Holy Cross Energy Solar and Power+FLEX Battery Program: The Complete 2026 Guide

If you live in Holy Cross Energy territory, going solar in 2026 looks different from the rest of Colorado. Holy Cross Energy solar customers receive a flat interconnection incentive of $100 per kW (up to 25 kW) on every new net metered application submitted on or after April 1, 2026, and the cooperative pairs that with one of the most generous battery programs in the state. This guide walks through the three Holy Cross programs that matter for a home solar and battery project: the solar incentive, the Power+FLEX battery program, and the WE CARE rebate. ProGreen Solar installs across the Front Range and the Western Slope, so we work in Holy Cross territory regularly and can help you stack these correctly.

Who Holy Cross Energy serves

Holy Cross Energy (HCE) is a member owned electric cooperative that powers much of the central mountains. Its service area covers Vail, Aspen, and the surrounding communities across Eagle, Pitkin, and Garfield counties. Because HCE is a cooperative rather than an investor owned utility like Xcel, its rates and incentives are set by a member elected board, and the programs tend to reward customers who help the grid rather than simply offset their own usage.

That distinction matters. In a high country home with electric heat, a hot tub, snowmelt, or an EV, your evening demand is exactly when the grid is most stressed. A battery that can shift that load is worth real money under the HCE rate structure, which is a big part of why the cooperative pays so well for storage.

The Holy Cross Energy solar incentive

Effective April 1, 2026, all new solar net metered interconnection applications receive a flat incentive of $100 per kW, up to 25 kW. In plain terms, a 10 kW rooftop system earns a $1,000 incentive, and a system at the 25 kW ceiling earns $2,500. The credit is tied to the interconnection application, so it is straightforward to claim as part of a standard installation through a licensed installer.

A few practical notes for planning your Holy Cross Energy solar project:

• The incentive is capped at 25 kW of system size, which covers the vast majority of residential roofs even on large mountain homes.
• It is a one time interconnection incentive, separate from any ongoing net metering credits you earn for exported energy.
• Because HCE has been shifting its rate design toward delivery and demand based charges, the day to day value of solar exports has narrowed. We cover that shift in detail in our guide to Holy Cross net metering changes, and it is the main reason batteries now play a central role in a smart HCE solar design.

Power+FLEX: the battery program that changes the math

Power+FLEX is the Holy Cross battery program, and it is where the economics get interesting. The cooperative pays you to let it call on your home battery during periods of high grid demand. In exchange for enrolling a portion of your battery capacity, you receive both an upfront payment and a recurring monthly credit.

The Power+FLEX terms, confirmed by Holy Cross Energy, are:

• A monthly credit of $10.30 per kW of Enrolled Battery Capacity, paid for five years. The credit is based on the discharge power you enroll, not your total installed capacity.
• An upfront incentive of up to $500 per kW, with a maximum of $12,500 per project.

Think of Power+FLEX as the local version of a virtual power plant in Colorado: HCE aggregates many enrolled home batteries and dispatches them together to support the grid, and members share in the value created. For a homeowner, that means a battery you bought primarily for backup and bill management can also become a small recurring income stream over its first five years.

How the upfront and monthly numbers stack

Because Power+FLEX pays both upfront and monthly, the combined value over the five year term can be substantial relative to the cost of the battery. The upfront incentive is capped at $12,500, and the $10.30 per kW monthly credit accrues every month you stay enrolled. The exact figure for your home depends on how much battery discharge capacity you enroll, which is a design decision we walk through during a site assessment. If you want to understand how battery sizing, backup loads, and enrolled capacity interact, start with our home battery storage guide, then we tailor it to the HCE programs.

The WE CARE solar rebate

On top of the interconnection incentive and Power+FLEX, Holy Cross offers the WE CARE solar rebate. WE CARE pays $100 per kW of installed solar, capped at $2,500. It is aimed at making solar more accessible across the membership, and for a qualifying project it can be combined with the standard incentives.

Between the $100 per kW interconnection incentive, the WE CARE rebate, and the Power+FLEX payments for a paired battery, a Holy Cross Energy solar and storage project can capture meaningful local support that homeowners in other Colorado utility territories simply do not have access to. Stacking them correctly, and confirming current program budgets, is where an experienced local installer earns their keep.

How to think about a solar and battery project in HCE territory

Given the rate structure and the strength of Power+FLEX, most well designed Holy Cross projects now include a battery rather than solar alone. Here is the logic in order:

1. Size the solar array to your annual usage and capture the $100 per kW interconnection incentive plus the WE CARE rebate.
2. Add a battery sized for both backup and grid participation. Mountain homes value outage protection, and HCE pays well for enrolled capacity through Power+FLEX.
3. Enroll the right amount of battery capacity in Power+FLEX so you keep enough reserve for your own backup needs while maximizing the monthly credit.
4. Layer in statewide incentives. The HCE programs sit alongside the broader incentives we track in our overview of Colorado solar incentives in 2026, so the right project takes both local and statewide programs into account.

Because cooperative program budgets and terms can change, and because HCE has been actively revising its rate design, it is worth confirming the current status of each program before you commit. Our team handles the interconnection paperwork and program enrollment as part of the installation, so you are not left chasing utility forms on your own. If you are ready to see what a Holy Cross solar and battery system would look like on your home, reach out through our residential solar page and we will put together a tailored design and savings estimate for your address.

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