Renewable Energy News

EDF Renewable Energy put the 143 MWp (110 MWac) Catalina Solar Project, located in California’s Mojave Desert, into commercial operation. The solar project is comprised of 82 MWp Solar Frontier and 61 MWp First Solar PV modules. EDF Renewable Services will provide operations and maintenance services. The project’s energy is provided to San Diego Gas & Electric Company (SDG&E) under a 25-year PPA.

Duke Energy Renewables acquired the 4.5-MW Sunset Reservoir Solar Power Project, the largest solar generation facility in San Francisco, from Recurrent Energy. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) will purchase the energy under a 25-year PPA. The facility provides electricity for the city and county of San Francisco's municipal services and facilities. 

Mainstream Renewable Power closed a deal to sell its 7.65-MW Carrickeeny Wind Farm to IKEA. Mainstream has commenced construction of the project which is located in Leitrim in the North West of Ireland and it is expected to be operational in early 2014 at which point IKEA will purchase the plant. As part of the deal Mainstream will continue operate and maintain the wind farm on behalf of IKEA for its 20-year lifespan. This acquisition will increase the total number of wind turbines that the IKEA Group has committed to owning and operating to 137.

The National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) broke ground on construction of the federal government’s largest wind farm. NNSA awarded a contract to Siemens Government Technologies (Siemens) to construct and operate the Pantex wind farm. The newly constructed wind farm will consist of five 2.3 MW turbines located on 1,500 acres of government-owned property east of the Pantex plant.

The New York Public Service Commission announced that it has approved moving $32 million in funds from Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) allocations to support the state’s call to increase development of solar power. The commission concomitantly authorized reallocation of $2 million in existing funding for competitive solar programs from downstate to upstate projects to meet current market demand. According to the commission, the program has been successful in promoting larger PV systems that could not economically compete in a statewide bidding program.

REC announced three new utility scale installations in North Carolina. The projects, developed, engineered and constructed by Strata Solar are Rock Farm, 6.65-MW, Mt. Olive Farm, 6.65-MW, and AM Best Farm, 6.4-MW. Collectively these farms are powered by 81,000 high-performing REC 250 Peak Energy solar panels and generate 31,320 MWh’s of solar energy annually. These ground-mounted installations each cover an approximate area of 16 hectares and were commissioned in the first half of 2013.  

Renewable Energy Developers (RED), a developer, owner and operator of renewable energy projects, entered into a binding agreement with Natenco to acquire the Ontario wind project known as Grey Highlands Clean Energy.

Geronimo Energy signed two long-term wind energy purchase agreements with Xcel Energy for a total of 400 MW of wind energy to be generated at the Courtenay Wind Farm and Odell Wind Farm. The Courtenay Wind Farm is a 200-MW wind energy facility in Stutsman County, North Dakota. The project will consist of up to 125 wind turbines to be constructed across 25,000 acres of leased land from over 60 landowners. The Odell Wind Farm is a 200-MW wind energy facility in Jackson, Watonwan and Cottonwood counties, Minnesota.

RES America Developments, a subsidiary of Renewable Energy Systems Americas (RES Americas), is working with Xcel Energy to construct the 200-MW Pleasant Valley Wind Farm. The project is near Austin, Minnesota, adjacent to the Grand Meadow wind project owned by Xcel Energy. Once the project is complete, RES Americas will transfer ownership of Pleasant Valley to Xcel Energy, who will own and operate the project.

NRG Energy, through its wholly owned subsidiary NRG Solar, announced that two of the solar photovoltaic (PV) facilities the company acquired from Recurrent Energy earlier this year have reached commercial operation.