SOLUS

Omaha Public Power District’s potential renewable energy project, SOLUS (Solar on Landfills Utility Scale), may bring a former landfill site back to life as a solar array to help power our growing communities.

This project is a joint effort between OPPD and Douglas County and $3.46 million in grant money from the Nebraska Environmental Trust (NET) would help fund the project.

The grant was intentionally structured in three phases. First, a feasibility study will take place. The feasibility study will help determine whether the project should move forward and the ideal size of a potential solar array. The study will also allow engineers to address any possible challenges, such as how to build around existing landfill features and the best way to fit it onto the contours of the land. The second and third phases following the feasibility study would be design and construction.

The proposed project would be constructed on the Douglas County State Street landfill, a 160-acre parcel of land at 12608 State St.

The grant from NET would help make a solar development here possible, bridging the gap between the cost of a typical ground-mounted solar project and landfill solar, which requires a more complicated design and build.

The landfill was in operation from 1973 to 1989 and is now capped, covered to isolate waste. There are few other practical uses for this property. The site gets good sun exposure and is near an existing OPPD substation, making it a prime location for solar generation. OPPD will share what it learns from the project with other utilities that are interested in similar initiatives, providing value for customers both within the utility’s service district and beyond.