Nebraska's renewable resources

Summary: Nebraska is a state rich in renewable resources, including solar, wind, and biomass in the form of timber. Despite this, it ranked forty-second among US states in energy efficiency on the 2016 American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy scorecard.

Nebraska requires all utilities in the state to offer net metering to customers who install solar, methane, wind, biomass, hydropower, or geothermal energy systems of less than 25 kilowatts.

The state of Nebraska has a range of natural resources that can be used for energy generation. Although the state has small oil reserves and no other fossil fuel resources (importing coal for electricity generation almost exclusively from Wyoming), it has considerable potential to use wind power. Nebraska also is one of the country’s top producers of corn-based ethanol—most of which, however, is consumed in other states, because Nebraska is one of the few US states that allows the use of conventional gasoline and has no state-level mandate for blending ethanol into gasoline. However, Nebraska has opened its first biodiesel facility, which has the capacity to produce 5 million gallons annually.

Nebraska’s total energy consumption is relatively low, commensurate with the state’s population. The industrial sector leads energy demand, and the transportation and residential sectors are also large consumers of energy. Nonetheless, the general trend has been a steady rise in energy consumption since the 1960s. In 1960, for example, total energy consumption was about 308 trillion British thermal units (Btu). By 2007, consumption had risen to 744 trillion Btu, and by 2008 that consumption was nearly 782 trillion Btu. Total consumption reached 853 trillion Btu in 2015 abd 898 trillion Btus in 2021. The steady increase has led Nebraska to seek ways of both conserving energy and using more renewables in its energy mix.

History

Nebraska and the other Great Plains states were the last settled by American pioneers. During much of the 1800s, the region was called the Great American Desert and simply was bypassed. Even after farmers began moving there after the Civil War ended in 1865, many suffered from drought, temperature extremes, and loneliness. For many years, few Nebraskans had access to modern technology, including electrical power.

In the late 1960s, negotiations began that culminated in the creation of the Nebraska Public Power District in 1970. In the wake of the Arab Oil Embargo, the energy crunch of the early 1970s forced Nebraskans to acknowledge the prominent role energy played in the state’s economic health. Since that time, the state of Nebraska’s forward-looking planning has addressed energy security and economic growth in the long term.

The Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) is the state’s largest electric utility, serving all or parts of eighty-six of the state’s ninety-three counties. It was formed on January 1, 1970, when the Consumers Public Power District, Platte Valley Public Power and Irrigation District (PVPPID), and Nebraska Public Power System merged, becoming the public agency NPPD.

In 1974, NPPD began operating the Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS) near Brownville in southeastern Nebraska. NPPD’s only nuclear reactor used uranium fission to produce steam to turn the plant’s electrical power producing turbines. NPPD purchased some hydroelectric power from the Western Area Power Administration. In the late 1980s, NPPD’s major project was building a $700 million, 500,000-volt transmission line called the MANDAN Project linking the Canadian province of Manitoba with the Dakotas and Nebraska.

In the 1990s, electric utilities across the nation faced new challenges from government deregulation. In 1992, the federal government passed a law permitting competition in purchasing wholesale electricity. Private utilities prepared to compete against public power in Nebraska. In the late 1990s, NPPD took several major steps to improve its technical and financial operations. In 1996, NPPD began a study of wind power. Monitors collected data on wind speeds, direction, and turbulence. In 1998, NPPD worked with other agencies to build its first two wind turbines, located near Springview, Nebraska. These variations on the old windmill already had operated for several years in other areas. However, deregulation and increased competition threatened investment in such alternative power sources as wind turbines, unless improved technology could bring their costs below the costs of fossil fuels, hydroelectricity, and nuclear energy—that is, those technologies already in place.

In the late 1990s, NPPD improved its customer service by consolidating its offices and using more automated technology. In the late 1990s, NPPD examined its options to offer many new electric services to its clients. Such diversification was seen as a way to prepare for deregulation and increased future competition. Although public power in Nebraska and other states had proved successful in terms of serving customers with low-cost energy, in 1999 its future appeared uncertain, in large part because of energy deregulation. Some industry leaders thought that it was time to sell publicly owned facilities and move on to a privatized system. Even if that happened, NPPD would retain its legacy as one of the nation’s most significant electric power utilities.

Electricity

As of 2023, the United States is the world’s second-largest energy consumer, second only to China. Nebraska’s electricity usage is a part of that trend. Aging generation facilities and increasing demands for electricity will require that new generating facilities be built.

Electric utilities rely heavily on nonrenewable fuels to produce electricity. These nonrenewable fuels include fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. Utilization of fossil fuels draws on finite resources that cannot be replaced. Also, emissions from fossil fuel plants have been a source of discussion among environmentalists and all branches of government. Before 1930, few Nebraskans realized the state’s potential for hydroelectric power, with plants in the Platte River Basin producing only 10,446 horsepower. However, successful power producers owned by Nebraska municipalities in the 1920s influenced many to favor publicly owned power over private utilities.

Nebraska generates about 49 percent of its electricity from coal, the cheapest source of electricity. Nuclear power provides 14 percent of the state’s generation, and wind power provides 31 percent. Hydropower and natural gas each provide 3 percent. Public utilities distribute all the electricity in the state.

Oil and Gas

Nebraska’s few oil reserves are in the western part of the state. The Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission was created in 1959 to curb wasteful practices in oil and gas production. The director administers and enforces the Oil and Gas Conservation Act of 1959, and all rules, regulations, and orders promulgated by the commission. The director also acts as the commission’s secretary and keeps its minutes and records.

When people think about countries that produce oil, the Middle East usually tops the list, but new technology is providing access to previously out-of-reach oil in the western United States. The Niobrara Chalk Basin in Wyoming, Colorado, and Nebraska shows particular promise.

Natural gas, imported from other states, supplies a minimal amount of electricity to Nebraskans. It remains a significant energy source for the state, however, as over 60 percent of Nebraskan households use it to heat their homes and cook.

Coal

As of 2022, nearly 50 percent of Nebraska’s power was generated by coal, but there are no coal mines in Nebraska. In 1999, the Omaha-based holding company Berkshire Hathaway bought a majority share in MidAmerican Energy Holdings, which produces coal energy both independently and through its subsidiary, PacifiCorp.

By state law, Nebraska’s public power entities are charged with providing the state with reliable energy at the lowest cost to consumers. For a very long time, that formula has translated into coal-fired generation. “Old coal” contracts may be relatively cheap, but costs are rising. Coal’s greatest cost is rail transportation, and Nebraska is relatively close, as we reckon relative distance here on the Great Plains, to the coalfields of Wyoming.

Nuclear Energy

Nuclear energy supplied 14 percent of Nebraska’s energy needs as of 2022. Cooper Nuclear Station (CNS) is a boiling-water-reactor plant located on a 1,251-acre site near Brownville, Nebraska. It is the largest single-unit electrical generator in Nebraska. As of 2024, CNS was owned and operated by NPPD. In December 2007, the NPPD amended its existing contract for fuel bundle fabrication and related services to provide for long-term requirements. In March 2008, the NPPD amended its existing agreement for uranium concentrates, conversion, and enrichment to provide for short-term enriched uranium production and long-term enrichment services. These contracts do not obligate NPPD to purchase fuel components in excess of its operational needs. Nuclear fuel in the reactor is being amortized on the basis of energy produced as a percentage of total energy expected to be produced.

Renewable Energy Sources

The US Energy Information Administration predicts that demand for energy will grow 28 percent by the year 2035. To meet this growing electricity demand in a manner that is cost-effective and protects our air quality, the use of renewable energy resources will be necessary. Nebraska is making strides in this area.

For example, the 60-megawatt Ainsworth Wind Energy Facility, which began operating in 2005, is the state’s largest wind facility. Renewable resources have the potential to transform Nebraska’s energy supply. Nebraska ranks near the top of the nation in its potential to generate energy from wind, cellulosic biomass, solar power, and biogas. NPPD owns and operates the Ainsworth wind farm and purchases a percentage of the output from wind generation near Bloomfield, Petersburg, Springview, Broken Bow, Crofton, and Steele City. Another 100-plus kilowatts of NPPD’s annual energy generation mix comes from hydropower and 45 kilowatts from solar power. In 2005, less than 3 percent of the energy consumed in the state came from renewable sources; by 2015, renewable energy accounted for 18.6 percent of the total energy consumed in Nebraska. This number is certain to continue rising as technologies improve and more farmers find that homegrown energy is good for business. In 2021, Nebraska set a goal of generating net zero emissions by 2050.

