Lincoln NE Electric System to buy more wind energy

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.omaha.com/money/lincoln-electric-system-to-buy-more-wind-energy/article_11ce400f-e8bd-5ac9-adbe-a80c34cb2cb4.html

POSTED: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2014 1:00 AM
By Russell Hubbard / World-Herald staff writer

Lincoln Electric System said Friday it has agreed to buy additional supplies of wind energy.

The customer-owned electric utility said it plans to buy 73 megawatts of wind energy by 2016 from the Prairie Breeze II Wind Energy Center in northeastern Nebraska and 100 megawatts from the Buckeye Wind Energy Center in north-central Kansas. LES also said Friday it plans to add five megawatts of solar power by 2016.

The addition of wind and solar generation comes as the nation’s coal-fired electric plants face stricter emissions regulations, leading to plans for shuttering them or converting them to burn natural gas. By next year, Nebraska wind, solar and other renewable generation will account for about 1,209 megawatts, or about 14 percent of the state total.

Congress this month extended a tax credit good for 2.3 cents per kilowatt-hour for wind installations started this year, as it requires government incentives to be of interest to investors. The tax credit’s future beyond the end of 2014 is uncertain.

FULL story at link.