General

Powering the future, local economies 

Danny Orwa sensed something was unusual when out-of-town workers kept showing up at his restaurant and coffee bar in downtown Norfolk. 

For years, Orwa served mostly locals at his two businesses, The 411 Restaurant & Lounge and Fenders, a popular coffee and cocktail bar. Suddenly, new customers arrived. They were hungry, wanted coffee or a beer, and had plenty of cash to spend. 

“Every day, like clockwork, they’d come in,” Orwa said. “They dropped a lot of money and made friends with the staff. We got to know them, and they were pretty cool, very appreciative.” 

Orwa soon learned that the visitors were out building the Pierce County Energy Center, a solar energy and battery storage project about 15 miles north of town. OPPD, Google and NextEra Energy have joined forces on the project, with plans to generate renewable and sustainable energy starting in 2027. 

Boosting the economy

As construction nears an end, local business owners say the venture has provided a big economic boost for northeast Nebraska. In a rural corner of the state dotted with small towns, the workers needed food, entertainment and a place to sleep. 

Once complete, the 420-megawatt solar array and 170-megawatt, four-hour-duration battery storage system will serve both OPPD customers and Google. 

At District Table & Tap in Norfolk, owner Andrew McCarthy noticed an uptick in work trucks parked downtown during the regular lunch hour. Downtown Norfolk offers a variety of businesses, including grocery stores, bars, coffee houses, a laundromat and entertainment venues eager to welcome the workers. Some workers rented nearby apartments. 

“It’s great having people here from out of town,” McCarthy said. “We’ll take all the business we can get.” 

A win-win 

Supporters of the Pierce County project say it highlights the importance of new, sustainable energy development in eastern Nebraska. The projects help diversify OPPD’s fast-growing energy portfolio and meet customer demand while strengthening the grid that serves everyone. 

“Since construction started on the project, you can’t help but notice the presence of energy trucks around Norfolk,” said Josh Moenning, a former city mayor and director of the renewable energy group New Power Nebraska. “A lot of the workers are staying in hotels or rental properties and eating at restaurants. The economic impact locally has been very positive.” 

Moenning said Norfolk saw a similar boom during other local wind projects a few years ago, when an estimated 400 to 600 workers arrived in the area. The city saw an uptick in sales tax revenue, and local construction companies and electricians were hired to assist with the work. 

“We don’t always see big capital investments of this size,” Moenning said. “These projects bring a lot of workers and a big injection of cash into the community during the construction phase. It truly does make a difference.” 

Small towns, big benefits

Other projects have yielded similar results in even smaller towns. 

In 2018, the 320-megawatt Rattlesnake Wind Project in Dixon County drove an increase in sales at local convenience stores and building-supply businesses, said Kevin Connot, an economic development consultant from Walthill, Nebraska. 

Connot said a fabrication business he owned at the time earned more than $60,000 for tarp covers made for the project’s construction company. For smaller companies, that much business makes a huge difference. 

The town of Wayne saw “a very significant increase in economic activity” as well during construction of the Haystack Wind Farm in the early 2020s, said Cale Giese, renewable energy project development manager at OPPD who served as the city’s mayor and a pizza franchise owner. 

Giese said the extra business at his Godfather’s Pizza franchise helped him buy a new $7,000 pizza prep table, and other local companies reported a jump in business. 

“The counties that are welcoming these projects are seeing an economic boom,” Giese said. 

Tax benefits

Nebraska’s nameplate capacity tax on renewable energy generation also yielded $13.6 million in revenue for counties in 2025, according to the state Department of Revenue. Wayne County and nearby Antelope County in rural northern Nebraska each collected $2.7 million, an increase over previous years. The money supports counties, public schools, fire districts and other local taxing entities. 

Back in Norfolk, Orwa said his restaurant also got visits from out-of-state project managers, company executives and consultants who wanted to try Nebraska’s world-famous beef. Many heard about his eatery from word-of-mouth referrals. 

“It makes a big difference for us,” he said. “Without these projects around, every restaurant is drawing on the same pool of local customers. When we get out of towners, it spreads it all out.”