Earlier this week, Xcel Energy began accepting applications for the first time from developers who want to build small solar gardens in Colorado.

Just 30 minutes later, the company closed down the process, having already received proposals to build about three times the capacity allowed.

“It really does show that there was a niche out there that wasn’t being previously addressed,” said Xcel spokesman Mark Stutz.

The idea behind solar gardens, called the Solar Rewards Community program by Xcel, is to allow people who aren’t able to install solar panels on their properties — such as renters and condo owners, who don’t own their roofs, and homeowners with shady roofs — to harness solar power (and the available rebates).

“Solar Rewards Community makes solar energy available to a new, broad group of customers and we are pleased with the interest shown today,” David Eves, president and CEO of Xcel’s Colorado operation, said Wednesday when the utility began accepting applications.

And while the interest in developing solar gardens appears to be strong, until recently, solar gardens weren’t legal in Colorado.

That changed in 2010 when state Rep. Claire Levy, D-Boulder, introduced a bill into the General Assembly outlining rules for the community solar arrays. The bill was signed into law that June by Gov. Bill Ritter.

“When I proposed the legislation in 2010, I didn’t know how feasible it was going to be and how much demand there was,” Levy said. “The fact that they sold out in 30 minutes — it says that there is still a lot of potential for small-scale solar development.”

The legislation divides solar gardens into two types: those smaller than 500 kilowatts, and those with a capacity between 500 kilowatts and 2 megawatts in size. The total capacity of each type of solar garden is also limited for the first three years of the program.

The idea, Levy said, was to make sure that the program would work and to make sure that small local solar providers — which focus mostly on rooftop installations — were not negatively affected by a big surge in solar garden development.

After three years, future limits will be set by the Public Utilities Commission, said Levy, who noted that the PUC will be able to take into account the amount of demand at that time.

The limit set for the capacity of all smaller solar gardens — the ones for which applications were accepted Wednesday — for this round is 4.5 megawatts.

At least one of the small gardens will be built in the Boulder area, according to the Clean Energy Collective, a Carbondale-based company that won approval this week from Xcel to build six solar gardens in the utility’s service area, including one just east of Boulder.

The 500-kilowatt solar garden will be built on property of the Golden Hoof Sustainable Demonstration Farm, and the solar panels themselves will be artistically grouped into “solar trees” on the north side of the property, according to the collective. The garden will be incorporated into the program’s educational program.

“It worked out that it was a really nice approach to creating an ideal location for having a community solar array and being part of a sustainable environment and an educational environment,” said Thomas Sweeney, Clean Energy Collective’s chief operating officer.

The permitting process has not yet begun for the solar garden, but Sweeney said rules created by Xcel say that the project must be finished within a year.

A full list of which project applications were accepted — which may include other Boulder-area gardens — will be released next week, according to Xcel.

Contact Camera Staff Writer Laura Snider at 303-473-1327 or sniderl@dailycamera.com.