Solar power in Nebraska

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 eight-year^[when?] extension to the 30% tax credit, which can be used to install systems of any size. In 2015, the state ranked 47th among the 50 U.S. states with 1.1 MW of installed capacity.^[1]

Lincoln Electric System community solar facility

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

Main article: List of power stations in Nebraska § Solar

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]

Other large solar installations include:

• A group of arrays totaling 108.9 kW at Creighton University.^[7][8]
• A 45 kW array at the Norfolk Operations Center of Nebraska Public Power District.^[9]

Statistics

Source: NREL^[10]

Grid-connected PV capacity (MW)^{[11][12][13][14][15]}

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	%
2022	83	9.4	%

Utility-scale solar generation in Nebraska (GWh)^[16]

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, accessed May 31, 2016
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. 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. Omaha Renewable Energy Project
8. Output display
9. Renewable Energy
10. "PV Watts". NREL. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
11. Sherwood, Larry (August 2012). (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-09-06. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
12. Sherwood, Larry (July 2009). (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-11-23. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
13. Sherwood, Larry (July 2012). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2012" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). p. 16. Retrieved 2013-10-11.
14. Sherwood, Larry (July 2014). "U.S. Solar Market Trends 2013" (PDF). Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC). Retrieved 2014-09-26.
15. Nebraska Solar
16. "Electricity Data Browser". U.S. Department of Energy. March 28, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2021.