Leading the Way

OPPD solar program has sold out, waitlist has begun

It only took 49 days for OPPD residential customers to purchase all available shares of the utility’s new community solar program.

Enrollment in the program opened to the public on April 1. As of May 10, 8,403 shares had been sold to 872 households across OPPD’s service territory. Customers who enrolled were located across OPPD’s service territory. The Midtown area, areas of Papillion and Bellevue, and northwest and southwest parts of the Omaha metro area had the heaviest concentrations of signups.

Each share represents 100 kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity. Enrollees will be assessed a monthly solar charge based on the number of shares they subscribe to once the solar facility is generating energy.

Next steps

Interest in the program is still high, even though all shares have been sold. Interested customers can join a waitlist for solar shares if or when they become available. To date, more than 70 customers are already on the waitlist.

OPPD’s community solar program involves a 5-megawatt solar energy facility currently under construction on 35 acres in Washington County. OPPD and NextEra Energy Resources have a 20-year power purchase agreement for the energy generated at the facility.

The solar facility is the latest renewable energy generation source for the utility.

When the Sholes Wind Energy Center comes online later in 2019, OPPD will get nearly 40% of its electricity generation from renewables. Once Sholes is online, wind will account for more than 970 megawatts of OPPD’s generation portfolio.