Jurisdiction Index / US — Nebraska (OPPD / NPPD / LES, 100% consumer-owned public power; SPP)
US — Nebraska (OPPD / NPPD / LES, 100% consumer-owned public power; SPP)
JCI composite · as of · methodology v0
US — Nebraska (OPPD / NPPD / LES, 100% consumer-owned public power; SPP) scores 55.7/100 on the Compute Institute Jurisdiction Competitiveness Index (Tier 3, Contested), ranking #28 of 39 rated jurisdictions with a stable outlook, as of September 7, 2026 under methodology v0. Its strongest dimension is Stability & Execution Risk at 7/10; its weakest is Fiscal & Incentives at 4.1/10. 21 of 22 sub-factors are scored on E1–E2 evidence (data confidence A). The stable outlook is driven by 1 forward-looking signal (+0.06 net points, E3–E4 evidence): water availability (E3).
Dimension breakdown
Seven dimensions, each 0–10, weighted per methodology v0. JCI = Σ(dimension × weight) × 10.
Power Availability & Deliverability
Power Cost
Speed to Build
Regulatory & AI Policy Environment
Fiscal & Incentives
Capital & Ecosystem Depth
Stability & Execution Risk
Outlook drivers — Stable (+0.06 net points)
Forward-looking E3–E4 signals. They move the outlook only — never the base score.
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Water availability +0.06 pts as of
“About 90% of Nebraska sits atop the High Plains (Ogallala) Aquifer, and the 2026 Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report found 62% of nearly 5,000 measured wells declined, with a statewide average drop of 0.29 feet in 2025; the Panhandle saw the largest declines, exceeding 10 feet, after several years of drought, and long-term change maps spanning pre-groundwater-irrigation times through 2025 show local extremes ranging from declines over 130 feet to rises over 120 feet, with parts of Chase, Perkins, Dundy and Box Butte counties showing major, sustained declines driven by dense irrigation wells, low annual precipitation and little surface-water recharge. Eastern Nebraska's Platte/Missouri corridor - where OPPD, Google and Meta actually sit - is far better supplied than the depleted southwest, but NRD allocation means new large users generally displace existing ones.”
Source: University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Nebraska Today, April 3, 2026 (news.unl.edu)
Sub-factor scores and sources
Every base-scored input below carries E1–E2 evidence: a justification, an evidence-level grade, and a link to the underlying source document.
Power Availability & Deliverability — 5.5/10 (weight 20%)
|
Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grid headroom 40% of dimension | 5 /10 | Nebraska's entire fleet is 10,868 MW of net summer capacity - 36th nationally - producing 37,228,950 MWh (37th) against 35,191,045 MWh of retail sales (34th) in 2024, so statewide surplus generation is roughly 2 TWh, and OPPD alone budgets a 2,908 MW system peak for 2026, down fr... as of | U.S. Energy Information Administration - Nebraska Electricity Profile 2024, Table 1 www.eia.gov | |
| Time-to-power 35% of dimension | 5.8 /10 | FERC issued its order accepting SPP's High Impact Large Load (HILL) and HILL Generation Assessment tariff revisions on January 14, 2026 (194 FERC para 61,031, Docket ER26-247-000), effective January 15, 2026, subject to condition and a compliance filing within 30 days; SPP descri... as of | FERC, Order Accepting Tariff Revisions, Subject to Condition, Southwest Power Pool, Inc., 194 FERC para 61,031, Docket No. ER26-247-000 (issued January 14, 2026) spp.org | |
| Energy mix & expandability 15% of dimension | 6.3 /10 | Nebraska generated 37,228,950 MWh in 2024 from coal 16,354,854 MWh (43.9%), wind 11,897,203 MWh (31.9%), nuclear 6,096,375 MWh (16.4%), gas 1,381,414 MWh (3.7%), hydro 1,184,081 MWh (3.2%) and solar 197,414 MWh (0.5%) - a 32% wind share proves the resource is bankable at scale, a... as of | Nebraska Dept. of Water, Energy and Environment - Annual Electricity Generation in Nebraska by Fuel Type dwee.nebraska.gov | |
| Water availability 10% of dimension | — | Excluded — no E1–E2 evidence available; weaker evidence cannot enter a base score. | — | — |
Power Cost — 6.3/10 (weight 12.5%)
|
Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Industrial electricity price 60% of dimension | 6.8 /10 | Nebraska's average industrial retail price was 8.35 cents/kWh year-to-date through June 2026 versus a 8.89 cents/kWh U.S. average - about 6% below national - and the state's all-sector average of 9.07 cents/kWh ranked 49th of 51 in 2024, i.e. third-cheapest in the country. Cheap... as of | U.S. Energy Information Administration - Nebraska Electricity Profile 2024, Table 1 www.eia.gov | |
