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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Nebraska is one of nine states involved in a lawsuit opposing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Power Plan. Industrial Info is looking at these states in more detail.
For more information, see July 10, 2014, article - Nine States Join Lawsuit Opposing EPA Carbon Rules.
Nebraska has 11 active facilities that use coal as their primary fuel, directly employing more than 1,000 people. Eight of these facilities are power plants; the others are a sugar mill, an ethanol processing plant and a soybean oil mill.
Below are the operational coal-fired power plants in Nebraska. Click the link for each plant to view the plant profile, including unit, boiler and project information:
Nebraska Power's plants are an average 39 years old, with the most recent being the Unit 2 addition at the Whelan Energy Center, completed in 2011. This average age is more than a decade younger than the averages of Alabama and Alaska, and more than a decade below the average retirement age of plants that retired between 2010 and 2012. With so much invested in coal-fired power plants that are younger than the national average, Nebraska has more to lose than most states if the EPA's Clean Power Plan forces the closures of coal-fired power plants.
In addition to the amounts invested in coal, Nebraska is very dependent on coal-fired power production: Almost 48% of its electricity generation capacity is coal-fired sources.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing energy sources as a percentage of Nebraska's nameplate capacity. Source: Official Nebraska Government Website.
This 48% is higher than the national average of 39%, according to the EIA. Nebraska would have to build new, non-coal-fired generation facilities or import power from outside the state to replace any coal-fired power plants forced into retirement by the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The cost of implementing the EPA's Clean Power Plan would therefore be higher for Nebraska than for many other states, and this is likely a strong motivator for the state's involvement in the lawsuit.
The other side of this equation is cost to the state. Expenditures on coal have been on the rise in Nebraska for more than a decade and accounted for more than $400 million in 2011. Coal accounts for more than 80% of expenditures. Since coal generates 48% of Nebraska's electricity, the expenditures on coal are disproportionally high, and a case could be made for long-term savings being realized through diversifying the state's electricity generation portfolio.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
For more information, see July 10, 2014, article - Nine States Join Lawsuit Opposing EPA Carbon Rules.
Nebraska has 11 active facilities that use coal as their primary fuel, directly employing more than 1,000 people. Eight of these facilities are power plants; the others are a sugar mill, an ethanol processing plant and a soybean oil mill.
Below are the operational coal-fired power plants in Nebraska. Click the link for each plant to view the plant profile, including unit, boiler and project information:
- Lon D Wright Power Station; owned by Fremont Department of Utilities; 132-MW capacity; first operational in 1956.
- Platte Power Station; owned by Grand Island Utilities; 109-MW capacity; first operational in 1982.
- Gerald Whelan Energy Center; owned by Hastings Utilities Department; 82-MW capacity; first operational in 1981.
- Gerald Gentleman Power Station; owned by Nebraska Public Power District; 1,360-MW capacity; first operational in 1979.
- Sheldon Power Station; owned by Nebraska Public Power District; 228.7-MW capacity; first operational in 1961.
- Nebraska City Power Station; owned by Omaha Public Power District; 1,337.5-MW capacity; first operational in 1979.
- North Omaha Power Station; owned by Omaha Public Power District; 644.7-MW capacity; first operational in 1954.
- Whelan Energy Center 2; owned by Public Power Generation Agency; 249-MW capacity; first operational in 2011.
Nebraska Power's plants are an average 39 years old, with the most recent being the Unit 2 addition at the Whelan Energy Center, completed in 2011. This average age is more than a decade younger than the averages of Alabama and Alaska, and more than a decade below the average retirement age of plants that retired between 2010 and 2012. With so much invested in coal-fired power plants that are younger than the national average, Nebraska has more to lose than most states if the EPA's Clean Power Plan forces the closures of coal-fired power plants.
In addition to the amounts invested in coal, Nebraska is very dependent on coal-fired power production: Almost 48% of its electricity generation capacity is coal-fired sources.
Click on the image at right for a graph detailing energy sources as a percentage of Nebraska's nameplate capacity. Source: Official Nebraska Government Website.This 48% is higher than the national average of 39%, according to the EIA. Nebraska would have to build new, non-coal-fired generation facilities or import power from outside the state to replace any coal-fired power plants forced into retirement by the EPA's Clean Power Plan. The cost of implementing the EPA's Clean Power Plan would therefore be higher for Nebraska than for many other states, and this is likely a strong motivator for the state's involvement in the lawsuit.
The other side of this equation is cost to the state. Expenditures on coal have been on the rise in Nebraska for more than a decade and accounted for more than $400 million in 2011. Coal accounts for more than 80% of expenditures. Since coal generates 48% of Nebraska's electricity, the expenditures on coal are disproportionally high, and a case could be made for long-term savings being realized through diversifying the state's electricity generation portfolio.
Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.
