In 2021, Fort Collins, Colorado adopted Our Climate Future, an ongoing and comprehensive framework related to combatting climate change. One of the primary directives of the plan is to“[p]rovide 100% renewable electricity by 2030 with grid and local sources”. Within this context, this study identifies Fort Collins solar suitable residential buildings and examines related city level trends.
To complete the analysis, lidar data was used to derive surfaces to model the solar potential for Fort Collins residential roof footprints. Next, criteria sourced from the National Renewable Laboratory was applied to the modeled data, which isolated solar suitable roof areas and corresponding solar potential values. After removing insufficiently sized segments, solar suitable roof area and mean solar potential were transferred to respective roof footprints.
The results from the analysis identified approximately 72% of residential buildings as solar suitable. From this subset, mean solar potential, suitable roof area and industry data were used to approximate total and normalized potential electrical output.
To examine trends, and improve data visualization, the residential footprints were aggregated to city block equivalent cells. Visualized at this scale, the aggregated data revealed relatively lower normalized energy output in the north central part of the city, including the Capitol Hill neighborhood. On a more granular level, this area was representative of relatively smaller roof areas and closed landscapes.
In contrast, the Woodridge neighborhood was an example of trends across south and southwest Fort Collins. Generally, this neighborhood contained roof footprints with greater normalized potential electrical output, landscapes relatively free from obstructions and larger suitable roof areas. In total, these characteristics contributed to a greater overall potential electrical output.
The percentage of solar suitable residence followed a similar, yet less distinct, pattern as normalized energy output. There was a lower percentage of solar suitable residential buildings in north central Fort Collins compared with south and southwest Fort Collins. Both the Capitol Hill and Woodridge neighborhoods had a high number of solar suitable residences in comparison to other areas of Fort Collins, but differing landscape and roof characteristics demonstrated variability in potential electrical output.
A higher overall potential electrical output in neighborhoods like Woodridge is partially explained by larger overall roof areas leading to larger suitable roof area. Another contributing factor, identified by examining the DSM and evident in normalized electrical output, is landscape characteristics that facilitate higher global radiation levels.