NPPD’s goal is to have new renewable energy resources comprise 10 percent of the energy supply for NPPD’s native load by 2020. Clean energy investments will create opportunities for welders, sheet-metal workers, machinists, truck drivers, and others. In Nebraska, an estimated 86,000 jobs in a representative group of job areas could see job growth or wage increases by putting global warming solutions to work. Investing in renewable energy sources will reduce Nebraska’s dependence on fossil fuels and at the same time create new green-collar jobs.

Geothermal energy taps into reservoirs of steam and hot water beneath the Earth’s surface. Most geothermal resources are concentrated in the western coastal United States, but 2 percent of the deep geothermal energy in western Nebraska could produce the equivalent of 57 gigawatts of power. Because geothermal power does not vary based on weather or precipitation patterns, it offers an easy replacement for fossil fuel in large-scale power plants.

Nebraska has enough solar resources to produce 4,500 to 5,500 watt-hours per square meter using photovoltaic (PV) systems and 4,000 to 5,500 watt-hours per square meter using concentrating solar power systems. This means that devoting one 1 square mile in Nebraska to solar power could provide enough electricity for about 1,300 households each year.

Nebraska captures very little solar energy, but in 2006 the National Renewable Energy Laboratory ranked it thirteenth in the country in solar energy potential. In 2015, only 0.04 trillion Btu of the energy used was captured from the sun, while about 158.38 trillion Btu came from renewable sources in total. Nebraska Renewable Energy Systems, a manufacturing and consulting firm, points out that PV solar panels can be used in tandem with a wind-energy system, as windy and sunny weather tend not to coincide. A 2003 study on a Nebraska cattle farm showed that solar energy can enhance livestock and crop management by creating free power for functions such as water pumping.

The American Wind Energy Association ranked Nebraska ranked eighteenth for wind power, with 1,335 megawatts of existing electricity generation capacity and another 189 megawatts under construction as of 2016. NREL estimates that the state has 880,000 megawatts of potential capacity. In 2010, more than 450 gigawatt-hours were generated by utility-scale wind energy in Nebraska. Building additional wind installations could bring tens of thousands of new jobs.

In 2016, the state’s wind turbines generated more than 10 percent of its electricity, enough to power nearly 351,000 homes that year. Nebraska more than doubled its wind production capacity when the Elkhorn Ridge Farm went online. The power from this farm goes to NPPD.

Biomass and biofuels hold promise for Nebraska's energy needs. Nebraska has 30,000 short tons of wood pellets available each year, and its biomass was used to generate about 8 gigawatt-hours of electricity in June 2017 alone. Nebraska has been among the top ten producers of methane gas in the country. In 2002, the AgSTAR program, sponsored by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), estimated that 148 swine farms in Nebraska were capable of using biodigesters to capture methane and produce 134 gigawatt-hours of electricity per year—enough to power more than 11,000 homes.

Nebraska has great potential to produce advanced biofuels from cellulosic biomass. In 2008, a five-year study of switchgrass grown on marginal farmland in Nebraska, South Dakota, and North Dakota, using only moderate amounts of fertilizer, yielded an average of 300 gallons of ethanol per acre, compared with 350 gallons per acre of corn in the same states.

Bibliography

Balaskovitz, Andy. "Nebraska to Pursue Net-Zero Emissions by 2050." Energy News Network, 10 Dec. 2021, energynews.us/digests/nebraska-to-pursue-net-zero-emissions-goal-by-2050/. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

Lantz, Eric. Economic Development Benefits From Wind Power in Nebraska. Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2009.

"Nebraska." US Energy Information Administration (EIA), 20 July 2023, www.eia.gov/state/?sid=NE. Accessed 6 Aug. 2024.

"Plants & Facilities." Nebraska Public Power District, 2023, www.nppd.com/about-us/power-plants-facilities. Accessed 8 Aug. 2024.

University of Nebraska, College of Journalism and Mass Communications. Opportunities for Nebraska. Vol. 2, Energy, Climate, and Sustainability. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 2011.