OPPD's nuclear power station |
Flat Water Wind Farm is one source
of OPPD's wind energy |
The Integrated Resource Plan is OPPD’s road map to meet its customer-owners’ electrical energy needs over the next 15 years. OPPD’s customer needs in total grow at an average rate of 1.5 percent to 2 percent a year.
OPPD reviews various solutions to best meet our customers’ electricity requirements. OPPD melds these solutions into one document that leads to the Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). These solutions are classified according to their objectives
Supply Side Resources
Over time, as OPPD customers’ energy use continues to grow, at some point OPPD will need to add utility-scale generation to supplement its existing generating fleet.
The IRP examines the wide variety of technologies for utility-scale generation. These include:
- Coal and natural gas (fossil fuels).
- Nuclear power
- Renewable resources, such as wind, solar, hydro and biomass.
- Utility-scale energy storage systems, such as large batteries and pumped-hydro, also can be classified as supply-side resources.
OPPD has set a goal that it will meet 10 percent of its customers’ annual electricity needs by 2020 through renewable sources. Most of this will be from wind turbines and a portion from landfill gas and solar.
The next new generation besides renewables is not needed until 2021, and is planned to be fueled by natural gas.
Efficiency and Demand Diversification
|
The planned need of additional natural gas-fired generation in 2021 actually would be needed sooner if not for initiatives implemented by or on behalf of OPPD’s customer-owners.
Increased efficiency lowers the use of energy, while providing the electricity consumer with the same level of end-services.
There are a multitude of methods to increase efficiency.
|
Nebraska City Station 1 & 2 |
Two examples are compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), and building weatherproofing:
- CFLs provide lighting at 1/3 the electricity consumption compared to standard incandescent lightbulbs.
- Upgrading insulation and sealing sources of winter drafts will require less energy to maintain the same level of comfort within a home or business.
Elk City Station (landfill-gas plant) |
Other solutions look to help diversify customer-owners time of use of electricity (demand), especially during high-usage periods.
OPPD customers’ highest usage is mid- to late afternoon on summer days with uncomfortably high heat indexes. The cost to supply any extra electricity during these high-usage times is very high.
|
Examples of solutions tailored for these situations is to have customer-owners refrain from washing clothes and dishes or turning off unneeded lights during these time periods.
Some larger OPPD commercial and industrial customers have provisions in their OPPD rates to slow down their electrical consumption or start their own on-site electrical generators during these hot summer days.
Another example solution is to segment air conditioners into groups and control them so at least some of the groups are off while the other groups are permitted to run. In 2012 OPPD is offering its residential customers an option to enroll in the AC Management Program. In this program under OPPD’s control, a customer’s air conditioner may be cycled off for no more than a 15 minute interval.
|
