Corporate Solar in Colorado Moves Off-Site
How a 10.44 MW off-site solar project in Weld County shows Colorado manufacturers turning clean energy procurement into a long-term cost hedge
By: Tangia Zheng
Jan. 27, 2026
A 10.44 Megawatt DC solar project approved in Weld County illustrates how Colorado companies are restructuring power procurement. Under a 20-year agreement, Denver-based Pivot Energy will develop, own, and operate three co-located solar arrays in Greeley supplying approximately 20 million kilowatt-hours annually to CoorsTek, a Golden-based manufacturer of technical ceramics. The generation is expected to offset roughly 40% of electricity demand across six of CoorsTek’s Colorado facilities.
At that output level, the project implies an annual capacity factor of approximately 22%, consistent with Front Range solar performance. The arrays are located roughly 50 miles northeast of Denver and will interconnect at the distribution level rather than the transmission system.
The structure is central to the economics. Through off-site net metering, CoorsTek will receive utility bill credits tied directly to project production, with no upfront capital investment and no ongoing operations or maintenance costs. The company will retain 100% of the renewable energy credits generated, allowing the project’s output to be fully applied toward internal emissions-reduction and renewable-energy accounting.
Off-site net metering has become a practical scaling mechanism for corporate solar in Colorado. State policy allows electricity generated at a single site to offset usage across multiple meters within the same utility service territory. For companies with dispersed facilities and consistent load profiles, this enables 5–20 MW projects that exceed the practical limits of rooftop or behind-the-meter installations.
The economics increasingly resemble risk management rather than discretionary sustainability spending. Long-term solar contracts provide price certainty over 20 years, insulating energy-intensive manufacturers from rising wholesale power costs driven by fuel volatility, transmission expansion, and grid reliability investments. For developers, contracted corporate offtake supports non-recourse financing while avoiding the interconnection queues faced by larger utility-scale projects.
Manufacturing firms are emerging as anchor buyers. Compared with office or retail users, manufacturers typically operate with higher load factors, longer planning horizons, and tighter cost controls. Retaining renewable energy credits has become a baseline requirement, ensuring that contracted generation translates into auditable emissions reductions rather than indirect offsets.
Project siting reflects similar pragmatism. Northeastern Colorado offers strong solar irradiance, relatively low land costs, and access to existing distribution infrastructure. County-level approvals can shorten development timelines compared with transmission-connected projects, reducing entitlement and interconnection risk.
The project will use American-made solar panels, aligning with federal incentive structures and corporate procurement standards that increasingly prioritize domestic manufacturing, even at higher equipment costs.
Off-site net metering represents one of several procurement paths now active in Colorado. Some firms are pursuing virtual power purchase agreements tied to utility-scale assets, while others pair solar contracts with efficiency upgrades or demand-side management. Across structures, the unifying objective is cost stability, not symbolism.
Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2026, with commercial operation targeted for summer 2027. The Weld County project underscores a broader shift: Colorado’s energy transition is being shaped less by mandate and more by corporate balance-sheet decisions, with mid-scale, contract-backed solar filling the gap between utility planning cycles and corporate timelines.
