If you drive into Burt County on Highway 75, you will most likely see green spaces everywhere, including farmland and houses. But take a detour off this dirt road to find the first solar and battery power project of its kind anywhere in Nebraska. Just weeks after the website went live, KETV toured with Will Crane from Bluestem Energy Solutions and Jon Dockhorn from Burt County Public Power District. "This project will take 30 years," said Crane. “We need a diverse generation portfolio, and that's just one aspect of it,” said Dockhorn. The idea came up in early 2019. Crane and Dockhorn tell us that Bluestem Energy and Burt County PPD added the numbers together to make this smaller project into a "We calculated the potential savings we could see and we saw this as an opportunity for our customers to save money in the long run, "said Dockhorn. Crane said the modules connect at a single point and power lines feed along the grid. But what if the weather doesn't cooperate? "If the sun is shining, you can create it. If not, you can't. But with the extra battery we can store that energy," said Crane are the star of the show, but the people behind the project say it's all about the Tesla battery. To give you an idea of what it can do, the 3 megawatt hours of that accumulated can actually power more than 250 Burt County households "The farmers irrigate their fields with lots of electricity, the people are in their homes with lots of air conditioning," said Crane. "The battery detects this high consumption and starts to discharge." Bluestem also built a second battery storage site in Dodge County , a total investment of $ 4 million that is expected to offset 4.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide annually. " also the best value. Price is a very important thing in these projects, "Crane said. A difficult winter hit utilities across Nebraska and pushed the grid to its limits. Crane says companies can invest in viable, low-cost renewable sources in a major transition in the energy industry." and offer landowners and farmers a new harvest. "It's a really attractive proposition for landowners and a stable income for them," said Crane. And knowing that this is indeed a decade-long investment, it's not hard to see how Tekamah and Burt Counties really look to the future of a leader in solar energy, "said Crane.
If you drive into Burt County on Highway 75, you will most likely see green spaces everywhere, including farmland and houses.
But take a little detour off this dirt road and you'll find the first solar and battery power project of its kind in Nebraska.
Just weeks after the website went live, KETV toured with Will Crane from Bluestem Energy Solutions and Jon Dockhorn from Burt County Public Power District.
"This project will take 30 years," said Crane.
“We need a diverse generation portfolio, and that is only one aspect,” said Dockhorn.
The idea came up in early 2019. Crane and Dockhorn tell us that Bluestem Energy and Burt County PPD calculated the numbers to make this smaller project a reality.
"We calculated the potential savings that we could see and we saw this as an opportunity for our customers to save money in the long run," said Dockhorn.
Crane said the panels are connected to a single point and feed power lines along the network. But what if the weather doesn't cooperate?
“When the sun is shining, you can create it. If it doesn't seem, you can't. But with the extra battery we can store that energy, ”said Crane.
You'd think the panels were the star of the show, but the people behind the project say it's all about the Tesla battery. To give you an idea of what it can do, the 3 megawatt hours collected can actually fully power more than 250 Burt County households. "
Crane said the computer also senses the battery when households and businesses increase their usage and add extra juice to the grid.
"Farmers irrigate their fields with lots of electricity, people are in their homes with lots of air conditioning," said Crane. "The battery recognizes this high load and begins to discharge itself when it is needed."
Bluestem also built a second battery storage site in Dodge County, a total investment of $ 4 million that is expected to offset 4.8 million pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
"We thought it was the best technology at the time and it was also the best value for money. Price is a very important factor in these projects," said Crane.
A challenging winter weighed on utilities across Nebraska and pushed the grid to its limits. According to Crane, during a major transition in the energy industry, companies can invest in profitable, low-cost renewable sources and provide landowners and farmers with a new crop.
"It's a really attractive proposition for landowners and a stable income for them," said Crane.
And since this is actually a decades-long investment, it's not difficult to see how Tekamah and Burt Counties really look to the future.
"Show what the project looks like and how it might be scaled down for a homeowner as well," said Dockhorn.
"Nebraska can be the absolute leader in solar," said Crane.
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