Your Colorado Solar Contract Was Sold on 300 Days of Sunshine. Here's What They Left Out.
The short version: Most Colorado solar leases have an escalator clause. It raises your payment 2.9% every year. Over 25 years, a $150 payment grows to more than $300. The Colorado AG filed criminal fraud charges against a solar company. Big solar companies that worked in Colorado have gone bankrupt. Titan Solar Power is one of them. If your solar panels aren't saving what you were told, you have real rights. Start with a free Solar Relief Assessment to see what's actually in your contract.
Colorado gets 300 days of sunshine a year. That's what your solar salesperson led with. What they didn't lead with is what happens when a hailstorm knocks your panels offline and your contract payment stays exactly the same.
Colorado ranks among the worst states in the country for hail damage. Your roof gets hit. Your panels get hit. And your solar contract? It doesn't have a weather clause. You keep paying whether your system is producing or not.
That's not the only thing missing from the sales pitch. The savings projections your salesperson showed you were built around Xcel Energy rates increasing at a specific pace. If those rates haven't climbed the way your salesperson predicted, the entire financial case for your contract is weaker than you were told.
If you're a Colorado homeowner and your solar panels aren't delivering what was promised, the sunshine isn't the problem. The contract is.
The Colorado Attorney General Is Watching Solar
In December 2025, Colorado AG Phil Weiser announced criminal charges against two men. They ran a company called Sopris Solar. The charges: 11 counts of fraud. The men took customer deposits. They never finished the solar installs. The cases cover Eagle, Park, Prowers, San Miguel, Summit, and Weld counties.
This matters to you. State enforcement agencies have put it on the record. The same sales tactics used on Colorado homeowners are now named in court filings. If what your salesperson told you doesn't match your contract, you're not alone. You're not crazy. And you have options.
What's actually in your Colorado solar contract
Here's what most Colorado homeowners don't find out until they've been paying for a year or two: the deal you signed isn't the deal you were sold.
Your salesperson told you 300 days of sunshine meant guaranteed savings. But did they mention the escalator clause buried in your lease? That's the line that raises your payment every year - by as much as 2.9%. On a 25-year lease, that takes a $150 monthly payment past $300. Colorado's sunshine doesn't change that math!
Did they tell you what happens when hail damages your panels? Colorado sees some of the worst hailstorms in the country. Panel damage reduces your system's output - but your contract payment stays the same. If your installer has gone bankrupt, the workmanship warranty that was supposed to cover this is gone with them.
And did they mention what happens when the company behind your contract disappears? More than 100 solar companies filed for bankruptcy in 2024 alone, according to SolarInsure. Titan Solar Power. Power Home Solar. Sunnova (filed Chapter 11 in June 2025 - one of the largest residential solar companies in the country). All operated in Colorado. When your installer goes under, your payments don't stop. Your contract doesn't disappear. But the warranty you were counting on is gone.
Your rights under Colorado law
Colorado gives you strong consumer protections. Here's what your salesperson almost certainly didn't explain.
Your 3-day cancellation window. Colorado's Consumer Protection Act (CRS §6-1-708) reinforces the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. If you signed a solar contract at your home, you have 3 business days to cancel. If you weren't told about this right, that affects your contract's enforceability. How do you know if you were told? Pull out your paperwork. If there's no cancellation notice on the front page, the company skipped a required disclosure.
Colorado Consumer Protection Act. CRS §6-1-105 prohibits deceptive trade practices. If your solar salesperson made false or misleading claims about your savings, system performance, or contract terms, this statute covers your situation. Colorado's law doesn't require you to prove intent - just that the representation was false or misleading. That's a lower bar than most states.
Hail and severe weather exposure. Colorado ranks among the worst states for hail. Panel damage from hail reduces your system's output, but your contract payment doesn't adjust. If your salesperson didn't discuss weather risk at all - and most don't - that's a gap in what you were told at the point of sale. Your contract doesn't pause for weather damage.
Xcel Energy rate structure. Xcel Energy is the dominant utility in Colorado, and your solar savings projections were built around Xcel's rates. If those rates haven't increased at the pace your salesperson projected, the numbers don't work in your favor. Pull your Xcel bills from the last two years and compare the rate increases to what your salesperson assumed. The gap tells you whether the projection was honest.
Hidden dealer fees in your loan. If you financed your solar system, there is a good chance a dealer fee was buried in your loan balance - sometimes adding thousands of dollars. Under the federal Truth in Lending Act, every finance charge must be disclosed. If yours wasn't, that's a violation - and it means you've been paying interest on money that went to the solar company, not to your system.
What you can do right now
You don't have to figure this out alone. Here are the first steps for Colorado homeowners.
