Nebraska City Station Unit 2

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Main article: Nebraska City Station

Nebraska City Station Unit 2 began operating in July, 2009.[1]

In 2005, the Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) began construction on Nebraska City Station Unit 2, a 660-megawatt coal-fired power plant located next to its Nebraska City Station 1, southeast of Nebraska City. The plant will burn coal from the Powder River Basin. Half of generated electricity will be used by Omaha Public Power District (OPPD), and the other half will be sold to public utilities in Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota.[2]

Project Details

Sponsor: Omaha Public Power District
Location: Nebraska City, NE
Capacity: 660 MW
Projected in service: 2009
Status: Operating 2009

Financing

Citizen Groups

Employment

A 2011 Ochs Center for Metropolitan Studies report, "A Fraction of the Jobs" found that coal-fired power plants overestimate jobs by more than half. The analysis looked at the six largest new coal-fired power plants to come online between 2005 and 2009, including Nebraska City Station Unit 2, and combed through each project’s initial proposals and job projection data, including public statements, published documents and other material. They then compared hat data to actual employment — before, during and after construction — in the areas where the projects were built, relying chiefly on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.[3]

They found that only a little over half - or 56 percent - of every 1,000 jobs projected, appeared to be actually created as a result of the coal plants’ coming online. In four of the six counties, the projects delivered on just over a quarter of the jobs projected. Only one county, the Walter Scott unit number 4 project in Pottawattamie County, Iowa, saw an increase in construction employment that was roughly commensurate with the numbers predicted before the project there got under way.[3]

Construction Employment Change in Counties with New Coal Plants

Plant County Total Projected Employment Actual County Construction Employment Change (Peak) Actual Change as % of Projection
Sandow Unit 5 Milam 1,370 463 33.7%
Nebraska City Station Unit 2 Otoe N/A -73 N/A
Weston Unit 4 Marathon 1,200 429 35.7%
Council Bluffs Energy Center Unit 4 Pottawattamie 1,000 2,407 240.7%
Cross 3 & 4 Berkeley 1,400 509 36.3%
Oak Grove Units 1 & 2 Robertson 2,400 329 13.7%

Resources

References

  1. Joe Duggan, "OPPD unveils new power plant near Nebraska City," JournalStar, July 10, 2009
  2. Nebraska City 2 Plant, OPPD corporate site, accessed January 2008.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Tom Zeller, "Coal, Jobs and America’s Energy Future" NY Times, March 31, 2011.

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