Kit Carson County, CO
Wind and Solar Leasing in Kit Carson County, Colorado
The hub already flags Kit Carson County as a serious wind-energy county. This page updates that picture with what's changed most recently: NextEra's Dusty Rose I project has gone from permitted to visibly under construction near Stratton, with a specific state land-lease payment attached and a follow-on phase already announced.
This page covers what's specific to Kit Carson County. For the general explanation, see the national guide.
Dusty Rose is now a construction site, not just a permit
Dusty Rose Wind sits on roughly 54,000 acres of cropland south of Stratton in Kit Carson County, and by early 2026 the project had visibly moved from planning into active construction: local observers reported roughly 30 turbine towers standing on the horizon in January 2026, growing to around 50 within a few weeks and past 100 shortly after, alongside stacks of turbine blades over 100 feet long waiting to be hoisted into place. Reported capacity for the project runs up to 502 megawatts, with some coverage describing an online date as early as May 2026 and NextEra's own public statements pointing to the project entering service by the end of 2027 -- treat the exact in-service date as unsettled and confirm current status directly rather than relying on either figure alone.
Separately from the private leases NextEra holds with individual landowners, the Colorado State Land Board approved a lease for the Dusty Rose Wind project that is expected to direct roughly $3.9 million to Colorado's state school trust -- a reminder that some of the land inside a large wind-project footprint in this county can be state trust land under lease to the developer rather than privately owned ground under an individual landowner lease, which matters if you're trying to figure out who actually controls a specific parcel's wind rights.
A follow-on phase is already planned: Dusty Rose II
NextEra has already announced a second phase, Dusty Rose II, described as a roughly $200 million project adding about 175 megawatts of additional capacity, with construction expected to begin in spring 2027 and to employ around 300 construction workers at peak. For a buyer evaluating land near the existing Dusty Rose footprint, this means the wind build-out in this part of the county is not a one-time event -- a second construction cycle, with its own access-road, laydown-yard, and transmission needs, is already on the calendar for the year after the first project is expected to be substantially complete.
If you're buying land near Stratton or elsewhere in the Dusty Rose project area, ask specifically about (1) whether the parcel or an adjacent one is under an existing NextEra lease or a State Land Board lease, (2) what portion of Dusty Rose I is complete versus still under construction as of your purchase date, and (3) whether Dusty Rose II's footprint has been finalized in a way that could add construction traffic or new easements near the parcel in 2027. The Colorado Sun's ongoing coverage of the county's renewable buildout and the county's own Land Use Department are both good places to check current status, since public reporting on exact completion dates has varied.
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- How tiny Kit Carson County has grown into a green energy giant — The Colorado Sun (accessed 2026-09)
- How tiny Kit Carson County has grown into a green energy giant — High Plains Public Radio (accessed 2026-09)
- Dusty Rose Wind -- Kit Carson, Colorado — CleanView (accessed 2026-09)
- Board approves Dusty Rose wind production lease; project to produce up to 502 MW with $3.9 million to school trust — CitizenPortal.ai (Colorado State Land Board coverage) (accessed 2026-09)
Last reviewed 2026-09