Nebraska Power Generators Study $4 Billion in Projects, Including 400-Megawatt Windfarm

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Industrial Info's Power Project Database shows about $4 billion in power projects being planned in Nebraska. Some of the projects under evaluation are below. Customers should consult the database for more information on maintenance, refurbishments, environmental projects and modernizations.

400-Megawatt Windfarm
The American Wind Energy Association ranks Nebraska fourth in wind energy resources in the nation. Last year, Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) announced it would purchase 400 megawatts (MW) of wind power from a project being developed by Geronimo Energy (Edina, Minnesota). The proposed Grande Prairie Windfarm is 12 miles northeast of O'Neill, Nebraska. Industrial Info estimates 167 to 266 turbines would be used for this project; the final number depends on the model of turbines chosen.

OPPD spokesman Mike Jones said: "This will be the largest wind purchase for us that we have had to date."

The project's success is contingent on its approval by the Nebraska Power Review Board, as well as the extension of the Federal Production Tax Credit for renewable energy. This project is one of six windfarm projects being tracked by Industrial Info as under consideration in Nebraska, and it has an estimated total investment value (TIV) of $1.15 billion. This makes the Grand Prairie Windfarm the most expensive power project in the state.

Full details of the other windfarm projects can be accessed through the Industrial Info Renewable Energy Database.

According to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln's Nebraska Wind Energy and Wildlife Project, Nebraska had 3 MW of installed wind power capacity in 1999. This installed capacity has now grown to 734.78 MW.

Mike Zakrzewski, a landowner in Nebraska, said: "With environmental regulations coming down hard on fossil fuel-based energy production, carbon-free energy sources such as wind likely will become the lowest-cost option in the near future."

For more information, see July 10, 2014, article - Nine States Join Lawsuit Opposing EPA Carbon Rules, and July 21, 2014, article - Nebraska: Part Three of Coal-Fired Profiles of Nine States Suing EPA Over Clean Power Plan.

Nebraska Public Power District Environmental and Transmission Projects
There are 40 other projects with future funding or kickoff dates being looked at in Nebraska. The second-largest project, in TIV terms, is the possible installation of wet or dry flue gas desulfurization scrubbers (FGD) to reduce sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions from Nebraska Public Power District's (NPPD) (Columbus) Gerald Gentleman Power Station. These scrubbers would be retrofitted to the existing coal-fired boilers at the power station. Unit 1 is a Foster Wheeler (Baar, Switzerland) boiler, and Unit 2 is Babcock & Wilcox (NYSE:BWC) (Charlotte, North Carolina) boiler.

View Project Report - 34000551

NPPD is also considering multiple transmission line projects to improve grid reliability and tie into the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) grid.

View Project Report - 300108882 300108996 300110812

If your company is developing a power project that you feel deserves some extra attention. feel free to contact Brock Ramey, North American Power Research Manager, at Industrial Info.

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.