Mesa County Solar Co-Op: Neighbors Unite For Clean Energy

Employee owned and operated, Atlasta Solar Center is a residential and commercial solar and storage installer serving Western Colorado for 46 years. Photo courtesy of Atlasta Solar Center.

When Brady Kappius moved to Mesa County in 2020, he was already interested in rooftop solar panels. And then one day he saw a yard sign in downtown Grand Junction promoting the Mesa County Solar Co-op. “I already knew that I wanted to go solar, and I had actually started shopping around a little bit. Then I saw the sign and I was like, ‘Oh, wow, this is way better,’” he explains.

A solar cooperative brings community members together to harness the power of bulk buying and achieve economies of scale. In turn, participants can expect a 10-20% discount on the price of a solar installation. Championed by local nonprofit Western Colorado Alliance (WCA) in cooperation with national nonprofit Solar United Neighbors (SUN), the Mesa County Solar Co-op recently completed its third round of registrations and participants have chosen an installer.

Betty Fulton, like Kappius, joined the solar cooperative in 2020. She recalls seeing a flyer and attending a meeting at the central library. Despite having a father who spent 40 years in the oil industry, she was sold on solar and liked the idea of getting solar panels at a discount. Five years in, she remains thrilled with her decision: “I love the money it saves me. I love the idea that I’m not burning fossil fuels to heat and cool my house and run the electricity.”

According to Tyler McDermott, a regional organizer for WCA, the first round of registration in 2020 was the largest with over 200 participants. The second registration in 2023 had approximately 70 participants. The most recent round, which closed in fall 2025, had about 35 registrants. That’s not due to a drop in interest or demand, says McDermott, but because smaller registration pools expedite the process and cut the wait time from sign-up to installation.

Demand is strong and McDermott anticipates annual registration periods moving forward. He predicts that the next round will open during the summer of 2026. “WCA’s role is mostly in promoting the solar co-op, sharing information and helping host events to promote and get the word out to get people,” he explains, adding that SUN takes the process from there, preparing RFPs (Request for Proposals) and helping participants choose a contractor.

“The people in the co-op get to choose which bid they prefer and they have a selection process to get the contractor they want to go with,” McDermott explains. Once an installer is chosen, that firm schedules individual meetings with cooperative members to design the system that makes the most sense for their desires and circumstances.

Atlasta Solar Center is a Grand Junction-based firm that has been selected by the co-op multiple times. Chris Campbell, a co-owner and director of project management at Atlasta, says that his firm responds to the RFPs, “because we want to make sure that everybody who wants solar is able to get it. We work with all kinds of customers, and this is another opportunity to get more glass up on roofs.”

In addition to working with WCA in Mesa County, Solar United Neighbors has a presence along Colorado’s Front Range and in 11 other states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico. Their website has information on how cooperatives work, as well as topics like Solar 101, which explain the basics of residential solar power. Announcements about upcoming Mesa County registrations will be posted on SUN’s website (solarunitedneighbors.org) and on WCA’s website (westerncoloradoalliance.org). The WCA newsletter and renewable/clean energy blog will also share information.

The Mesa County Solar Co-op is open to anyone in Mesa County. While you’re signing up with your “neighbors,” you don’t have to be in the same neighborhood to participate. The only requirement, as shared on the SUN website, is a desire to save money and “let the sun pay your bills.”

Originally published in the winter 2025-26 issue of Spoke+Blossom.