File a complaint with the Colorado Attorney General. Go to https://coag.gov/file-complaint/. Or call 1-800-222-4444. Filing is free. The AG's office reads every complaint.
Compare what the salesperson told you to what's in your contract. In most cases, the two don't match. That gap is what makes a case.
Pull your utility bills from the last 12 months. Add up what you're paying the utility plus what you're paying for solar. Compare that to what you'd pay the utility alone. If the numbers don't work, that's a real gap — not just a feeling.
Find the escalator clause and the dealer fee in your contract. These two lines cause the biggest gap between what you were sold and what you're paying. You can spot both by reading your own paperwork.
Every contract is different. But the first step is the same for everyone. Understand what you signed. Solar Home Advocate built the free Solar Relief Assessment for this exact moment. Someone walks through your contract with you in plain English. They tell you your options.
You Signed a Solar Contract in Colorado. Find Out What It's Actually Costing You.
Colorado's 300 days of sunshine made this one of the most aggressively sold solar states in the country. A free Solar Relief Assessment helps you understand what's in your contract, whether hail damage or rate assumptions have changed your situation, and what you can do about it for you and your family.
[Get free Solar Relief Assessment →](https://solarhomeadvocate.com/free-assessment?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=state-guide&utm_content=colorado)Get free Solar Relief Assessment →**
No charge. No obligation. No high-pressure pitch.
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"Sal says: A 2.9% escalator clause nearly doubles your payment over 25 years. The Colorado AG filed criminal fraud charges against solar operators. Freedom Forever filed Chapter 11 in April 2026. If you signed a solar contract in Colorado, these facts hit your math and your warranty."
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are my rights if I signed a solar contract in Colorado?
Did a salesperson come to your home? If yes, you have a 3-day right to cancel. That's under federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule and the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. Colorado also has Colorado Consumer Protection Act (C.R.S. §6-1-101 et seq.). That law covers unfair or deceptive sales tactics. You can file a complaint with the Colorado Attorney General. Go to https://coag.gov/file-complaint/ or call 1-800-222-4444. If your salesperson didn't tell you about the 3-day cancel rule, that can affect your contract.
Has Colorado sued any solar companies?
Yes. In December 2025, Colorado AG Phil Weiser announced criminal charges against two men. They ran a company called Sopris Solar. The charges: 11 counts of fraud. The men took customer deposits. They never finished the solar installs. The cases cover Eagle, Park, Prowers, San Miguel, Summit, and Weld counties.
How does the escalator clause affect my Colorado solar contract?
Most Colorado solar leases have an escalator clause. It raises your payment about 2.9% every year. On a 25-year lease, a $150 payment grows to more than $300. Colorado's average electricity rate is about 16.44 cents per kilowatt-hour in early 2026. That's close to the national average of 17.45 cents. Utility rates haven't always gone up 2.9% a year. So your solar payment can climb faster than your would-be utility bill. Your savings shrink instead of grow.
What happens if my Colorado solar company went bankrupt?
SolarInsure counted more than 100 solar company bankruptcies in 2024. Big names include SunPower (Aug 2024), Sunnova Energy (June 2025), Titan Solar Power (June 2024), Freedom Forever (April 15, 2026), Pink Energy (Oct 2022), and Vision Solar (Dec 2023). If your installer went bankrupt, your contract still stands. Your payments still go out. But the workmanship warranty usually dies with the company. The panel maker's warranty (often 25 years) still exists. But filing a claim without an active installer is hard.
Can I cancel my Colorado solar contract?
Did the salesperson come to your home? Then Colorado law gives you 3 business days to cancel. That's under federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule and the federal FTC Cooling-Off Rule. If those 3 days have passed, you may still have options. Did they skip the cancel notice? Did they use deceptive sales tactics? Did your loan hide fees? Any of those can open a path to cancel. It depends on your specific contract and how it was sold.
What are hidden dealer fees on a Colorado solar loan?
Solar finance companies add dealer fees of 15 to 30 percent to your loan. They roll the fee into the principal. They don't list it separately. That means you pay interest on fee money that went to the solar company. Not to your panels. The federal Truth in Lending Act says every fee must be listed clearly. A hidden fee can be a federal violation. That's one of the strongest paths to renegotiate or exit a solar loan.
How do I file a solar complaint in Colorado?
Go to the Colorado Attorney General's website at https://coag.gov/file-complaint/. Or call 1-800-222-4444. Filing is free. Write down what the salesperson told you at the sale. Save your contract. Save any texts, emails, and voicemails with the installer. If you have a solar loan, keep your loan paperwork. A formal complaint creates a record. That record strengthens any legal review later.