On a site in Dodge County that still shows traces of last year’s corn crop, high schoolers from the Creighton Prep Sustainability Club got a firsthand view of how a different kind of natural resource will be harvested. Here and at a twin site in neighboring Burt County, Burt County Public Power District will get electricity from the first utility scale solar-plus-storage projects in the state of Nebraska.
The project sites each feature solar PV modules that are connected to Burt County Public Power’s distribution system along with Tesla Megapacks that store electricity. That storage capability helps the local utility manage demand in periods when electricity usage is highest.
The Creighton Prep Sustainability Club heard from Boyd Jones team members about how the project works and how it will benefit Burt County Public Power District, its customers, and the environment through benefits like a lower environmental impact, landowner lease payments, and new tax revenues for the counties in which the projects are situated.
“It’s exciting to see younger generations willing to get out and ask questions about renewable energy and how it affects people at the ground level,” said Erin Sennert, Energy Project Manager at Boyd Jones. “Stewardship, entrepreneurship, innovation, and continuous improvement are among our core values at Boyd Jones, and we’ve been able to really embrace each of those through the technology in place on these important projects.”
Prep Sustainability Club sponsor and teacher Trevor Herron said the club meets regularly to explore and discuss a wide variety of practices designed to lessen the environmental impact of activities like school operations and individual consumption habits. Those practices include the conversion of sunlight into electrical energy, and even though Creighton Prep does not currently generate electricity on its campus, the group’s discussions around other sustainability practices have been fruitful.
“Some projects we’ve spearheaded have led to composting for our lunch program, vegetable and pollinator gardens on campus, advocacy for responsible investments, and hopefully some solar energy,” Herron said.
The student field trip was an excellent opportunity to showcase advancements in renewable energy locally. “We hope that by making time to engage young people in the industry, we can reach kids and show them some of the many ways they can make a difference in the world they live in,” said Project Engineer Brian Ageton. “You don’t have to go far from home to have an impact.”
