General

OPPD’s Standing Bear Lake Station begins commercial operation

OPPD marked another milestone Tuesday as Standing Bear Lake Station (SBLS), the utility’s newest power plant, began commercial operation. 

The plant is home to nine reciprocating internal combustion engines. The natural gas units, capable of collectively producing 150 megawatts of electricity, are dual-fueled, which means they can run on natural gas or switch to fuel oil when natural gas supplies are scarce.  

The plant is part of OPPD’s efforts to expand and diversify its energy portfolio to serve increasing demand from residential, commercial and industrial customers.  

“This year has been historic. We have substantially completed the body of work we set out to do in 2019, developing two new power plants and a utility-scale solar facility,” said Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Troy Via. “This addition will bolster our ability to continue to provide reliable, affordable and sustainable electricity to our growing customer base.” 

SBLS is another milestone for OPPD, following Platteview Solar, capable of producing 81 MW, and Turtle Creek Station (TCS), capable of producing 450 MW, both of which began commercial operation earlier this year. 

In addition to helping OPPD meet record load growth, SBLS will also help the utility meet new regional regulatory requirements within the Southwest Power Pool to ensure a reliable, resilient electrical grid throughout the Midwest and beyond.  

The nine Wärtsilä 18V50DF units at SBLS are nimble and quick. They can start up and begin producing power in less than five minutes, helping OPPD meet sudden spikes in demand. 

Adding renewables

OPPD added more wind capacity to its energy portfolio last year as part of its efforts to fortify and diversify its energy portfolio. 

The utility gained access to 600 MW of wind capacity from a collaboration with Google and NextEra Energy Resources LLC. Through NextEra Energy Resource’s High Banks Wind Energy Center, Google is supplying this capacity resource to OPPD. 

OPPD also added 300 MW of wind capacity through a power purchase agreement with EDF Renewables. Under the deal, OPPD is receiving the full capacity of the Milligan I Wind Project  in Saline County. 

In addition, OPPD joined forces with Google in 2024 on a solar and battery energy project. That project  will generate renewable, sustainable energy starting in 2027. The Pierce County Energy Center in northeast Nebraska will serve both OPPD customers and Google. It will have a 420 MW solar array and a 170 MW, four-hour-duration battery storage system.  

Plant expansions

By 2030, TCS will add an additional 225 MW natural gas generation unit (a new turbine arrived at that plant earlier this week). OPPD’s Cass County Station will add 675 MW from three new 225 MW natural gas generation units in the same time frame. 

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

“I want to send my sincere congratulations to the entire team,” Via said Tuesday. “We’re dedicated to continuing to expand and diversify our energy portfolio to serve our customer-owners throughout eastern Nebraska.”