Solar & batteries with Fort Collins Utilities (Light & Power)

On Xcel, an exported kWh comes back later as a kWh. In Fort Collins, an exported kWh earns whatever the time-of-day rate is when it leaves — and at midday, that’s the off-peak price. You then buy evening power at on-peak prices, which are at least three times higher.

So a Fort Collins system earns most when its output is used in the home as it’s made, or stored and used later. Oversized systems that export heavily at noon earn less here than the same panels would in Xcel territory.

The solar rebate maxes out at a 5 kW system ($300 × 5 = $1,500). For batteries, a 13.5 kWh Powerwall 3 works out to $4,050 under the $300-per-kWh formula, a 10 kWh Enphase system to $3,000, and a 9 kWh SigEnergy system to $2,700. The battery rebate stops at $6,000 (20 kWh), and solar plus battery together cap at $7,500.

These are the 2026 program amounts. Budgets and deadlines can close a program mid-year, so we confirm availability before quoting a rebate.

Rebates require installation by a Fort Collins Participating Solar Contractor, using CEC-listed equipment, and completion within six months. Ask any installer — including us — to show their current participating status before you sign a contract that assumes the rebate.

Fort Collins Utilities serves the city; some unincorporated and recently annexed edges are still on Poudre Valley REA, which has different rules. We confirm the utility on your bill first.

Fort Collins pays one of the richest commercial solar rebates in Colorado — $0.50 per watt, up to $50,000 per project — through a participating contractor, with equipment from its approved list and installation within six months of the reservation letter. Commercial systems may be sized up to 200% of the customer's 24-month average annual use, and surplus is credited at the commercial time-of-day rate in effect when it is exported; credits offset energy charges but not fixed or demand charges. Demand billing starts at 25 kW: E250 (25–49 kW) pays a $7.56–$13.28/kW seasonal facility demand charge, and E300 (50–749 kW) pays $12.76/kW facility plus a $15.72–$19.18/kW coincident-peak charge (2026). Platte River wholesale rose 6.3% for 2026.

Commercial incentive: Commercial solar rebate $0.50/W up to $50,000 per project (approved equipment, participating contractor, PowerClerk application).

Demand charges are the part of a commercial bill panels alone don't reliably cut, which is why our commercial proposals in Fort Collins Utilities territory usually model a peak-shaving battery alongside the array. County-by-county detail is on our commercial pages.