Xcel Energy notified Minnesota regulators and MISO of its intent to stop generating electricity with coal at its Black Dog plant in Burnsville in April 2015, due to changing environmental regulations. The notification is the last step in a multi-year resource planning process. Black Dog's two coal units currently generate 232 MW of electricity. The company will continue to operate the 300-MW natural gas unit located at the Black Dog site. The coal units' retirement will trigger a multi-year decommissioning project.

NET Power secured funding and agreements for its $140 million, 50-MW demonstration power plant, that produces no greenhouse gas emissions and includes full carbon capture without requiring carbon capture equipment. The project is funded by a combination of cash and in-kind contributions from Exelon and CB&I. Toshiba has begun manufacturing a CO2 turbine for the project. Operations, maintenance and development arrangements have been completed with Exelon.

OwnEnergy entered into a long-term PPA with Yahoo. Under the terms of the PPA, Yahoo will purchase wind power to offset much of the company’s energy usage in the Great Plains region. While Yahoo is one of the first tech companies to embrace this model of community-centric partnership, the trend for corporate purchasers to buy wind directly from wind farms is gaining pace.

Cleco Corporation entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by a group of North American long-term infrastructure investors led by Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC), together with John Hancock Financial and other infrastructure investors (collectively, "investor group"). The agreement values Cleco at approximately $4.7 billion, including approximately $1.3 billion of assumed debt.

Enphase Energy introduced its Enphase AC Battery, an advanced energy storage solution with a modular, plug-and-play storage device fully integrated with the just-introduced Enphase Energy Management System. As part of the AC Battery rollout, Enphase has engaged several installation companies for pilot projects, including Lennar Homes, Hawaii Energy Connection and Vivint Solar in the U.S.; Pretty Green Energy, CJ Solar and Domuneo in Europe; and Metro Solar in Australia.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced the launch of New York’s first energy management network operations center to provide public facilities across the state with real-time data on their energy use. Dubbed the NY Energy Manager (NYEM), the center is located at the Colleges of Nanoscale Science and Engineering at SUNY Polytechnic Institute in Albany.

Pepco Holdings Inc. (PHI) entered into an enterprise-wide license agreement to deploy a comprehensive grid analytics solution from Landis+Gyr across its service territories. The analytics package includes a suite of applications aimed at enhancing asset life, reliability and distribution system optimization. PHI's operating companies, including Pepco, Delmarva Power and Atlantic City Electric, will deploy six different analytics applications for visualization, planning and real-time operational analytics support.

Healthy Planet Partners, LLC (HPP) and Kyocera Solar completed a solar rooftop and carport system at the Seattle Mariners Spring Training facility in Peoria, AZ. HPP developed and financed the project with partner Kyocera Solar to provide engineering and project management support as well as acting as a finance partner. Sky Engineering and Construction built the system at the Peoria Sports Complex, using Kyocera's high-efficiency solar modules. This 345-kW solar array will generate approximately 529MWh of clean electricity annually.

ABB won an order worth about $16 million from Energinet.dk, the transmission system operator in Denmark and 50 Hertz, the transmission system operator responsible for the eastern part of Germany, to upgrade the 600-MW Kontek HVDC transmission link. The project scope includes installation of ABB's state-of-the-art MACH control and protection system, remote operator work stations, training and spare parts.

The AES Corporation entered into an agreement to sell its 49.62% equity interest in AES Entek Elektrik Üretimi A.Ş. (AES Entek), a joint venture with KOÇ HOLDİNG A.Ş. and AYGAZ A.Ş., in Turkey, to its partners. The sale represents 100% of AES' interest in assets in Turkey, consisting of 364 MW of operating natural gas and hydroelectric facilities and its interest in a coal-fired development project, for $125 million in equity proceeds to AES. Subject to customary regulatory approvals, this transaction is expected to close by the first quarter of 2015.