OGE Energy chairman and CEO Pete Delaney stepped down from the CEO position to become the interim CEO of Enable Midstream Partners. In response, OGE named current president Sean Trauschke, as CEO. PJM Interconnection elected Terry Blackwell to the PJM board. Chesapeake Utilities appointed John R. Schimkaitis to serve as chairman of the board. Paul D. Koonce adds the role of president-Dominion Virginia Power to his responsibilities. And others...
AES Distributed Energy, a subsidiary of AES, commissioned a 4-MW solar project located in Dublin, Georgia. This system is the first of two solar PV projects being developed by AES Distributed Energy and its partners, collectively expected to supply 20 MW to the Georgia Power utility grid. The second, 16 MW project, is under development and is expected to be operational in the first half of 2016.
Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power acquired the 103-MW Butler solar facility from Community Energy. The facility, located on approximately 1,070 acres in Taylor County, Georgia, is expected to enter commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2016. Construction is slated to begin in September 2015, with First Solar managing the building, operations and maintenance of the facility.
Duke Energy bought a 7.5-percent ownership stake in the proposed and previously announced $3-billion Sabal Trail natural gas pipeline that will traverse Alabama, Georgia and Florida to meet the growing need for natural gas in those states. Duke Energy's commercial power business unit will invest approximately $225 million in the approximately 500-mile underground pipeline - from Tallapoosa County, Ala., to Osceola County, Fla. - during the next seven years. The pipeline, scheduled to begin service in 2017, requires federal and other regulatory approvals.
Why some proceedings blow up, while others reach consensus.
PG&E asked state regulators for permission to build ~ 25,000 EV chargers across its service area in Northern and Central California - if approved, it would mark the largest deployment of EV charging stations in the country; Lockheed Martin and Dominion Resources have co-developed a new smart grid technology called VirtuGrid to enable remote detection of power outages for faster mapping and response; Panda Power Funds and Sunbury Generation LP will develop, finance, construct and operate a 1,000-MW gas-fired, combined-cycle power project in Pennsylvania; Siemens secured an order of 157 wind turbines in South Africa from Mainstream Renewable Power; PSE&G recently put two new landfill solar farms in service as part of its Solar 4 All program; Exelon Generation will add 195-MW of electric generation capacity at the Medway (Mass.) facility; ABB won a $35 million order for gas-insulated switchgear and shunt reactors from Belgian electricity transmission system operator Elia; Iberdrola USA agreed to acquire UIL Holdings and create a newly listed publicly traded company; Chesapeake Utilities agreed to merge Gatherco into Aspire Energy of Ohio, a wholly-owned subsidiary; and others...
Exelon Generation named Michael J. Pacilio executive v.p. and COO; FirstEnergy made a series of leadership changes involving David J. Karafa, Steven E. Strah, Linda L. Moss, Richard S. Sweeney and Edward L. Shuttleworth; CenterPoint Energy appointed William D. Rogers, executive v.p. of finance and accounting; leadership changes at Black Hills Corporation, Consumers Energy and Duke Energy; California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) named Timothy Sullivan as interim executive director; and others; and others.
Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power acquired two PV solar projects totaling 99 MW in Georgia - the 80-MW Decatur Parkway Solar Project and the 19-MW Decatur County Solar Project - from Tradewind Energy. The electricity and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) generated by the 80-MW facility will be sold under a 25-year PPA with Georgia Power. Construction of the 80-MW facility is currently scheduled to begin this month. Georgia Power will purchase the energy generated from the 19-MW project under a 20-year PPA.
Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power plans to develop a 131- MW PV solar project in Georgia. The electricity and associated renewable energy credits (RECs) will be sold to three Georgia electric membership corporations. Southern Power has selected First Solar to be the EPC contractor for the facility. Construction of the plant is scheduled to begin in September 2015, and the project is expected to achieve commercial operation in the fourth quarter of 2016.