Colorado Solar Electric Energy 2018
Utility solar electric energy supplies less than 2% of total Colorado electric energy supply.
Foothills Solar project - City of Loveland, Colorado Water & Power Department. Source - American Public Power Association (APPA) gallery at Unsplash.com.
Utility-scale solar electric projects generated 1.94% of Colorado’s electric energy supply in 2018.
Electric utilities delivered 1,087 gigaWatthours of solar-electric energy to consumers.
Colorado 2018 Total Annual Electric Energy Sources:
Utility-Scale
Solar electric sources supplied less than 2 percent of total Colorado electric utility energy supply in 2018. Coal-fired electric energy declined from 54.31% in 2017 to 47.10% of total Colorado electric power supply in 2018.
Reproduced from U.S. Department of Energy - WINDExchange, with Linecurrents edits. (Tap/click to enlarge).
Large Projects Added in 2016 Doubled Solar Electric Energy Supply
Colorado’s utility-scale solar electric energy supply grew from 18 gigaWathours in 2008 to 1,087 GWhr in 2018.
Large increases in 2016 and 2017 annual totals (see chart) are the result of two major additions to the Colorado solar electric generating fleet:
San Isabel Solar
Trinidad, Colorado
30 megaWatts (MW)
December 2016Comanche Solar
Pueblo, Colorado
120 MW
September 2016
Linecurrents chart, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data. (Tap/click to enlarge).
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- Notes -
The following are equal amounts of electric energy:
1 gigaWatthour
GWhr
1,000 megaWatthours
MWhrs
1,000,000 kiloWatthours
KWhrs
May-September Best Months for Solar Energy Production
Maximum & Minimum Months
Maximum
127.9 GWhrs
June
Minimum
52.1 GWhrs
December
Linecurrents chart, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data.
Seasonal Patterns:
Colorado Monthly Solar Electric Energy 2008-2018
Summer versus winter solar electric energy production is more pronounced in 2017 and 2018 due to large projects added in the last half of 2016, causing the vertical-axis scale to expand.
Linecurrents chart - U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) data
Colorado Solar Electric Energy Generating Sites:
Utility-Scale
Solar electric generating projects rated 5 megaWatts or greater are labeled.
White River Electric Association hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony January 22, 2019 for Piceance Creek Solar in northwest Colorado.
Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association announced January 11, 2019 a contract for construction of 100 MW Spanish Peaks Solar. Construction will begin in 2022, with completion expected 2023. The site is 20 miles north of Trinidad, Colorado, adjacent to the 30 MW San Isabel Solar, completed in 2016.
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) map - Linecurrents labels
Solar Irradiance Maps:
Colorado & U.S.
Colorado’s sunniest regions are the eastern plains, San Luis Valley, and southwest corner (red & orange).
Annual daily average irradiance energy estimates shown are kiloWatthours per square-meter per day on a flat surface that is perpendicular (normal) to the incoming solar rays.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Colorado map of average daily solar irradiance - Linecurrents edits for sizing
Colorado’s solar energy irradiance is in the middle of the United States good-to-poor scale. Best locations for converting sunlight energy to electric energy is in the southwest U.S.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) United States map of average daily solar irradiance.
More Colorado energy info:
U.S. Energy Mapping System
Energy Information Administration - U.S. Department of
EnergyMajor Solar Projects List
Solar Energy Industries Association
Colorado Electric Generating Capacity 2017
Windpower annual power output grew more than 10X from 2006 to 2017.
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Windpower is Colorado’s largest non-carbon electric power source
2017 rankings - electric energy sources
54.31% coal combustion
23.28% natural gas combustion
17.30% wind turbines
Windpower electric energy annual production:
increased 1,076% from 2006 to 2017
achieved an annual average growth rate of 24%
EIA graph with Linecurrents edits.
Notes - above graph:
1 gigaWatthour = 1,000 megaWatthours = 1,000,000 kiloWatthours