| Price trajectory & exposure 25% of dimension | 4.6 /10 | OPPD's 2026 Corporate Operating Plan raises rates 6.3% across all classes (5.8% general plus 0.5% FPPA) and lifts the budgeted industrial rate from 6.89 cents/kWh in the 2025 budget to 7.48 cents/kWh, an 8.6% jump; senior lien revenue bonds outstanding grow to $4,595.8 million at... as of | Omaha Public Power District - 2026 Corporate Operating Plan www.oppd.com | |
| Cost certainty / contractability 15% of dimension | 7 /10 | LB1261, approved by the Governor April 14, 2026, lets a single-site industrial customer with new load greater than 1,000 MW build a co-located privately owned generation facility immune from condemnation by any consumer-owned utility, conditioned on Nebraska Power Review Board ap... as of | Nebraska Legislature — LB1261 (109th Leg., 2026), slip law, Sec. 1(5) nebraskalegislature.gov |
Speed to Build — 5.2/10 (weight 17.5%)
|
Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Permitting regime 40% of dimension | 4.8 /10 | LB663, approved by the Governor February 24, 2026 and effective July 17, 2026, requires counties to determine a conditional-use or special-exception application complete within 30 days, notify the applicant within 10 days if it is incomplete, and grant or deny within 90 days of r... as of | Nebraska Legislature - LB663 (109th Leg., 2026), slip law, Sec. 1(7)(d) nebraskalegislature.gov | |
| Observed construction velocity 35% of dimension | 6 /10 | LOW CONFIDENCE — not verified against our internal campus database; scored from public disclosure only. Google reports over $15 billion invested in Nebraska digital infrastructure since 2019 across three campuses it announced in sequence — Papillion (2019), Omaha (2022) and Linco... as of | Google Data Centers — Nebraska location page datacenters.google | |
| Labor & supply capacity 25% of dimension | 4.5 /10 | Nebraska's unemployment rate was 2.9% in July 2026 against total nonfarm employment of 1,059.8 thousand — effectively full employment in a small labor market — with construction employment at 67.7 thousand, up 5.5% year over year. A single hyperscale campus can peak in the low th... as of | U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Economy at a Glance: Nebraska (data extracted September 3, 2026) www.bls.gov |
Regulatory & AI Policy Environment — 5.1/10 (weight 12.5%)
|
Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI-specific law in force 35% of dimension | 6.2 /10 | LB525, approved by the Governor April 14, 2026, adopts the Conversational Artificial Intelligence Safety Act, whose Sections 12–18 become operative July 1, 2027; it obliges chatbot operators to disclose AI status to minor account holders at least every three hours, bars engagemen... as of | Nebraska Legislature — LB525 (109th Leg., 2026), slip law, Secs. 12–19 nebraskalegislature.gov | |
| DC-specific regulation 35% of dimension | 5 /10 | LB1010, approved by the Governor April 14, 2026, writes data centers into statute at a 10 MW peak-demand definition and creates a Large Load Customer Regulation Act for any site exceeding 20 MW, imposing a study fee of the greater of $50,000 or $1,000 per megawatt, mandatory site... as of | Nebraska Legislature - LB1010 (109th Leg., 2026), slip law, Secs. 1-4 and Sec. 12 (amending Sec. 70-1506) nebraskalegislature.gov | |
| Regulatory predictability 30% of dimension | 3.8 /10 | Executive Order 26-17, signed July 21, 2026, ended access to ImagiNE Nebraska Act tax incentives for data centers, with the Governor stating 'this is not a moratorium on data centers' but that any locally chosen project 'must now be developed in accordance with guidelines include... as of | Office of Governor Jim Pillen — 'Gov. Pillen Signs Executive Order on Data Centers' (EO 26-17) governor.nebraska.gov |
Fiscal & Incentives — 4.1/10 (weight 10%)
|
Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enacted incentives 40% of dimension | 2.5 /10 | LB901, approved by the Governor April 7, 2026, outright repeals §77-2704.62 — the data center sales and use tax exemption — with that repeal (Sec. 43) operative July 1, 2026, and its Sec. 14 strikes the §77-202(10) data center personal property tax exemption operative January 1,... as of | Nebraska Legislature — LB901 (109th Leg., 2026), slip law, Secs. 14, 39 and 43 nebraskalegislature.gov | |
| Headline tax burden 40% of dimension | 6.8 /10 | Neb. Rev. Stat. §77-2734.02 sets a flat 4.55% corporate income tax on all taxable income for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, dropping to 3.99% on or after January 1, 2027 — down from 7.81% on income over $100,000 as recently as 2021, and among the lowest state co... as of | Nebraska Revised Statute §77-2734.02 (corporate income tax rates) www.nebraskalegislature.gov | |
