I was disappointed to learn recently the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) has decided to greatly expand its spending on “renewable” energy. NPPD and Monolith have entered into an agreement that outlines Monolith’s plan to buy two million megawatt hours (MWh) of renewable power from NPPD. Most of this will come from wind energy. 

“The approximately two million megawatt-hours of generation would create a sufficient number of renewable energy credits (RECs) to meet 100 percent of Monolith’s average annual energy usage and meet their environmental and sustainability goals,” said NPPD’s president and CEO, Tom Kent.

Just a couple years ago, Mr. Tom Kent and NPPD’s chief legal counsel sat in my office and told me they had no plans to expand their “renewable portfolio” and what few wind turbines and solar facilities they had were all they wanted. It is clear something has changed, or perhaps nothing changed and this was their intent all along.

NPPD has made a decision to enter into an agreement with a company that is driving further expansion of wind energy in Nebraska. To supply two million megawatt hours (MWh) of “renewable” power will require the construction of hundreds of the newest, biggest wind turbines and scores of new power lines. When the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow, where will NPPD get the “renewable” power this agreement requires them to deliver? Will they buy it off the grid? How much will that cost ratepayers? How many years is this power purchase agreement for? How many citizens will be forced to be neighbors to an industrial wind energy facility because of this? Where will these be built? How many angry neighbors at county board meetings will this cause? 

Wind energy rips apart the fabric of Nebraska communities. It makes bitter enemies out of families that have been neighbors for generations. I have seen this sad scenario played out across my legislative district, and around the state many times. It is wrong-headed for the State of Nebraska to promote energy policies that rely on erratic and unreliable generators of electricity. There are many ways to reduce CO2 emissions for far less than building windmills and solar farms. If our State’s energy policy is going to drive a wedge between neighbors, and cost ratepayers more, it should at least make sense. 

Please contact my office with any comments, questions, or concerns. Email me at tbrewer@leg.ne.gov, mail a letter to Sen. Tom Brewer, Room #1101, P.O. Box 94604, Lincoln, NE 68509, or call us at (402) 471-2628.