Wind Energy Projects

Petersburg: A commissioning ceremony was held Oct. 31 on this 27-turbine wind farm near Petersburg, Neb., in Boone County. OPPD has an agreement with TPW Petersburg LLC to buy up to 40.5 MW of generation from the facility. 

Flat Water: In late 2010, OPPD started taking delivery of electricity generated by the Flat Water Wind Farm in Richardson County, Neb. OPPD has a power purchase agreement for the total 60-MW capacity of this facility, which features 40 GE 1.5-MW wind turbines.

OPPD built a substation at the wind farm site to enable the utility to electrically isolate the wind farm for safety, if ever necessary. Building such substations and connections to transmission lines are key components of adding wind power generation.

Ainsworth and Elkhorn Ridge: OPPD has an agreement with the Nebraska Public Power District to buy up to 25 MW of wind energy from NPPD’s Elkhorn Ridge wind farm in Bloomfield, Neb., in Knox County, and up to 10 MW from NPPD’s Ainsworth wind farm in Brown County, Neb.

Such wind farms’ contribution to OPPD’s renewables goal for retail sales is less than the farms’ generating capacity. That’s because a wind farm’s generating capacity is based on a constant wind that’s blowing strong enough to keep all of the farm’s turbines running at maximum. Because the wind does not blow constantly at a consistent speed, actual generation is less.

Renewables Goal: OPPD has set a goal of having 10 percent of the electricity it sells to retail customers coming from renewable energy by 2020.

At the end of 2010, OPPD had 102 MW of renewables, which represents 1.6 percent of OPPD’s total retail sales. That includes wind power, landfill gas and solar.

By the end of 2011, OPPD should have 155 MW of renewables, 4.3 percent of retail sales.