General

The Wire’s top 10 stories of 2024

OPPD is working to rapidly expand its generation capacity amid an unprecedented increase in demand for power. At the same time, the utility is pursuing its goal of net-zero carbon production by 2050. So it should come as no surprise that half of the top 10 stories for 2024 touch on themes of growth and diverse generation sources. Extreme weather in eastern Nebraska also makes the list, after a year that brought us a variety of storms, including the July 31 storm that caused OPPD’s largest outage ever. And finally, it’s not often that Husker football and the NFL show up on The Wire. Last year, we had some of that, too.

Here are the top 10 stories on The Wire for 2023, based on page views.

10. Rate proposal aims to maintain reliability, resiliency amid growth. OPPD’s Corporate Operating Plan for 2025 included a proposed rate increase, approved by the utility’s board of directors in December. The proposal was designed to help ensure a reliable, resilient power supply amid unprecedented new demand for power, new planning-reserve margin requirements and the kind of extreme weather that struck eastern Nebraska and drove up costs in 2024.

9. Mutual aid team faced tough conditions after hurricane. OPPD sent a mutual aid team to West Virginia in September after Hurricane Helene caused devastating damage across the southeast, leaving nearly 4 million electric customers in the dark. The team worked in treacherous mountain terrain and reported that both the damage and landscape were unlike anything they’d seen before. The team crossed over into Virginia briefly, then headed south to Orlando to repair damage caused by Hurricane Milton.

8. OPPD, Google join forces with NextEra on solar and battery project. OPPD and Google joined forces in 2024 on a solar and battery energy project, which will generate renewable, sustainable energy starting in 2027.  The Pierce County Energy Center in northeast Nebraska, which will be owned and operated by a subsidiary of NextEra Energy Resources LLC, will serve both OPPD customers and Google with a 420-megawatt (MW) solar array and a 170-megawatt, four-hour-duration battery storage system.  The project aligns with OPPD’s efforts to diversify generation sources to meet surging new demand for electricity.

7. Educating the next generation of OPPD employees. OPPD employees come from a wide variety of backgrounds, both professionally and educationally. And nearly all of the jobs they fill require special skills, training and education. That’s why OPPD relies on colleges, universities and trade schools to help meet its workforce needs in the face of huge new demand for electricity.

6. There’s a new addition to our top 10 biggest storms list. After a year of extreme weather, it’s no surprise that we’ve added a storm to our top 10 biggest storms list. Northeast Nebraska experienced brutal cold, tornadoes, flooding and damaging winds. But the July 31 storm landed at the top of the list. Sustained high winds with hurricane-force gusts caused major damage in several counties in OPPD’s service territory, especially Douglas and Sarpy counties. More than half of our customer base lost power.

5. Two natural gas generating plants set to come online. OPPD soon will bring on the most significant additions to its generating fleet in more than 40 years. Standing Bear Lake and Turtle Creek natural gas generating stations will come online early this year, adding a combined 600 MW of generation. An enormous amount of work went into completing those plants in 2024, and test fires started in December.

4. Falcon family at North Omaha Station poised to grow with 4 new eggs. A year after losing all four of their hatchlings, Lewis and Clark, OPPD’s resident falcons at North Omaha Station, began their season in Omaha on a positive note, with four new eggs. Unfortunately, they lost all four again this year, with one not even hatching. Experts say Clark’s age – she’s 13 now – is the most likely explanation. Aging birds tend to lay smaller eggs that don’t always contain enough nutrition to keep the offspring alive.

3. Plant expansions will add 900 MW of new generation amid surging demand. In February, OPPD announced its plan to add 900 megawatts (MW) of simple cycle natural gas generation with dual fuel oil backup to its generation portfolio. Three combustion turbines capable of producing 225 MW each will be built at OPPD’s existing Cass County Station. One would be built at Turtle Creek Station, joining two original turbines already on site. These new units feature fast start-up capability, operational flexibility are dual-fuel capable for enhanced reliability.

2. OPPD’s first utility-scale solar project, Platteview Solar, is a major milestone. OPPD marked a major milestone in July with the official opening of Platteview Solar, 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 81MW of electricity. That’s enough energy to power 14,000 homes.

1. Former Husker, NFL player builds a post-football career at OPPD. OPPD employees come from all walks of life, but Bret Clark has a background that might surprise you. Clark is a senior instructional technician at Nebraska City Station, But before he took on an essential job serving the community with reliable, affordable power, he was an All-American in 1984 as a safety for the Cornhuskers, then played professionally for the Tampa Bay Bandits and the Atlanta Falcons.