A Rural Electric Cooperative Sets a 100% Renewables Target

The Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) aims to serve its 29,000 customers during the summer peak with 100 percent solar power by 2023. To achieve this, KCEC exited a restrictive contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission via a $37 million exit fee funded by Guzman Renewable Energy Partners. The cooperative plans to deploy over 30 MW of community-scale solar, consisting of multiple 1 MW arrays, to maintain system reliability and lower costs through standardization. KCEC expects solar prices as low as 4.5 cents/kWh, providing rate certainty and local economic development opportunities.

• Kit Carson Electric Cooperative (KCEC) has set a voluntary target to provide 100 percent solar power to its 29,000 customers during the summer peak by 2023.
• To enable its renewable energy goals, KCEC left its wholesale supplier, Tri-State Generation and Transmission, which had previously limited local renewable generation to 5 percent. The $37 million exit fee was fronted by Guzman Renewable Energy Partners and is being repaid via an electricity surcharge.
• KCEC intends to add over 30 MW of solar capacity using a portfolio of community-scale or distribution-scale solar arrays of 1 MW each. This approach avoids the need for major system upgrades required by utility-scale generation and allows for cost reductions through standardization.
• The cooperative anticipates that community-scale solar can achieve prices as low as 4.5 cents/kWh, which is comparable to the rates under its previous Tri-State contract. This is supported by RMI's Shine team findings that community-solar portfolios can reach prices at or below $50/MWh.
• Beyond sustainability, KCEC views the transition to solar as an economic strategy to provide rate certainty for 20 years, stabilize rates, and create local labor and construction jobs.

APA

RMI (2016). A Rural Electric Cooperative Sets a 100% Renewables Target. https://rmi.org/resources/rural-electric-cooperative-sets-100-renewables-target/

Chicago

RMI. A Rural Electric Cooperative Sets a 100% Renewables Target. 2016. https://rmi.org/resources/rural-electric-cooperative-sets-100-renewables-target/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=RMI |title=A Rural Electric Cooperative Sets a 100% Renewables Target |date=19 December 2016 |url=https://rmi.org/resources/rural-electric-cooperative-sets-100-renewables-target/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{rmi2016rural, author = {{RMI}}, title = {{A Rural Electric Cooperative Sets a 100\% Renewables Target}}, institution = {RMI}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://rmi.org/resources/rural-electric-cooperative-sets-100-renewables-target/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }