NPPD: No commitment to solar farm

COLUMBUS, Neb. — Despite a Grand Island company’s plan to build a solar farm near McCook, the Nebraska Public Power District has no plans for such a plant or commitments to use it, according to an NPPD spokesman.

Premiere Energy plans to submit a conditional use permit to county officials later this month, planning what could eventually be a thousand-acre solar farm named in honor of early public power proponent Sen. George W. Norris of McCook.

“NPPD has been approached by Premier Energy and other renewable developers about supplementing existing generation at multiple NPPD locations,” Grant Otten, NPPD media relations specialist told the Gazette in an email.

“ NPPD has not made any commitments to build or purchase this facility or any others at this point in time. Currently, NPPD does not have any plans to add renewable generation at this site.

 “NPPD is currently in the process of putting together an Integrated Resource Plan (IRP), which looks at what generation might be needed in the future to serve our customers, and adding solar generation is something NPPD will be looking at. NPPD puts together an IRP every five years, and any consideration for additional generation would need to be approved by NPPD’s Board of Directors.  If NPPD would decide to add more solar generation, then NPPD would issue a Request For Proposal (RFP) for new resources to be considered.

 “NPPD, in partnership with Monolith Materials in southeast Nebraska, issued an RFP for renewable generation back in April of 2021. That RFP has been closed since mid-2021 and the addition of renewables at existing NPPD generation locations are not being considered as a part of this process.

 “In regard to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). While the IRA does have provisions included to benefit public power, it remains to be seen if those benefits put public power on equal footing with private utilities.  The guidance and rule making regarding this legislation have yet to be finalized but NPPD is very excited about the IRA and is still looking into how we will be able to utilize it.”

Regarding the potential property tax impact of the proposed solar farm, Jeff Cook-Coyle of Premier Energy noted that NPPD’s 2020 annual report said “The District has no power of taxation, and no governmental authority has the power to levy or collect taxes to pay, in whole or in part, any indebtedness or obligation of or incurred by the District or upon which the District may be liable. The District has the right of eminent domain. The property of the District, in the opinion of its General Counsel, is exempt under the State Constitution from taxation by the State and its subdivisions, but the District is required by the State to make payments in lieu of taxes which are distributed to the State and various governmental subdivisions."