By Anne Fischer, PV Magazine USA
The City of Norfolk, Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), and members of the community are celebrating the completion of construction of what is currently the largest solar farm in the state. The 8.5 MW solar installation is paired with NPPD’s first large-scale battery storage system, capable of storing up to 2 MWh. It’s also a pollinator habitat, and it was led by an all-woman development team. In a state that in 2021 ranked 47th in the country for installed solar and was deriving only 0.22% of its electricity from solar (according to the Solar Energy Industries Association), this system gives the state a serious boost. Read more here.
- Project Camera Link
- NPPD’s SunWise Community Solar Projects
- NPPD Energy Resources
- See more N Solar projects here.
NFS Note: NPPD’s contracts allow municipal customers to generate no more than 10% of their peak load from renewable energy sources. See: Nebraska solar farm highlights tension between cities, electricity wholesaler
See more community- and utility-scale projects under development here: Solar Energy Generation in Nebraska, Nebraska Department of Environment and Energy
FEATURED RESOURCES
- Community Solar Project Siting: A Framework for Producing Zero Carbon Electricity and Serving Ecosystem Enhancement & Conservation, Solar Energy Industries Association
- Community Solar Bibliography, National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners
- The Center for Pollinators in Energy provides information about co-locating solar and crop production and pollinator-friendly standards and practices for solar sites
- AgriSolar Clearinghouse
- National Community Solar Partnership, Department of Energy
- Farmer’s Guide to Going Solar, Department of Energy
MORE ABOUT PROPOSED CO2 PIPELINES
Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska requests impact study on proposed carbon dioxide pipelines, WOWT
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska is asking for an environmental impact study regarding two pipelines. The Winnebago Tribal Council has unanimously approved a new resolution that requests an environmental impact study for two proposed pipelines: The Summit Carbon Pipeline and the Navigator Heartland Greenway Carbon Pipeline.
Ghost Pipelines: How Landowners Suffer, Long After a Project Gets Canceled, Natural Resources Defense Council
In the Midwest, Bold Alliance, a network created during the KXL fight, continues a similar mission of connecting landowners, including through the Nebraska Easement Action Team, a nonprofit education and legal defense fund. And as Bold Alliance ramps up efforts to resist the construction of carbon pipelines in the region, the eminent domain lawyers from the KXL days have agreed to represent landowners once again.
Top 8 Reasons to Oppose Risky Carbon Pipelines, by Mark Hefflinger, Bold Nebraska