| Incentive durability 20% of dimension | 2 /10 | Executive Order 26-17 rescinded ImagiNE Nebraska Act access for data centers by executive action rather than statute, and on August 19, 2026 the Governor named 17 members to a Data Center Task Force housed at the Department of Water, Energy and Environment, first meeting anticipa... as of | Office of Governor Jim Pillen — 'Gov. Pillen Announces Appointments to the Newly Created Data Center Task Force' governor.nebraska.gov |
Capital & Ecosystem Depth — 5.6/10 (weight 12.5%)
|
Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Committed capital 40% of dimension | 6.8 /10 | LOW CONFIDENCE on completeness — not reconciled against our internal tracked-campus database. Google discloses more than $15 billion invested in Nebraska digital infrastructure since 2019 across Papillion (announced 2019), Omaha (2022) and Lincoln (2023), including $1.2 billion a... as of | Google Data Centers — Nebraska location page datacenters.google | |
| Ecosystem 30% of dimension | 6 /10 | Meta's Sarpy campus, broken ground in 2017, reports $2.5 billion-plus of data center investment in Nebraska, 300+ operational jobs supported, 1,300 skilled trade workers on site at peak construction, $5.7 million-plus in direct funding to Sarpy County-area schools and nonprofits,... as of | Meta — Sarpy Data Center fact sheet datacenters.atmeta.com | |
| Sovereign/anchor capital availability 30% of dimension | 3.5 /10 | Nebraska has no sovereign wealth fund; the functional analogue is the tax-exempt balance sheet of its consumer-owned utilities, and OPPD budgets $4,595.8 million of senior lien revenue bonds outstanding at year-end 2026 (up $1,115.8 million, or 32.1%) with $1,190.0 million of cap... as of | Omaha Public Power District - 2026 Corporate Operating Plan www.oppd.com |
Stability & Execution Risk — 7/10 (weight 15%)
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Sub-factor
|
Score
|
Justification
|
Evidence
|
Source
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Political/policy continuity 40% of dimension | 5 /10 | Structural continuity is high — a nonpartisan unicameral legislature and long-running single-party executive control — but sector-specific continuity broke in 2026 when Executive Order 26-17, signed July 21, 2026, ended ImagiNE Nebraska Act incentives for data centers, the Govern... as of | Office of Governor Jim Pillen — 'Gov. Pillen Signs Executive Order on Data Centers' (EO 26-17) governor.nebraska.gov | |
| Currency, transfer & convertibility 35% of dimension | 9.5 /10 | Nebraska transacts in US dollars, which comprised 58% of disclosed global official foreign reserves in 2022, were bought or sold in about 88% of global FX transactions in April 2022, and account for roughly 70% of foreign-currency-denominated debt since 2010 — the Federal Reserve... as of | Federal Reserve Board — FEDS Notes, 'The International Role of the U.S. Dollar' (June 23, 2023) www.federalreserve.gov | |
| Physical & geopolitical risk 25% of dimension | 6.5 /10 | NOAA NCEI records 66 billion-dollar weather and climate disasters affecting Nebraska from 1980–2024, totaling $20–50 billion CPI-adjusted, of which 44 were severe storms, 13 droughts and 5 floods; the 2020–2024 annual average of 4.4 events is nearly triple the 1980–2024 average o... as of | NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information — Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters, Nebraska state summary www.ncei.noaa.gov |
Signals
Recent ingested source documents linked to this jurisdiction via extracted claims or triage mentions, newest first.
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· Interesting Engineering · relevance 0.00
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· Heatmap News · relevance 0.50
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· ENR - Power and Industrial · relevance 0.30
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· POWER Magazine · relevance 0.30
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· Data Center Knowledge · relevance 0.70
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· Utility Dive · relevance 0.40
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· ISO-NE — ISO Newswire · relevance 0.35
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· ISO-NE — ISO Newswire · relevance 0.20
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· ISO-NE — ISO Newswire · relevance 0.65
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· ISO-NE — ISO Newswire · relevance 0.20
Scores are reproducible from the frozen inputs snapshot recorded at computation time (2026-09-07T05:00:03+00:00). See the full methodology for rubrics, weights, and the evidence ladder.