Nebraska public power utility Omaha Public Power District continues to grow its energy portfolio to meet increasing demand and recently hit a major milestone when a 225-megawatt (MW) combustion turbine was delivered to the Turtle Creek Station (TCS) in Sarpy County as part of an expansion of that natural gas-powered plant.
The F-Class gas turbine is about 35 feet long – roughly the length of a school bus – and weighs about 560,000 pounds – the weight of a Boeing 787 airplane at maximum capacity.
It was built over the course of 20 months in Berlin, Germany, and traveled by barge to Houston and then by rail to Gretna, arriving last week. There, it was prepped for the final five-mile stretch via roadways to TCS.
The new turbine will join two others at the natural gas-powered plant, which began commercial operation in June. With the two existing turbines, the plant is capable of producing up to 450 MW. When the expansion is complete by the end of 2028, it will have a generating capacity of 675 MW.
The expansion of TCS is part of OPPD’s multi-year, billion-plus-dollar investment in infrastructure upgrades to maintain reliable, resilient electric service as energy usage climbs.
OPPD expects to coordinate a total of 15 heavy hauls of large equipment like this one over the next three years to bring these large pieces of equipment to various OPPD sites.
