News

Abengoa to Upgrade a Transmission Line in California

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:30

Imperial Irrigation District (IID) chose Abengoa for a power transmission project that includes the upgrade of a 230kV transmission line, as well as substations in the state of California. The “Path 42” project is part of a plan to extend the power network being developed by Imperial Irrigation District in order to increase the capacity of the network and enable access to new sources of renewable energy in California.

CenterPoint Energy, OGE Energy and ArcLight Capital Close on Midstream Partnership

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:29

CenterPoint Energy, Inc., OGE Energy and ArcLight Capital Partners closed on the formation of the previously announced partnership that includes CenterPoint Energy's interstate pipelines and field services businesses and the midstream business of Enogex LLC. CenterPoint Energy, OGE Energy and ArcLight hold approximately 58.3 percent, 28.5 percent and 13.2 percent limited partner interests in the partnership, respectively.

Duke-American Transmission Buys Stake in 84-mile California Transmission Line

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:28

Duke-American Transmission completed its previously announced purchase from Atlantic Power of 72 percent of the capacity of Path 15—an 84-mile, 500-kV transmission line in central California that connects the state’s northern and southern transmission grids. Pacific Gas & Electric owns 18 percent of the line's capacity through its ownership and operation of the connecting Los Banos and Gates substations. The remaining 10 percent is owned by Western Area Power Administration, which will continue to operate and maintain the line.

AEP Receives FERC Approvals to Transfer Ohio Generating Assets

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:27

American Electric Power received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to separate its Ohio generating assets from its Ohio distribution and transmission operations and transfer these assets to a competitive generation company and regulated affiliates. AEP anticipates implementing corporate separation and the other items in the related filings by Dec. 31, 2013.

NRG Begins Operations at 720-MW Marsh Landing Facility

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:26

NRG Energy began commercial operation at its Marsh Landing Generating Station, a 720-MW natural gas–fueled, peaking facility located near Antioch, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay area. The Marsh Landing station will employ technologies to meet or exceed the state of California’s standards for emissions control and air quality. The turbines will operate with ultra-low nitrogen oxides (NOx) combustors, along with selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and an oxidation catalyst system to reduce carbon monoxide and other organic compound emissions.

127-MG Utility-Scale Solar Installation Opens in Arizona

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:25

LS Power to officially open the Arlington Valley (AV) Solar II utility-scale installation in southwest Arizona. Kyocera Solar provided 25 MW of solar modules for the 127-MW PV installation. Block 1 of the five-section installation is now live, with the remaining sections expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. Once complete, the project’s 127-MW-generating capacity will place it among the largest solar PV installations in North America. 

Dominion Breaks Ground at Largest Fuel Cell Power Project in North America

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:23

Dominion and FuelCell Energy broke ground on the largest fuel cell power project in North America. Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell will produce 14.9 MW of clean energy using an electro-chemical process that converts natural gas into electricity. Dominion Bridgeport Fuel Cell is part of Project 150, a program sponsored by the state and supported by the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) to increase renewable and clean energy projects in Connecticut by 150 MW.

S&C Awarded $2.6MM Contract to Upgrade Wind Farm in Texas

Submitted by aburr on Sat, 2013-06-01 13:22

Sweetwater Wind awarded a $2.6-million contract to S&C Electric, to upgrade a portion of its 585-MW wind farm in Sweetwater, Texas. This upgrade will enable Sweetwater Wind to meet new renewable energy generation interconnection standards that have been enacted in Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT). The new standards require Sweetwater Wind to provide a lagging power factor capability of 0.95 or less, and a leading power factor capability of 0.95 or less at the point of interconnection (POI).

Massachusetts Finds Long-Term Contract Mandate Premature

Submitted by aburr on Sun, 2013-04-28 20:14

The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities found it’s unnecessary at the current time to require electric utilities to enter long-term contracts for power supply to address forecasts of insufficient peak-load requirements in the state. The department said that requiring electric distribution companies to enter into long-term contracts with generators would be proper only if there was convincing evidence that the competitive market has failed and that there are imminent reliability concerns.

Colorado Denies SmartGridCity Cost Recovery

Submitted by aburr on Sun, 2013-04-28 20:13

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) upheld an initial decision by an administrative law judge (ALJ) issued in January, which had recommended that Xcel Energy subsidiary Public Service Company of Colorado (PSCC) be denied any further rate recovery of SmartGridCity costs. The commission said the utility had been given ample opportunity to prove the prudence of the rising costs of the project but that the company had failed to do so.