In defense of the OBJ community solar array

Editor:

I am proud of our community for collaborating with GCEA and supporting the OBJ community solar array. It provides so many benefits, including helping to stabilize long-term electricity costs. There has been some misinformation about its impacts and, in response, I wanted to share what the data shows to be true.

GCEA is increasing electricity rates by an average of 7.2% in 2026. Other Colorado utilities are proposing similar rate increases. For example, Xcel Energy (Colorado’s largest electricity provider) is proposing an increase in electric rates of up to 10%. Local rate increases follow national trends. Approximately 65% of all electricity customers and 59% of all gas customers will experience rate increases in 2026 (note: you may have noticed that these increases are not unique to electricity rates). Small, community solar farms are not the cause of these rate increases. The rising costs are largely driven by complicated systemwide and global conditions.

In Colorado we use gas, coal, solar, wind and hydro to generate our electricity. As these costs increase, our electricity prices will follow. Over the past year, wholesale natural gas costs have increased by up to 35% in the southwest region of the US. The Energy Information Administration notes that the rising cost of gas is the “key driver of rising electricity rates… .” Another emerging factor is the rapid growth of AI and data centers, which require large amounts of electricity. As demand on the grid grows, utilities must invest more in infrastructure, which contributes to cost increases. A recent report published in the New York Times titled “Why the Price of Electricity is Spiking Around the County” also notes that electricity costs have increased due to inflation, in response to extreme weather events (presumably due to climate change) and that “many states [that] have added renewables [have] seen prices drop.”

Renewables help bring down electricity costs. Since roughly 2010, utility-scale solar (not to be confused with our OBJ community solar, which is much smaller) has been one of the least expensive ways to generate electricity – cheaper than fossil fuels. This was market-driven; our global subsidies for fossil fuels far exceed any provided to the renewable energy sector.

This means that one of the best ways to insulate ourselves from rising electricity costs is to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and source more of our electricity from renewables. This is exactly what our OBJ community array accomplishes.

There is no hidden agenda behind community arrays; you can trust that these are good solutions. They help shield us from rising electric costs, they provide zero greenhouse gas emissions and they produce zero harmful air pollutants. By contract, fossil fuels carry increasing financial liability, are the number one cause of climate change (which brings with it significant economic burden) and are responsible for killing at least five million people globally every single year due to poor air quality (sources include The Guardian, National Institute of Health and Harvard School of Public Health).

Building a visible community solar array demonstrates our commitment to supporting a high quality of life for everyone in CB. I am deeply grateful for it.

Some of you may be wondering about the mineral mining of solar. Yes, we mine minerals (aluminum, cobalt, etc.) to make solar panels and its hardware – just as we do for computers, smart phones and anything else that uses a battery. Mining experts I’ve spoken with consistently say we can improve mining practices if we choose. But the environmental and health impacts of fossil fuel extraction, refining and combustion are far more severe, cause far more deaths, and offer far less room for improvement.

Emily Artale

Professional engineer and sustainability consultant