Solar power in Nebraska

Lincoln Electric System community solar facility

Solar power in Nebraska is used for only a very small percentage of the state's electricity, although it is rapidly becoming competitive with grid electricity, due to the decrease in cost and the 30% tax credit, which can be used to install systems of any size. In 2024, the state ranked 44th among the 50 U.S. states with 203 MW of installed capacity.[1]

Solar power and wind power could be harvested to provide all of Nebraska's energy need, although they would require either transmission lines to provide power when neither is available or storage. Estimates show that Nebraska could generate 3,832,600 GWh/year from wind,[2] and 34.1% of demand from rooftop solar panels, using 8,200 MW of solar panels.[3]

Utility installations

Nebraska had seven utility-scale solar installations sized larger than 1.0 MW at the end of 2019.[4] These include a 5.8 MW system in Kearney and a 3.6 MW system in Lexington; both commissioned in 2017.[5] A 3.6 MW community solar plant on the west side of Lincoln was to be finished in 2016.[6]

This section is an excerpt from List of power stations in Nebraska § Solar.[edit]

Project name	Location	Coordinates	Capacity (MWAC)	Year opened	Ref
City of Lexington	Dawson County		3.6	2017
Fort Calhoun	Washington County		5.0	2019
Hastings	Adams County		1.5	2019
Holdrege	Lancaster County		4.0	2016
Kearney	Buffalo County		5.8	2017
Lon Wright	Dodge County		2.3	2018
Platteview Solar	Saunders County		81	2024	[7]
South Sioux City	Dakota County		2.3	2016

Statistics

Source: NREL[8]

Grid-connected PV capacity (MW)[9][10][11][12][13]

Year	Capacity	Change	% Change
2010	0.2	0.2	>100%
2011	0.3	0.1	50%
2012	0.4	0.1	33%
2013	0.6	0.2	50%
2014	0.8	0.2	33%
2015	1.1	0.3	37%
2016	14.2	13.1	1190%
2017	35.2	21.0	148%
2018	43.2	8.0	23%
2019	55.2	12.0	28%
2020	63.0	7.8	14%
2021	73.6	10.6	16%
2022	83	9.4	12%

Utility-scale solar generation in Nebraska (GWh)[14]

Year	Total	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2016	5	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1	1	1	0	0
2017	15	0	1	1	1	2	2	2	2	1	1	1	1
2018	27	1	2	2	3	3	3	4	3	2	2	1	1
2019	31	1	1	2	3	4	4	4	4	3	2	1	2
2020	55	2	4	4	6	6	7	7	6	5	3	3	2
2021	57	3	3	5	6	6	6	6	6	5	4	4	3

See also

• Wind power in Nebraska
• Solar power in the United States
• Renewable energy in the United States

External links

• Comparison of Solar Power Potential by State
• Nebraska solar cost estimate
• Renewable energy map
• Renewable energy policies and incentives

References

1. "Nebraska Solar | SEIA". www.seia.org. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
2. Estimates of Windy Land Area and Wind Energy Potential, by State
3. Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Technical Potential in the United States
4. Energy Information Administration (15 September 2020). "Form EIA-860 detailed data with previous form data (EIA-860A/860B)". eia.gov. Archived from the original on 18 September 2020.
5. Solar Energy Generation in Nebraska, Nebraska Energy Office, May 12, 2016
6. Solar power on the rise in Nebraska, Fred Knapp, NET News, May 31, 2016
7. Baker, Jodi (2024-07-11). "Launching OPPD's first utility-scale solar project - OPPD". The Wire. Retrieved 2024-07-12.
8. "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
9. Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2011" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
10. Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2008" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
11. Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
12. Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-09-26.
13. Nebraska Solar
14. "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2021.