By Eric Galatas, Public News Service – Nebraska
LYONS, Neb. — The growth of the solar industry has brought a wave of new projects to Nebraska, including a community solar farm in Scottsbluff that’s expected to save the city more than $2 million in energy costs over 25 years. With more projects on the horizon, Lu Nelsen, policy program associate for the advocacy group Center for Rural Affairs, says solar is poised to boost rural economies. Nelsen says advances in technology and manufacturing have made solar more affordable for homes, communities and for big utility companies.
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Previously Posted
Wind farms can bring economic benefits, officials say, by Elizabeth A. Elliott, Blair Enterprise Publishing
MORE MIDWEST NEWS
- Kansas City utility’s community solar project a slow starter with customers, written by Karen Uhlenhuth, Energy News Network. In Omaha, a 5-megawatt project last year sold out in just 49 days, leaving hundreds more Omaha Public Power District customers on a waitlist. In the small city of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, customers earlier this year snapped up all of the shares for a 4.4-megawatt project within about a month.
- Illinois ruling is a green light for third-party solar projects, by Kari Lyderson, Energy News Network
- Solar Farms Are Rapidly Growing In Southwest Ohio, Cincinnati Public Radio
OPPD NEWS
Lighting the way – ahead of schedule, by Jason Kuiper, The Wire
After accelerating the replacement of streetlights with new LED fixtures last year, OPPD is running ahead of schedule on the project. The utility announced the project in 2018 to update the 98,744 streetlights in the OPPD service territory over a five-year period. So far, 32,000 lights have been replaced. Lights in smaller towns are done and SIDS will be among the next wave of replacements.