insight
Seeds of Opportunity
Rural communities can strengthen and diversify their local economies by actively engaging in the ongoing renewable energy transition.
Kevin is a Manager of RMI’s electricity practice.
Background
Kevin is the Co-Op and Municipal Utility lead for the Shine Initiative at Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI). In his time at RMI, Kevin has focused on opening up underserved niches of the renewable electricity market.
Before joining the Shine team, Kevin was an associate with RMI’s Business Renewables Center (BRC). Kevin helped build the BRC from its inception to its current role as a market driver with more than 100 members. Currently Kevin enables rural electric cooperatives to reduce the price of solar by 30-40% by helping them execute effective procurement.
In a previous life, Kevin taught skiing in Utah and middle-school science in Denver. Kevin holds degrees from Penn State and University of Colorado and lives with his family in Carbondale, Colorado.
Education
Masters in Business Administration, University of Colorado Leeds School of Business, 2014
BA in Geography and BS in Science, Penn State University, Schreyer Honors College, 2006
Location
Boulder, CO
Authored Works
Blog
Wind and Solar: The New Cash Crops
We’re living in an era of big numbers and rapid shifts. In a matter of weeks, the pandemic transformed the lives of billions all over the world. In Congress, billion-dollar spending packages have given way to trillion-dollar stimulus measures. This is a time of big numbers in the energy domain…
insight
Lessons for Grid Resilience from the Upper Roaring Fork Valley
This report examines the outcomes of a multi-month Rocky Mountain Institute-supported process to “create” resilience involving utility Holy Cross Energy and various other organizations in Colorado’s Upper Roaring Fork Valley. It highlights key lessons that will be invaluable to energy resilience planning and implementation efforts around the world.
Blog
Lowering Costs and Carbon for Minnesota Co-ops
Today, Great River Energy (GRE), a generation and transmission (G&T) cooperative utility serving 700,000 families and businesses in Minnesota, announced the planned retirement of its Coal Creek Station power plant in 2022. This retirement is part of a sweeping plan to reduce the utility’s CO2 emissions by 95 percent…
Blog
Envisioning the Rural Electric System of the Future
In September 2018, experts from across the electricity industry gathered at RMI’s e–Lab Summit to discuss the most important emerging trends and opportunities. This blog outlines takeaways from the Transforming Rural Electric Supply group. The rural electric system—like the rest of the US electric system—was designed to capture economies…
insight
Progress and Potential for Community-Scale Solar
A growing number of electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are capturing the economic, grid, and environmental benefits from community-scale solar (CSS) installations as institutional barriers to development are addressed for this emerging technology solution, according to a new report by Rocky Mountain Institute.
Blog
Distributed Solar Provides Real Savings to Customers
On March 22, 2017, Rocky Mountain Institute’s Shine Program released a request for proposals (RFP) for community-scale solar on behalf of a group of rural electric cooperatives in eastern and northern Colorado. The RFP was part of RMI’s ongoing work to develop the community-scale market nationwide. Nearly…
Blog
Community-Scale Solar Costs: 3 Reasons to Take Heart
Solar PV installations had a banner year in 2016, and market participants, analysts, and investors took stock of the results, including installed costs and forward-looking price projections. While many studies show the cost of solar continuing to decline, our analysis and field experience suggest that evaluators…
Blog
New Ruling Opens Up 400 GW Renewables Market
Delta-Montrose Electric Authority (DMEA) is not only responsible for keeping the lights on and the books in the black. As a member-owned rural electric cooperative in southwest Colorado, DMEA is also responsible for living up to the seven cooperative principles, including principle…
Blog
Rural Electric Cooperatives: 3 Different Approaches to Reducing the Cost of Community-Scale Solar
In order for the co-op solar market to achieve its potential, co-ops need to better understand the value of community-scale solar and need to access compelling community-scale offerings. Here we describe three rural electric cooperatives that are doing just that.