Lincoln’s electricity is delivered by Lincoln Electric System (LES), a municipal public power district. LES produces and purchases its electricity from numerous generation sources, including coal, wind, hydropower, oil and natural gas, landfill gas, and solar. Many of those sources are located in Nebraska, but some are located in Iowa, Kansas, Wyoming and Oklahoma. Very few combustion plants are located in and around Lincoln, which is beneficial for the city’s overall air quality.
Over the last decade-plus, LES’ renewable footprint has grown significantly. LES’ nameplate resource portfolio — the full capacity of their generation fleet — is diversified with renewable sources (hydro, solar, wind and landfill gas) accounting for 34% of the power they can generate, while natural gas accounts for 35% and coal 31%.
In 2020, LES adopted a goal to achieve net zero emissions by 2040. Read more about the decarbonization goal. LES promotes sustainability through programs like incentivized rates for customer-owned solar and virtual net metering that allows customers to buy “virtual” panels at the local community solar facility, and by offering multiple energy-efficiency and demand reduction incentives and opportunities. Find out more about how you can participate in the Sustainable Energy Program.
By making key investments in wind, solar and battery technologies, LES has already reduced the emissions from their generation portfolio 35% since 2010.
The City of Lincoln operates an award-winning biogas capture system at its Theresa Street wastewater facility that captures methane from the wastewater treatment process and converts it into vehicle fuel in the form of renewable natural gas (RNG). The system produces 1,000 MMbtus (one million British thermal units) of energy per year to create vehicle fuel that reduces emissions up to 75 percent compared to gasoline or diesel vehicles.