Gov. Pete Ricketts has made a joint announcement with representatives of Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD), Monolith Materials and Norris Public Power District regarding the facilitation of a significant addition to the renewable energy landscape in the state.
In order to facilitate Monolith Materials’ proposed $1 billion expansion of its Olive Creek facility (OC2) near Hallam, Neb., NPPD and Monolith have signed a letter-of-intent outlining the companies’ intentions to procure enough renewable energy resources to generate 2 million MWh annually. Tom Kent, president and CEO of NPPD, says NPPD will solicit bids for the project through a request for proposals (RFP) for new wind or solar generation, including energy storage, through a power purchase agreement. NPPD is expecting to enter into power purchase agreements by Sept. 1, with commercial operations expected to begin no later than Dec. 31, 2025.
NPPD will be securing the generation resources which will be a large addition to the district’s renewable energy resources in the state. Power to the facility will be delivered by Norris Public Power District in Beatrice, a wholesale customer of NPPD.
“The approximately 2 million MWh of generation would create a sufficient number of renewable energy certificates (RECs) to meet 100% of Monolith’s average annual energy usage and meet their environmental and sustainability goals,” says Kent. “While we are adding additional generation resources, NPPD will continue to maintain our highly competitive rates, which was one of the reasons Monolith moved its operations to Nebraska.”
A $100 million investment that has created 50 jobs, Olive Creek 1 (OC1), Monolith’s first production facility, is already putting into practice the company’s focus on sustainability, utilizing renewable energy credits to offset 100% of its electricity needs. Monolith plans a mix of solar and wind generation resources along with battery energy storage to provide sufficient renewable power to offset its OC1 and OC2 operations in the future.
NPPD plans to issue the RFP in March 2021. A shortlist will be developed for further negotiations.
Photo: Monolith Materials’ landing page
It’s a positive development to see red states like Nebraska adopting renewable-friendly policies and encouraging the development of renewable energy sources.
It will be great to see renewables power the people of Nebraska.