General

OPPD’s first utility-scale solar project, Platteview Solar, is a major milestone

Butterflies and bees dance across native pollinator plantings that dot 500 acres of privately owned land near Yutan. Alongside them stand 188,000 solar panels arranged in neat rows that track the sun from sunrise to sunset.

They represent a major milestone for Omaha Public Power District, the State of Nebraska and the entire region.

Platteview Solar is OPPD’s first utility-scale solar project, and the largest such project to date in the state of Nebraska.

OPPD has a power purchase agreement with the facility’s developer and owner/operator, the AES Corporation. The facility is capable of producing 81 megawatts (MW) of electricity. That’s enough energy to power 14,000 homes.

“It’s also part of our enormous effort to increase our power generation to meet an unprecedented growth in demand,” said OPPD President and Chief Executive Officer Javier Fernandez.

In the next decade, the utility plans to add 2.5 gigawatts of new generation, nearly doubling its nameplate capacity.

“Our collaborative relationship with AES is critical to ensuring Platteview Solar’s contribution to our growing generation portfolio,” Fernandez said. “A diverse energy mix is critical to that mission and to our commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”

Fernandez joined Saunders County dignitaries, OPPD board members and AES representatives for a ribbon cutting on July 11.

“With AES, we’re able to work toward those goals with a partner that has also prioritized being a good steward of the land here,” said Janece Molhoff, vice chair of OPPD’s Board of Directors, who represents the Saunders Couty area. “AES understands the importance of preserving agricultural land.”

Generation growth

Platteview Solar represents a $57 million investment in the Saunders County area. The project supported 350 jobs during peak construction, as well as two to three full-time positions. Over its life, the project will generate more than $9.5 million in local tax revenue. Two-thirds of that revenue will go to the Yutan School District.

This is the first of three OPPD generation projects scheduled to come online this year. By the end of 2024, OPPD plans to have two new natural gas balancing plants up and running. Combined, they will be capable of producing 600 MW of electricity. They will run on an as-needed basis to balance energy load within OPPD’s 13-county service territory and the region.

OPPD is assessing the viability of another potential solar project known as K-Junction in York County. If it comes to fruition, that utility-scale solar project could provide 310 MW of electricity.

“We are also studying a potential landfill solar project in Douglas County – the first of its kind in Nebraska – that could turn a shuttered county landfill into a productive site,” said Fernandez.

OPPD’s partnership with AES will allow the utility to take best practices learned from this project into future renewable energy projects, he said.

“Getting a project like this across the finish line takes a great deal of time and dedication from everyone involved,” he said. “That type of commitment is vital as we work on several fronts to ensure we continue to provide reliable, affordable, sustainable power both now and in the future.”