential roof-mounted PV permits over the counter when every submittal item is provided, with plan review for larger residential systems, ground mounts and commercial work. County submittals are made in person.

The Town of Frisco has consolidated its process with the county: Summit County takes the application, routes it to Summit Fire & EMS and the Town for approval, issues the permit and performs the inspections. Solar and electrical permits for Silverthorne, Dillon and Keystone also run through the Summit County Building Department, sometimes with a town review first. Breckenridge runs its own Building Division, requires separate building and electrical permits for solar, and sets its own contractor requirements, including a town business license. We confirm the authority for each address before we design.

Your utility: Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy provides electric service in Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone, Blue River and Copper Mountain, so most Summit County homes follow Xcel's net metering and interconnection process. Xcel caps a system at 120% of the home's previous 12 months of use, which matters for second homes with low or seasonal usage. If the home is used part of the year, we size to the bills it actually has.

Snow, roofs and mountain design

Mountain roofs carry heavy snow loads, steep pitches and metal or standing-seam roofing that is rare in the metro. Your structural engineer sets the design snow load for your address, and racking and layout follow from that, including where snow will slide and how to keep panels clear of valleys and entries. Microinverters handle partial shade from lodgepole pines and neighboring buildings better than a single string inverter.

Battery backup for mountain outages

Winter storms and long feeder lines make outages a bigger deal at altitude, and a cold house with frozen pipes is the expensive kind of outage. A home battery keeps the furnace blower, heat tape, fridge, internet and well pump (where you have one) running, and it stores your daytime solar for the evening. For second-home owners, battery monitoring shows you when the power has been out.

We are certified on Enphase, Tesla Powerwall, Franklin and EG4, and we add batteries to existing solar. For Xcel customers, Renewable Battery Connect pays $250 per kW of battery capacity, up to $5,000, for Tesla Powerwall and Enphase IQ batteries. Xcel also offers a backup battery rebate of up to $10,000 for customers with a medical certification who live in Tier 2 or Tier 3 wildfire risk areas; we check whether your address is in one of those areas before counting it.

Already have solar? See how we add a battery to an existing system. More on solar battery backup in Colorado.

Local programs: HC3

High Country Conservation Center (HC3) runs Energy Smart Colorado programs for Summit County homes, and it has offered solar and battery rebates that vary by town, by income and by whether the home is a full-time residence. Funds are first-come, first-served, and HC3 sets its own installer and application requirements. Check HC3's current chart, or ask us to look at it with you, before you sign.

Summit County steps

1. 1Confirm your jurisdiction (county, Breckenridge, Frisco, Silverthorne, Dillon, Keystone or Blue River) and your Xcel account.
2. 2Site visit, shade and snow review, and structural engineering.
3. 3Permit with the correct office; county submittals are made in person.
4. 4Install, inspection, Xcel metering and permission to operate, then any program paperwork.

Ways to pay

Cash, a RENU loan or a lease, compared for the same design.