OPPD to add 900 megawatts to meet increasing demand - Omaha World-Herald
OPPD to add 900 megawatts to meet increasing demand
The Omaha Public Power District will add 900 megawatts of new electric generation from natural gas turbines at two existing power stations, part of a $2 billion expansion that will nearly double the utility’s generating capacity over the next decade.
Utility officials announced the decision to add the gas turbines, which would come online by 2030, at the utility board’s committee meetings this week.
The expansion, which the utility board approved in August, is needed to meet unprecedented growth in energy demand expected in the utility’s 13-county service territory in eastern Nebraska. Load growth is expected to increase by 100 megawatts a year for the foreseeable future. That’s the equivalent of the energy used by 65 metro-area high schools or medium-sized hospitals.
OPPD CEO Javier Fernandez told board members that the utility’s latest forecasting indicates that demand for electricity is stable if not increasing.
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“We’re not seeing anything that tells us we need to slow down or change course,” he said. “If anything, it’s faster and bigger.”
The utility also is anticipating an increase in the generating margin it must maintain during winter months from the 14-state regional power pool to which OPPD belongs.
The 900 megawatts of new natural gas generation is toward the top of the 600- to 950-megawatt range the utility laid out for that energy source in its expansion plan in August. Three turbines would be added to OPPD’s existing Cass County Station and one would be installed at its new Turtle Creek Station, which is under construction in Sarpy County.
Turtle Creek Station, a natural-gas-generating plant that will come online this year in Sarpy County, will get an additional turbine under a plan that the Omaha Public Power District announced this week. It will boost natural gas generation by 900 megawatts.
That plant, with its two original turbines, will contribute to the nearly 700 megawatts of additional generation the utility expects to have online by the end of the year. Also on track for completion are Standing Bear Lake Station, another natural-gas-powered plant, and Platteview Solar, an 81-megawatt solar array in Saunders County.
While energy consumption is increasing among all customer groups, nearly 90% of the utility’s projected new demand is coming from industrial customers, very large business enterprises that are heavy energy users. And roughly two-thirds of that, OPPD says, is from data centers.
Earlier this month, OPPD launched a program that will allow large commercial and industrial customers to purchase renewable energy credits to offset their carbon emissions. Revenues from the program, which plans call for eventually extending to other customers, are to be earmarked for energy efficiency and conservation projects. The utility board authorized such sales in 2006. A price has not yet been set for the credits.
OPPD is not, however, the only Nebraska utility adding new generation capacity to meet future demand.
The Nebraska Public Power District’s board recently approved a budget that will include more than 700 megawatts of new generation targeted for installation by 2027.
Most of the new generation will come from natural gas turbines, but 100 megawatts will be composed of battery storage at two wind farms, including one situated near NPPD’s Ainsworth Wind Energy Facility.
NPPD officials cited a recent and sharp increase in new agricultural, ag industrial and data centers siting facilities in Nebraska as driving the need for new generation. NPPD also has to maintain a margin within the power pool.
The utility’s board also authorized the utility to pursue relicensing of the state’s remaining nuclear power plant, Cooper Nuclear Power Station near Brownville, Nebraska.
License renewal would allow the plant to operate for another 20 years, from 2034 to 2054.
Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of February 2024
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Nebraska's Jacob Van Dee celebrates his win over Michigan's Dylan Ragusin during a 133-pound match at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.
Nebraska's Caleb Smith picks up Michigan's Michael DeAugustino during a 125-pound match at the Bob Devaney Sports Center in Lincoln on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.
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Creighton's Steven Ashworth (1) celebrates a three-point basket against Butler at CHI Health Center Omaha on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Butler's Finley Bizjack (13) chases a loose ball in the second half against Creighton at CHI Health Center Omaha on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Creighton's Baylor Scheierman (55), right, helps Ryan Kalkbrenner (11) after they lost to Butler at CHI Health Center Omaha on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Creighton fans react to a Butler basket in the second half at CHI Health Center Omaha on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024.
Omaha's Marquel Sutton (10) gets ready for a shot against St. Thomas at Baxter Arena in Omaha on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.
Omaha takes on St. Thomas at Baxter Arena in Omaha on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.
Omaha's Marquel Sutton (10) looks to pass the ball around St. Thomas’s Brooks Allen (4) at Baxter Arena in Omaha on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2024.
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Doug Harold works at the Tomasek Machine Shop located at 1631 S 13th St.
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Nebraska's Alexis Markowski (40) embraces her father, Andy, after the Huskers defeated Iowa, 82-79, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024.
Iowa's Caitlin Clark (22) reacts while answering questions from the media in the post game press conference after the Hawkeyes were defeated by Nebraska, 82-79, at Pinnacle Bank Arena in Lincoln on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024.
Community members and politicians walk along 24th Street during a Martin Luther King Jr. Keep the Dream Alive March in Omaha on Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. The walk was postponed by weather from MLK Day in January.
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Related Knowledge Center: ENERGY BASICS: nuclear
Nuclear energy provides almost 20 percent of the U.S. electricity supply. Advocates have called for an expanded role for nuclear as an emissions-free fuel source. But the economics of building new reactors are daunting. In addition, lingering safety concerns are an institutionalized part of the calculation of nuclear regulation, and highly radioactive nuclear waste remains a can that public officials have been inclined to kick down the road. The Energy Information Administration projects a sharp decline in nuclear power generation over the next decade, as new nuclear plants — two are planned — are more than offset by anticipated retirements of several operating reactors.