Southern Colorado’s rural electric cooperatives, buoyed by promised federal funds, are advancing solar projects despite new political and financial hurdles.
Keaton Peters reports for High Country News.
In short:
- The San Luis Valley Rural Electric Cooperative secured $1.7 million in federal funding to build two solar farms but faced delays after President Trump paused climate-related spending.
- In March, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) offered to release funds if cooperatives revised proposals to remove Biden-era diversity, equity, inclusion, and climate mandates, though co-ops could also opt out of revisions.
- Ten Colorado rural co-ops received $800 million through federal programs aimed at transitioning to renewable energy, with leaders stressing the financial and environmental stakes for rural communities.
Key quote:
“(Electric co-ops) are often at the center of what is going on in a community, and they need to thrive for rural America to grow and prosper.”
— Andy Berke, former administrator for the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service
Why this matters:
Rural electric cooperatives power large swaths of the American countryside, serving millions in areas where for-profit utilities once refused to operate. Colorado’s rural co-ops, facing aging infrastructure and higher per-customer maintenance costs, stand to benefit from solar and battery storage projects that promise long-term savings and fewer fossil fuel emissions. Yet political shifts now threaten the rollout of these federally funded upgrades. Stalling the transition could lock rural areas into older, dirtier, and costlier energy sources, deepening existing inequities between urban and rural ratepayers. With agriculture-dependent economies and vast distances to cover, Colorado’s rural utilities exemplify both the challenges and the opportunities at the heart of America’s energy transition.
Related: Colorado considers ban on new oil and gas drilling by 2030
