Renewable Energy

Wind Generation

KBR Rural Public Power District was one of the first electric utilities in Nebraska to be involved with wind generation, dating back to the mid 1980’s in assisting the evaluation and testing to determine the potential feasibility of siting wind turbines in northern Nebraska. Beginning with the Western Area Power Administration, then the Nebraska Power Association and now the Nebraska Public Power District, considerable data has been collected concerning the potential of wind generation in our area.

In the late 1990’s, KBR along with the Nebraska Public Power District, the Lincoln Electric System, the Municipal Energy Agency of Nebraska, the City of Grand Island, and the Nebraska City Utilities partnered together along with receiving grants from the Department of Energy and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) to purchase and erect the first large wind turbines in Nebraska.

These were two of the Zond 750 kW units, mounted on steel lattice towers, just west of Springview, Nebraska, and was one of eight sites across the United States involved with Department of Energy’s Distributed Generation Project to determine the feasibility of locating small numbers of wind units in rural areas and connecting the turbines directly to the utilities distribution facilities. Due to excessive maintenance and rising costs, these units were removed from service and sold for parts in the fall of 2007. It is hoped to replace the units with two new units utilizing the lastest technology sometime in the near future.

In 2005, the Nebraska Public Power District erected Nebraska’s largest wind farm just six miles south of Ainsworth. There are thirty-six Vestas wind turbines mounted on 230 foot tubular steel towers, with each unit rated at 1.65 megawatts (1,650 kW), causing the total wind farm to be rated at 60 megawatts. These 36 units are scattered across 11,000 acres and can be seen from many, many miles away.

If anyone is interested in having a tour of the wind generating facilities south of Ainsworth, or would like more information on renewable generation, contact KBR General Manager Rich Walters at 1-800-672-0009 or 1-402-387-1120.

ANNUAL NET METERING REPORT

Beginning March 1, 2010, and on each March 1 thereafter, each local distribution utility shall produce and publish on its web site, or if no web site is available, in its main office, and provide to the Nebraska Power Board an annual net metering report that shall include the following information:

(1) The total number of qualified facilities; 0

(2) The total estimated rated generating capacity of qualified facilities; 0

(3) The total estimated net kilowatt-hours received from customer-generators; 0

(4) The total estimated amount of energy produced by the customer-generators; 0

Laws 2009, LB436