Nebraska public power utility Omaha Public Power District on July 11 held a ribbon cutting for its first utility-scale solar project, the Platteview Solar facility in Yutan, Neb.
The 81-megawatt facility began generating electricity May 1, 2024.
OPPD held a local community gathering with the developer/owner AES in Yutan, Neb., to formally commemorate the milestone for OPPD -- its first utility-scale solar project – and also the fact that this is the largest solar project to date in Nebraska.
This is second largest solar field in the Southwest Power Pool footprint, generating enough electricity to power 14,000 average-sized homes.
OPPD has a power purchase agreement with AES, an article in OPPD’s The Wire newsletter, notes. Additional details about the project are included in the OPPD newsletter article.
“Our collaborative relationship with AES is critical to ensuring Platteview Solar’s contribution to our growing generation portfolio,” said OPPD President and Chief Executive Officer Javier Fernandez. “A diverse energy mix is critical to that mission and to our commitment to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
This is the first of three OPPD generation projects scheduled to come online this year, OPPD noted.
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.
In late 2023, OPPD said that it was seeking proposals for the potential development of a landfill solar project, a joint effort with Douglas County, Neb.
