An Omaha-based power company has backed out of plans to build a 38-megawatt power plant in Nebraska.
Bluestem Energy Solutions withdrew its permit application from the Nebraska Power Review Board and will build the $38.5 million plant elsewhere in the Southwest Power Pool’s 14-state territory.
By building out of state, Bluestem Energy will be allowed to sell electricity to the city of Beatrice. Bluestem’s withdrawal came after two Nebraska utility companies argued that state law prohibited private entities from building power plants in Nebraska to serve Nebraska residents. Nebraska is a 100 percent public power state.
Bluestem has not announced where it will build the plant in the Power Pool. The pool operates a regional grid where producers buy and sell electrical power.