NPPD wants proposals for another Neb. wind farm
Developers have until April 15 to tell Nebraska Public Power District what they’d charge and how they would provide electricity from a wind farm or farms in central and northeast Nebraska.
In November, NPPD asked for proposals on developments near Broken Bow, in central Nebraska’s Custer County, or near Petersburg, about 90 miles east-northeast in Boone County.
Last month NPPD outlined its plans to groups in Broken Bow and Petersburg.
NPPD spokesman Mark Becker said Monday that the district has the option of choosing one site to generate 80 megawatts, splitting the development into both sites or, if the proposals are too costly, choosing neither.
The new wind farm or farms could serve more than 24,000 homes. He based that, he said, on the generation from NPPD’s 60-megawatt operation near Ainsworth in north-central Nebraska. That operation can power about 19,000 homes.
NPPD serves about a million Nebraskans, either retail or wholesale through local utilities.
The district has pledged to work with private developers on what could be more than $1 billion in projects across the state. The private companies would build windmill farms that would generate a total of more than 400 megawatts, and NPPD would build transmission lines to them and contract for much of the electricity.
Dave Rich, manager of renewable energy development for NPPD, says NPPD’s long-term goal is to generate 10 percent of its electricity from renewable energy resources. Those include wind and solar power, biomass and methane gas.
Associated Press
5 January 2009
Tags: Wind power, Wind energy
Some possibly related stories:
- NPPD gets 18 Nebraska wind farm proposals
- NPPD, private developers team up to add more wind energy
- Agency wants to add 30 megawatts of wind energy
- NPPD narrows list for potential wind farm sites near Petersburg and Broken Bow
- NPPD plans meeting in Petersburg on wind farm plans
- NPPD signs agreement to buy wind power from Boone County
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