Poudre Valley Rural Electric Association in Ft. Collins and Clean Energy Collective of Carbondale held a dedication ceremony for the Poudre Valley REA Community Solar Farm today at the PVREA Headquarters in Ft. Collins.

The Poudre Valley REA Community Solar Farm is the first community solar farm in Northern Colorado and encompasses 494 solar panels generating 116,090 watts of electricity. The panels were purchased and are owned by individual consumers who receive electricity from PVREA. Some consumers purchased as few as one panel and others as many as several dozen. Credits from the electricity generated are applied directly to the electric bills of each participating consumer in proportion to the number of panels purchased.

Tracee Bentley, Director of Policy and Legislation for the Colorado Energy Office delivered the keynote address to a group of approximately 75. Poudre Valley REA CEO Brad Gaskill, board president Jack Schneider and CEC President Paul Spencer also addressed the gathering. The event was attended by PVREA consumers who have reserved panels in the solar farm, the Poudre Valley REA Board of Directors and management team and representatives of local and state government.

 Community solar allows all consumers to utilize clean renewable energy, including renters, those with poorly sighted properties and individuals of all income levels, without having to build a costly system of their own. PVREA members get all of the financial and environmental benefits of using solar power without having to install anything on their roof. The environmental impact over the life of the array is equal to taking 17,000,000 automobile miles off the road.

 ”Poudre Valley REA is very happy and proud to be a partner in Northern Colorado’s first community solar array,” said Poudre Valley REA CEO Brad Gaskill. “Today’s dedication is a reaffirmation of the commitment by our board of directors to economically
incorporating renewable energy initiatives and seeking
ways for our consumers to benefit from a more diverse energy portfolio.”