York County hears NPPD briefing on solar projects and lengthy interconnection queue

David Rich, a utility planner with Nebraska Public Power District, told the York County Board of Commissioners on March 22 that a large backlog at the Southwest Power Pool (SPP) is slowing the development of utility-scale solar projects and adding uncertainty to final transmission costs. “By 2050, our board has set a goal to be 100% carbon free,” Rich said, explaining the utility’s long-term objective while noting that solar today makes up a very small fraction of NPPD’s generation mix.

Rich gave an overview of NPPD’s generation portfolio and the SPP generation-interconnection process, describing three project scales: utility-scale (5 MW and up), community-scale and smaller net metering projects. He told commissioners that applications to connect to the regional grid must be studied by SPP engineers and that, as of his slide, roughly 95,311 megawatts of generation were in the SPP queue — a figure he used to illustrate why projects can take many years to clear the study process.

The presentation highlighted the McCool project, which Rich said was entered in the 2017 queue as a roughly 310-megawatt hybrid (solar with battery storage) tied to NPPD transmission. “We have to put in our application and the studies are iterative,” Rich said, describing how project developers may be required to post financial deposits to remain in later study phases and how projects that prove too costly drop out, forcing restudies and further delay.

Commissioners asked whether ratepayers bear the cost of interconnection and Rich said developers normally pay interconnection costs. He added one exception: if a new transmission facility creates a reliability improvement, some costs could be allocated more broadly. “The developer pays the cost to interconnect,” he said. “One exception would be if there is some improvement in reliability that’s gained as a result of that new line.”

Rich also updated the board on an RFP NPPD issued on behalf of a large industrial customer and on the utility’s work with neighboring projects. He said the utility’s board had set a long-term target but emphasized the near-term challenge of keeping electricity reliable and affordable while changing fuel sources. “That’s the challenge: keep the low rates and keep it reliable,” he said.

Why it matters: County leaders preparing zoning and permitting for potential solar development sought a clearer sense of timelines, costs and technical constraints. Rich’s briefing underscored that even if local approvals are in place, transmission-study backlogs and uncertain interconnection costs can delay or halt projects, shifting much of the cost risk to developers until a final generation interconnection agreement is signed.

What’s next: Commissioners said they would use the briefing to inform upcoming zoning discussions and RFP review. Rich offered to answer follow-up questions by email and to provide further technical details on SPP study phases and the McCool project’s current status.