Nebraska’s First Utility Scale Solar
Rows of Solar Panels at the LES Utility Scale Solar Farm
Located north of Interstate 80 just west of Lincoln on a dirt road is Nebraska’s first utility scale solar system. To be classified as utility scale a system has to produce at least 2 megawatts of power which is roughly enough to power between 300 and 420 homes. The system was the first of its kind installed not only in Nebraska but the surrounding states as well when it went live in 2016. The system is a 5 megawatt (MW) direct current (DC) and 4 MW alternating current (AC) which produces enough power for 900 homes. A total of 60 inverters operating at 60 kilowatts spaced throughout the array converts the DC power to AC power in order to tie into the electric grid, a system that is much larger than just the area around Lincoln.
Project Background
Lincoln Electric System (LES) put out a request for proposals for companies to build, maintain, and operate the system under a power purchase agreement. The RFP was initiated as part of LES’s goal to decarbonize their portfolio to net zero. Their current resource mix is 35% natural gas, 34% renewable, and 31% coal when operating at peak performance. Between 2010 and 2020 alone LES was able to take advantage of several opportunities and reduced their carbon footprint by 53%. There are currently two coal power plants nearing the end of their 40 year lifespan, however a third plant was built 14 years ago, making it a relatively new plant in terms of their lifespan. This means the company will have to decide whether to decommission the plant early or wait for carbon capture technology to become a reality in order to meet their net zero goal.
Since the developer of the solar array owns and operates the system, LES purchases energy at a set price from them, the trade off being a lack of maintenance on the system. The reason for this type of arrangement stems from the funding sources. As a public entity that does not pay taxes, LES cannot take advantage of the 30 percent federal tax credit, however a private developer can. The developer then passes along savings from the tax credit program to LES through a lower energy rate.
System Design
The installation has 15,333 pre-connectorized panels which made the install easy to complete within 3 months. The panels are attached to fourteen foot tall I-beams installed 7 feet below grade pile driven into the ground without the need for concrete footings. The panels have single access tracking which means they tilt back and forth following the sun. This process is aided by a big rod which drives the panels and smaller rods that stabilize each panel. The design allows the system to continue operating even if one section is temporarily inoperable due to a storm or wind knocking the panel off track.
Backside of solar panels showing the large and small rods that operate the panels
Supporting Solar
LES offers two ways to support the project which operates at a higher cost than other energy facilities. One is to donate to the SunShares program. The second is a unique way homeowners can access a solar panel without installing and maintaining it on their home. The Virtual Net Metering program allows an LES customer to purchase the right to a panel(s) for the remainder of the contract life (currently 15 years). There are approximately 500 panels purchased to date. Another benefit to the homeowner is the economy of scale for such a large system as compared to installing a smaller system at their home. Given that LES energy rates will likely increase over the years, the panel purchaser is getting a guaranteed rate that will not increase. They can even “take the panel” with them if they move to a new home within the LES service area, unlike if they installed one at their home. If the purchaser were to move outside the LES service area, they could sell back their panel at 75% the current price which declines each year to account for the life of the project declining.
The Larger Grid
The energy produced by these panels goes into the grid operated by the Southwest Power Pool (SPP), a regional electricity market that spans from about Texas to the Canadian border about the width of the state of Nebraska. All electricity produced by power providers within the SPP jurisdiction is sold to the market and then purchased back by the providers. This system is what incentivizes private power providers to build systems like the solar array in Lincoln. It is also what helps lessen the impact of power outages during storms since electricity produced in one end of the SPP area can be sent to another when an outage occurs. The only difficulty with this system is when the entire network is hit by the same weather such as this past winter when record low temperatures spanned from North Dakota down to Texas.
Primary coverage area of the Southwest Power Pool in Red
The SPP also holds all decision making power for any provider, public or private, to hook into the system. So regardless of whether a public power company wants to tie a new facility into a transmission line they maintain, they are required to go through the SPP first for permission.
The process for brining a new facility online like the solar array in Lincoln beings with submitting the request within one of the two open windows each year. The SPP then studies the cost for everyone requesting to hook into the system during that cycle. The cost is divided evenly among all entities requesting to hook up. The company maintaining the infrastructure then completes the work to connect and is reimbursed. Anyone can hook into the system if they are willing to pay the upgrade costs set forth by the SPP study.
The disadvantage to this setup is that a company with a small project may end up paying more than the cost of their small project if too many large projects are requesting to connect at the same time since the cost sharing is equal among all projects, regardless of their share of the upgrade costs. This often leads companies to forgo construction and apply for a restudy at a later date hoping for fewer companies looking to connect at the same time.
Moving Forward
It is encouraging to see our local utility company committed to a greener future and taking steps to become a net zero power supplier. Energy systems like the utility scale solar installation west of Lincoln is just the first step in a number of major changes necessary to clean up our energy grid.
