City of Denver to pay over $1M for non-profit solar installation

The city of Denver says that the cost of installing solar energy is "cost-prohibitive" for some non-profits. So, the city is going to pick up the cost and spending more than $1 million so two non-profits can have rooftop solar power installed.

Denver City Council is set to approve more than $1 million in contracts to install rooftop solar as the city continues working towards 100% renewable energy by 2030. The contracts were approved at the Jan. 31 city council meeting and are on the Feb. 6 agenda to be finalized.

The contract between the Jewish Family Service of Colorado totals $540,000 for the installation of 162.7kw of rooftop solar and green workforce training, according to documents, for a term ending Dec. 18, 2025.

The second contract approved is under Clayton Early Learning for $520,000 for the installation of 250.0 kW rooftop solar and one vehicle charging station with the term ending Dec. 15, 2025.

This contract is part of Denver’s Renewable & Resilience Incentive program as Denver continues to work towards its goal of 100% renewable energy by 2030. The program was created in 2022 and offers financial incentives for installing distributed energy resources, including solar, battery storage, and electric vehicle charging equipment.

City voters approved a Ballot Initiative 2A in November 2020 to create a Climate Protection Fund that is paying for the solar rooftop installations.

The contracts are part of the city’s goal of reducing electricity-associated greenhouse emissions from any human service provider funded by Denver’s Renewable & Resilience Incentive program by at least 20%. The program also hopes to accelerate the market adoption of renewable technologies to reduce emissions quickly.

The city of Denver, Jewish Family Services of Colorado and Clayton Early Learning did not respond to emails seeking comment.