Beatrice council votes to pursue natural‑gas generation plant; consultant urges partners and bids

A consultant presentation and council discussion Tuesday culminated in a unanimous vote to pursue next steps on a proposed natural‑gas‑fired electric generation facility in Beatrice.

John Kraske, an energy consultant working with HDR and the city, told the council the preferred, city‑owned site has strong gas and transmission access and is not adjacent to a school or park. Kraske described two main technology choices—reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE) and combustion turbines (CT)—and said vendors and permitting will shape the final selection. "The site you have there is very good," Kraske said, and added the city should start partner outreach and bid‑spec development now to meet equipment lead times.

Kraske presented preliminary cost and scale estimates. He said a 100‑megawatt RICE project would be roughly $2,500 per kilowatt (about $250 million), with per‑kilowatt costs falling 15–20% when projects scale toward 200 megawatts. He warned that adding selective catalytic reduction (SCR) emissions controls to CTs could increase project cost by about 20%. Kraske also said SPP interconnection studies typically take about 15 months and that the city should expect an interconnection‑cost estimate by mid‑2027 once studies begin.

Council members asked about the tradeoffs between owning the project outright and joint‑ownership structures. Kraske outlined options including forming a standalone interlocal entity to hold the project and issue revenue bonds; he cited examples and said participants typically issue revenue bonds that become obligations of project participants. He estimated bonds for a larger project could be on the order of "$400,000,000," as discussed during the presentation.

Public comment included a question about how much has already been spent on feasibility work; staff said the city has spent about $200,000–$250,000 to date on studies and that exact costs for the next design/bid stage are not yet known. After discussion, the council moved and adopted resolution 77‑27 committing to pursue the next steps: lining up partners, preparing bid documents with HDR, and submitting the interconnection request to SPP. The motion passed 7–0.

Next procedural steps identified by staff and the consultant include scheduling meetings with potential participants over the coming weeks, authorizing HDR to prepare bid specifications, and initiating the SPP interconnection process in 2026. Kraske cautioned that equipment lead times mean the city must start soon to have generation available by the early‑2030s if the project proceeds.

The resolution does not authorize construction or issue bonds; it directs staff to proceed with partner recruitment and project development steps and to return with more concrete financing and procurement details as bids and commitments are secured.