This Sunday evening, Nov. 6, OPPD is planning on moving a large simple-cycle combustion turbine from a local rail spur station to Turtle Creek Station (TCS) one of the utility’s two new natural gas generation balancing plants. TCS is currently under construction near 168th & Fairview in Sarpy County.
The move is being conducted in the late night hours to minimize disruption to motorists. Together, the truck and trailer set-up is 196-feet long.
The turbine’s transport via specialized heavy hauling equipment was originally planned for earlier this week. However, the move was delayed to accommodate the preceding movement of the plant’s generator, which took longer than expected.
Safety is OPPD’s top priority. Moves like these cannot be rushed and must be conducted with extreme precision for the safety of the public, our employees and contractors. For this reason, we ask that the public refrain from approaching employees, contractors or vehicles and stay far back from the work taking place.
TCS and Standing Bear Lake Station in Douglas County are part of OPPD’s Power with Purpose (PwP) initiative to add a total of 600 megawatts (MW) of utility-scale solar and 600 MW of natural gas generation. The gas plants will be used as needed, per market conditions (estimated to be about 15% of the time). OPPD’s diverse energy mix will help us power our growing communities, prioritizing reliability and resiliency, while continuing our commitment to net zero carbon by 2050.
An additional turbine and generator are scheduled to arrive in December, at which point, we will commence another heavy move to TCS. We are committed to keeping the public informed on this progress. To learn more about our natural gas and solar projects, visit OPPDCommunityConnect.com.