North Omaha meets with OPPD management on coal power plant
OMAHA, Nebraska (Nebraska) — A “special” committee supporting North Omaha’s environmental interests met with Omaha’s state government leadership this week.
They met with the media to discuss the meeting on Thursday morning.
Subject: North Omaha power plant uses coal, health officials say
The OPPD plant in North Omaha converted three of its five units to gas in 2016. The OPPD has said it will switch entirely to coal by the end of 2023. The situation changed last year.
The group says the meeting was “a good start and productive.”
The OPPD told 3 News Now that they are “grateful for the meaningful conversations we’ve had with community leaders.” The statement goes on to say, “It’s important for us to hear from our customers… By listening to them, we’ve learned a lot more about their concerns and desires, and we’re looking very carefully at their feedback and our next steps.”
The group wants to see, first, details on how the OPPD can use federal funds to help move away from coal and other problem-solving efforts, such as improving energy efficiency in homes.
The Group would also like to receive a detailed explanation of why the transition will not take place this year. OPPD said industry concerns, exacerbated by rising demand, pushed back the date.
The OPPD stated: “These challenges faced by utilities across the country include backlogs of interconnection requests as well as supply chain issues. Maintaining generation at NOS is critical to providing reliable and resilient power to our growing communities.” OPPD will continue the current, safe operation of our plant as planned until our Standing Bear and Turtle Creek stations are fully online We remain committed to our goal of being net zero carbon by 2050 and are unwavering in our mission to provide affordable, reliable, environmentally sensitive energy services.”
Supporters are also seeking help from the OPPD to add an air quality device (which they say is completely absent in the community), support or oppose relevant legislation in the Nebraska Legislature, and get more information about the amount of coal the power plant burns.
The group said the OPPD had already contacted to set up another meeting.
OPPD will hold an audition at Florence City Hall on February 21 at 5:30 pm.
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