Arizona Public Service

Portland General Electric formalizes Agreement to Join Western EIM

Portland General Electric Company (PGE) and the California Independent System Operator (ISO) filed an implementation agreement with FERC, paving the way for the Portland, Ore.-based utility to participate in the western energy imbalance market (EIM) starting in October 2017. The western EIM is a real-time energy wholesale market that automatically dispatches the lowest-cost electricity resources available to meet utility customer needs while optimizing use of renewable energy over a large geographic area.

Westinghouse Wins Safety Upgrade Contract at Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station

Westinghouse Electric Company was contracted by Arizona Public Service to provide the first Mobius system, a continuous mobile boration system designed for use at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generation Station. Work already is underway on the project. Delivery of the Mobius system to Palo Verde is scheduled for late 2015. At Palo Verde, the Mobius system will be used at the start of outages to borate the plant to refueling boron concentrations much faster than current methods, resulting in reduced outage duration.

APS Completes One of the Largest Transmission Construction Projects in the West

Arizona Public Service completed work on one of the largest transmission construction projects in the west - a 500-kV power line that connects Phoenix to Yuma. The 110-mile transmission line runs from the Hassayampa substation (near the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station) to the North Gila substation in Yuma. Called HANG2, the $200 million project is the second route connecting the Valley to Yuma. Construction planning for the HANG2 line began more than a decade ago, as Southwest Arizona's population began to rapidly expand.

Digest

ISO New England approves Northern Pass transmission project; Southern California Edison selects Quanta PAR to build Tehachapi transmission line segments; Pennsylvania PUC approves PPL $335 million grid project; Southern Company completes smart grid investments; U.S. Army Reserve contracts ConEdison Solutions for efficiency and maintenance support services; plus announcements and contracts involving Honeywell, Stor Generation, Salt River Project, Landis+Gyr, Abengoa, Constellation, and others.

Transactions (March 2014)

SCE&G acquires larger share of VC Summer nuclear project; APS buys SCE's share of Four Corners power plant; Allete (Minnesota Power) acquires from AES 231 MW of wind farms in four states; EdF acquires 194-MW Texas wind project; NRG issues $1.1 billion in bonds; ComEd floats $650 million in two tranches; plus transactions involving TransCanada, Alterra, PSEG, and others totaling $3.4 billion.

Digest

ABB commissions microgrid on Portuguese island; Panda orders Siemens generating units for 829-MW plant; Burlington Electric Department enters 54-MW PPA with First Wind; Tantalus and Itron contract for smart metering and smart grid system in Washington; EdF orders 220 MW of wind turbines from Vestas; MidAmerican orders 1,050 MW of wind turbines from Siemens; plus contracts and announcements from GE, PSEG, Arizona Public Service, Dominion, Entergy, Xcel, PSE&G, and others.

APS Completes Purchase at Four Corners Power Plant

Arizona Public Service completed its purchase of Southern California Edison's (SCE) ownership in Units 4 and 5 of the Four Corners Power Plant near Farmington, N.M. As part of its plan - originally announced in November 2010 - APS has permanently closed the plant's older, less efficient Units 1, 2 and 3, and will install additional emission controls on the remaining units. Acquiring SCE's 48 percent interest in the larger Units 4 and 5 will increase APS's total Four Corners capacity from 791 MW to 970 MW.

Solana, the First Large-Scale Solar Plant with Thermal Energy Storage in the U.S., Passes Commerical Operation Tests

Abengoa announced that Solana, the world´s largest parabolic trough plant and also the first solar plant in the United States with thermal energy storage, has successfully passed commercial operation tests. A thermal energy storage system allows Solana to generate electricity for six hours without the concurrent use of the solar field. This technology consists of parabolic shaped mirrors mounted on structures that track the sun and concentrate the sun's heat, later transforming water into steam and powering a conventional steam turbine.

Solar Leasing Shines

With meters running backwards, utilities seek a niche.

As states implement renewable energy mandates, and as solar photovoltaic (PV) technology becomes more economical, the market for distributed rooftop solar is growing. As a result, various players are taking different approaches to finance PV development—from net-metered residential systems financed by third-party leases, to grid-scale, utility-owned projects. Fortnightly Contributor William Atkinson talks to some major players in solar PV finance and examines the implications for investor-owned utilities.

Vendor Neutral

(July 2011) Williams Partners L.P. expands Transco transmission lines; Google to provide fiber optic Internet service for Kansas City, Mo.; Constellation Energy picks Lynxspring Inc.; plus contracts and developments involving Servidyne, EnerNOC, Siemens Energy and others.