The Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), which recently voted to retire its 478-MW Fort Calhoun nuclear plant this year, is making great strides toward its renewable energy and demand-side management goals, OPPD said July 14.
At its monthly meeting on July 14, the OPPD Board of Directors accepted the monitoring report for Board Policy: Strategic Directive-7, relating to environmental stewardship.
The report shows 20% of the Nebraska district’s projected retail energy sales will come from renewable energy sources by the end of 2016, and the district is on track to surpass 30% by 2018.
The district also continues to make good progress in reducing peak demand on the hottest days of the summer, when the need for electricity is at its highest. OPPD has initiated a number of programs to reduce peak demand by 300 MW by 2023.
Renewable energy accounted for 16.4% of actual 2015 retail sales in 2015, according to the OPPD data. Commissioning of the 400-MW Grande Prairie wind project by 2017 should drive OPPD higher than 30% renewables, according to OPPD.
