Farm & ranch solar in Western Slope

Fruit cooling, packing and wine-making run through the hottest part of the year, when solar production peaks. A cold-storage building or winery with steady summer refrigeration load is usually a better match for solar than a canal-fed field that uses little electricity.

Refrigeration also makes outages expensive. A commercial battery on the critical cooling circuits can protect a harvest’s worth of product during a summer outage, and we size it around the loads you can’t afford to lose.

Grand Valley Power, Delta-Montrose Electric and Xcel each set their own commercial and irrigation rates, and demand charges can be a large part of a packing shed’s bill. Colorado co-ops must offer at least 25 kW of commercial net metering, and larger systems depend on each co-op’s own policy.

We review 12 months of bills for each meter before recommending a size, because a shed with a big summer demand spike needs a different design from a winery with a flatter load.

As of September 2026, USDA REAP grants are paused, while REAP guaranteed loans remain available, and rooftop systems on farm buildings are eligible. Commercial solar can still claim the federal §48E credit if it’s placed in service by December 31, 2027, or construction began by July 4, 2026. Tax treatment varies, so we work alongside your CPA. Verify current terms before committing.