Solar Farms Expand as Nebraska Embraces Solar Energy

Nebraska will be seeing three new solar farms up and running by the end of 2020. Two of the projects, a three-megawatt array and the other a two-megawatt array, are in Elkhorn, Nebraska and a third project, a 1.5-megawatt array, will be built about 35 miles west of Madison County. SunVest Solar Inc. will be working with the Elkhorn Rural Public Power District as well as the Elkhorn community to make this renewable resource available.

All About the Solar Farms

Patrick Dalseth, Regional Director of Project Development for SunVest Solar, met with the Board of Commissioners for Madison County and received no objections from the board to move forward with the projects according to the Norfolk Daily News. The solar farms will be single axis tracking systems following the sun from East to West throughout each day, ensuring the arrays generate at maximum capacity while keeping it cost effective.

One-megawatt of solar generation can produce enough energy to supply approximately 200-220 average-sized homes for one year. The three solar farm projects could potentially offset the consumption of 1,600 families. Not only will these projects reduce the need to rely on inconsistent grids and reduce costs for customers, it will have a positive impact on our environment. Reducing the usage of fossil fuel driven utilities at this scale is equivalent to 1,618 passenger cars not letting off emissions for one year, 126,010 tree saplings grown for ten years, and 971,883,432 smart phones being charged.

75 percent of the top 115 food crops rely on pollinators to produce. Over the last decade, pollinators across the nation have decreased drastically because of a variety of reasons; the most apparent is the lack of habitats. SunVest Solar is proud to partner clean energy with conservation, ensuring that every solar farm constructed will also be a pollinator habitat, protecting the integrity of the land for future generations. SunVest is in the process of partnering with a local conservation company to construct the habitat to its fullest capacity.

SunVest Solar is excited to start breaking ground on these projects while meeting people within the community throughout the process.  We are committed to expanding our mission of clean energy, sustainable utilities and conservation. If you are interested in learning about leasing 6-10 acres of your land to host a solar farm, reach feel free to reach out at (262) 547-1200, or check if your land qualifies here.

Notes to editor:

SunVest Solar is part of Neumann’s Family of Companies, with offices in the Midwest and Northeast. As a solar developer, SunVest specializes in large solar projects from start-to-finish including land acquisition, design, development, general contracting, construction, operations and maintenance. SunVest also aids in financial opportunities, grant writing, federal tax credits for installations and state incentives.

2020 marks the first year since 2016 that the Federal Tax Investment Credit has been reduced from 30% to 26%, with plans to reduce it again in 2021. Our goal is to convert as many businesses as possible to clean energy this year to guarantee their best return on investment.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Melissa at mmiller@sunvest.com.