OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — Life for hundreds of thousands of us intersects with Omaha Public Power District. So, its decisions and direction are important.
3 News Now's Mary Nelson wanted to speak in-depth with President and CEO Javier Fernandez on the heels of such an extraordinary storm season, and, at a time of never-before-seen growth for the Omaha area.
This story, the second in a series of five, centers on projected growth and three facilities which will produce a portion of the anticipated energy needed over the next few decades in the District's 13-county service area.
Continue reading for the expanded story.
When Mary Nelson sat down OPPD President and CEO Javier Fernandez, she did so in part to learn about some of the utility's big projects - either done or almost there.
Today, OPPD produces 3,600 megawatts. It believes it needs 3,200 additional megawatts to meet projected need. This reality, Fernandez says, has required investment. Including, in Turtle Creek in Sarpy County near 168th Street and Fairview Road.
"We're really excited. It will bring much-needed both capacity and energy to the region. We're about 90% completion. We're expecting it to be completed by the end of the year," he shared.
Adding - the new facility in Douglas County called Standing Bear Lake Station should also be ready by year's end.
"It's a smaller unit in terms of megawatts, but it's very, very important because that one has nine individual engines that can fire up really quick," Fernandez said.
OPPD's most recently completed project is in Yutan. Platteview Solar was OPPD's first utility-scale solar project. Together, Turtle Creek, Standing Bear Lake and Platteview Solar will generate almost 700 megawatts of electricity - needed to serve what the District describes as 'unprecedented growth' within its service territory.
"We rely on economic indicators, the state of Nebraska gives us indicators, but we have our own evidence," Fernandez explained as to how they gauge future demand.
Their 'own evidence' includes an uptick in meters installed. In the last decade, OPPD says it saw an average of 4,500 new meters to home and apartments each year. And then, last year? About 6,000. A trend line only matched by commercial growth with data centers, factories and the like.
"We need years to plan ahead for substations, for transmission lines, for generation. We have a queue of customers with megawatts tied to each one of them," he expounded.
When KMTV's series continues, the subject shifts to nuclear power, and why - though Fernandez says the technology is promising - the utility decommissioned its Fort Calhoun facility.
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