Baldwin City weighs community solar and long-term power deals as GRDA contract approaches end
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Summary
Council heard a detailed briefing on replacing or supplementing GRDA power supply when the contract ends; options include a Pratt County KMEA/Nextera PPA, municipal community solar, or a mix of strategies. Staff said the Pratt contract requires a year-end decision and recommended further financial analysis at upcoming meetings.
Baldwin City councilors spent the bulk of a meeting reviewing long-term power options and community-solar proposals as the city considers how to replace or supplement its GRDA contract that ends in 2026.
Jeff (energy presenter) outlined four broad options: renew a GRDA contract (potentially reducing the municipal purchase from 3 megawatts to 2), join a large-scale KMEA project in Pratt County owned by Nextera (which has a contract-signing deadline at year end), or pursue community solar through local providers such as Priority Power or Evergy. "One of the options is we continue with and sign a second contract with GRDA... KMEA has a project going with one in the Pratt County area. Nextera is the owner of that. That is the one that has the end of the year drop dead on signing a contract with them," Jeff said.
Councilors discussed how to compare offers: contracted per-kilowatt-hour prices (fixed for some PPAs) versus GRDA’s contract price plus a fluctuating power-cost adjustment (PCA). A council member noted that historical PCA differences are necessary to make an apples-to-apples comparison. Jeff and Glenn emphasized that the Pratt option is a contracted price with no fuel adders and carries a 30‑year term. "It is a 30 year property," one staffer said of the Pratt project.
Other practical matters were raised: community-solar projects include maintenance and catastrophe coverage as part of vendor proposals; some community-solar models may pass through future upgrade or storage costs to customers. Councilors asked for a clear per‑kWh comparison that factors in expected PCA adjustments, land-acquisition assumptions if the city pursues municipally owned solar, and the financing structure (e.g., bond-financed construction) that affects long-term payback timelines.
Council instructed the finance committee to re-run numbers ahead of a work session and to present more granular cost comparisons at meetings next week; staff indicated additional materials would be circulated to councilors before the Tuesday work session. The goal is to make decisions (including on the Pratt/KMEA contract) by mid-December.
