KEC Community Solar Project
KEC’s Community Solar Project, located in Worley, is comprised of 288 solar units. It’s like a community garden, planted with solar panels. Completed in 2017, this 50 kW solar array allows participating KEC members to provide support for and receive benefits from locally sourced solar generation.
How it works:
- Members may purchase individual units, which represent a portion of the energy produced by the solar array.
- For 2025, each unit costs $342.
- Each unit is expected to generate about 234 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year. Participating members receive bill credits for the energy created by their unit(s).
To purchase a unit(s) please complete and return the application and agreement below along with a check for the total participation fee. Contact us with questions by KEC Email or (208) 765-1200.
What Happens if You Move:
You may keep your unit(s) as long as you stay within KEC’s service territory. If you move outside of the service territory, you may transfer the unit(s) to another active KEC member or KEC will buy back the unit(s) at a pro-rated price.
KEC Solar Array
In 2012, Kootenai Electric Cooperative was awarded a grant from the Rural Energy for America Program to help fund a renewable energy project using solar panels on the Kootenai Technical Education Campus (KTEC). Construction of the 4.3 kW solar array was completed in early 2013.
KEC is the owner-operator of the project but the partnership gives KTEC the ability to use the equipment and energy production data as a learning tool in their curriculum. KTEC is a partnership between local school districts to enhance Professional/Technical Education opportunities in Kootenai County.
To learn more about the renewable energy production of KEC’s solar array at KTEC, visit the Enlighten Enphase Energy website.
Carbon Free Energy Options
Although 96.6% of the power Kootenai Electric Cooperative sells is carbon-free, some members would like the option to be 100% carbon-free in their energy purchases. To meet that desire, KEC offers two carbon-free options. In short, these programs allow carbon-conscious members to purchase all or a portion of their power from carbon-free resources. The two options are outlined below. Please note: these programs are voluntary and the members participating in them fully cover the program costs.
Buy a Block
The remaining 3.4% of your energy consumption will be supplied with clean, local, renewable power. Each month KEC will replace the carbon-based power you would typically consume with carbon-free power.
Top it Off
The amount will vary month to month based on your electric use. Purchase renewable power in a block of 13 kWh. Each block is $1 per month.
Use this program to reduce your carbon footprint, or go above and beyond and help reduce your friends and neighbors’ carbon footprints by purchasing additional blocks. For example: members using an average of 1,000 kWh per month would need to purchase 3 blocks to offset their carbon-based power.
Interested in how these may affect your bill? Use the Carbon Free Energy Bill Calculator
Contact us with questions or to sign up by KEC Email or (208) 765-1200.
About the Bonneville Power Administration
Kootenai Electric Cooperative purchases about 70 percent of the power it sells to members from the Bonneville Power Administration (BPA) under a long-term power supply contract. BPA, headquartered in Portland, Oregon, is a nonprofit federal power marketer that sells wholesale electricity from federal dams and one nuclear plant to Northwest electric utilities. Visit the Bonneville Power Administration website.