Norfolk completes construction of largest solar farm in Nebraska

The City of Norfolk Public Power District (NPPD)has completed construction of the largest solar farm in Nebraska, which is paired with NPPD’s first large-scale battery storage system.

The 8.5-MW solar + battery storage system is developed and operated by solar energy developer Sol Systems in partnership with EPC firm GenPro Energy Solutions and real estate development firm Mesner Development. The array is part of NPPD’s community solar program, SunWise, allowing local residents to purchase clean energy produced from the array at a fixed price to offset normal retail electricity. Sol Systems and NPPD entered a 30-year power purchase agreement for the energy of the array, providing a fixed cost of energy for NPPD and residents for decades.

The large-scale battery storage system can store up to 2 MWh of electricity produced by the solar farm. This will allow NPPD to store solar energy for flexible discharge times.