Plans to build one of Nebraska's largest wind farms have set the wheels in motion for the expansion of the substation located approximately 5 miles north of Bloomfield.

"We're expanding the substation to, first of all, support the planned 80-megawatt wind farm with Midwest Energy, and secondly, a 40-megawatt facility that hasn't formally been announced yet," said Mark Becker, media relations specialist for the Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD).

NPPD recently announced it has entered into a 20-year contract to purchase wind-generated power from private development partners Midwest Energy and Elkhorn Ridge Wind. The partnership plans to build an 80 mega-watt wind farm which will produce enough energy to power roughly 25,000 residences per year.

"The cost of the substation expansion is approximately $2.2 million," Becker said, explaining that some of that cost will be undertaken by the developers.

"Some of the expense - such as the transformers - (the developers) will pay for."

The entire project is scheduled to be completed by the end of the year.

"Right now, we're just expanding the substation," said Dan Daly, NPPD project inspector. "We're supposed to be done with that by the first of June."

But Becker emphasized the need to have the entire wind farm generating energy by the end of the year.

"The production tax credits that are available to private developers are set to expire at the end of the year," he said.

Unless Congress renews legislation that provides production tax credits for wind energy development projects, those credits will no longer be available to developers next year.

"Developers can get roughly two cents per kilowatt hour that they can write off their taxes, and that, in turn, keeps the rate down," Becker said. "But those tax credits are set to run out, so they have to be up and operating by the end the year (to get the tax credits)."

The project is also structured in accordance with Nebraska's Rural Community-Based Energy Development Act (C-BED). The newly enacted legislation requires that less than 33 percent of the power purchase agreement payments during the 20-year contract go to Nebraska owners.

But Becker said Nebraska residents won't see a reduction in electricity rates from the installation of wind farms.

"Right now, wind is a fuel that is free - it's not like coal or nuclear which we have to pay for," he said. "But wind energy generation is very sporadic and we have maintenance issues, as well - turbines are mechanical and problems do arise, so there are expenses."

Though the second wind farm planned for development has not officially been announced, NPPD is including it in their expansion plans for the substation.

"We have to build this up to handle another 120 mega-watts of power," Daly said, adding that much of the difficult work lies ahead.

"There'll be a lot more activity out here later this month when we replace some of the main support structures," he said.