Who bills Clear Creek County businesses, and what that means
Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado): Xcel's net metering is open to commercial and industrial customers on their normal rate schedule, sized up to 200% of reasonably expected annual consumption under Colorado's statute; a bidirectional meter nets consumption, monthly surplus rolls forward, and the customer can elect a year-end cash-out at Xcel's average hourly incremental cost. The commercial catch is the rate: Schedule C (under 50 kW) is energy-only, but Secondary General and Primary General bill a distribution demand charge plus a seasonal generation-and-transmission demand charge — the May 2024 base was $9.36 + $15.14/kW in summer for SG — and those don't net against solar. Solar*Rewards C&I pays a 20-year production incentive on 8 kW–1 MW systems for demand-rate customers (published tiers around $0.04–$0.0475/kWh; verify current availability). Rates rose about 4.6% for small business on August 29, 2026.
CORE Electric Cooperative: CORE net-meters commercial systems up to the lesser of 25 kW AC or 200% of the meter's 12-month usage, with monthly kWh carry-forward and an annual settlement at avoided cost. Anything larger is not net-metered: it takes service under CORE's Small QF schedule (up to 500 kW), which buys all exported energy at the published avoided-cost rate ($0.04616/kWh from May 2026). Every non-residential CORE rate carries a 15-minute-peak demand charge, and those charges rose in January 2026.
Territory lines follow feeders and substations rather than town limits, so the county-wide picture (by land area: Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado) ~82%, CORE Electric Cooperative ~18%) can differ from your address. The utility name on the bill is the one that counts.
Demand charges: the half of the bill panels don't fix
Read the demand line on your bill before anyone sizes an array. On many commercial rates it is a third to half of the total, it is set by one peak interval per month, and solar alone cannot be relied on to lower it. Storage can, and it also keeps refrigeration and phones up during an outage.
We ask Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado) (or your utility) for 12 months of interval data where it is available. Monthly totals hide the peaks that set the demand charge, and a design built on totals will overpromise.
What commercial solar looks like in Central Mountains
Mountain-county commercial property means lodging, restaurants, ski-area support buildings, workforce housing and small main-street retail — buildings with expensive winter power, big snow loads and roofs that often carry heated-driveway and snowmelt loads. Resort-town design review adds a step to most projects.
Clear Creek County's commercial addresses cluster in Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Central City and the smaller towns, with farm, ranch and rural-industrial accounts on the co-op and rural lines in between. Each building type has its own load shape; our property-type pages walk through the ones that fit this county best.
The credit, the deadline and depreciation
Businesses can still claim the federal §48E investment credit on solar, but the window is defined: projects that did not begin construction by July 4, 2026 generally must be placed in service by December 31, 2027. Storage keeps its eligibility much longer, and 100% bonus depreciation has been restored for qualifying property. Sourcing rules for foreign entities of concern now affect equipment choice on projects starting construction after 2025.
Tax-exempt owners — churches, districts, nonprofits, tribal and municipal entities — may be able to take the credit's value as a direct payment under the elective-pay rules. All of this has shifted repeatedly and depends on your entity and timing, so we give your CPA equipment and cost detail to work from rather than tax advice.
Getting a business system approved here
Unincorporated addresses in Clear Creek County permit through the county building department; towns with their own building departments issue their own, and in many smaller Colorado jurisdictions the State Electrical Board issues the electrical permit. Commercial arrays get full plan review — a Colorado-licensed engineer stamps the racking and any ballast design to local snow and wind loads — and the utility's interconnection study for larger systems runs on its own clock.
FAQ
Questions we hear
Which utility rules apply to a business in Clear Creek County?
Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado) and CORE Electric Cooperative serve the county by area, and Georgetown maps to Xcel Energy (Public Service Company of Colorado). On the co-op side, commercial net metering is guaranteed to 25 kW by statute and larger systems are by agreement. The utility on your bill is the one we design to.
Will solar lower my demand charges in Clear Creek County?
Sometimes, but not reliably on its own. Demand is set by your single highest draw each month, and a cloudy afternoon lets it through. A battery programmed to shave peaks usually does more for demand charges than panels alone; we model both from your interval data.
How long do we have to use the federal commercial solar credit?
As of September 2026, solar generally must be placed in service by December 31, 2027 unless construction began by July 4, 2026. Storage keeps eligibility longer. Confirm timing and eligibility with your tax advisor — the rules have moved more than once.
Do you install commercial systems in Clear Creek County?
Yes. Our own crews install rooftop and ground-mount commercial systems and storage throughout Clear Creek County, and we handle plan review, the engineer's stamp and utility interconnection. Projects in Idaho Springs and the rest of the county are scheduled from our Denver base.