Minnesota

Game Changers

State regulators address transformative forces.

In Fortnightly’s Regulators’ Roundtable, commissioners from Idaho, Illinois, and Minnesota consider transformative forces and the regulatory response.

Walking the Fuzzy Bright Line

The legality of state ROFR laws under FERC Order 1000.

States have passed laws to bypass FERC Order 1000 and its reforms favoring private grid developers. Could those laws themselves fall under attack?

Geronimo Energy Signs Wind Energy Purchase Agreements Totaling 400 MW with Xcel 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 Americas to Develop and Construct 200-MW Wind Project for Xcel Energy

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.

Digest

DOE funds B&W to develop and license small modular reactor technology; Panda awards 758-MW combined cycle contract to Bechtel; AEP picks Open Systems International to manage SPP and PJM generation assets; GDF Suez teams up with Viridity Energy for DR services; NRG and PJM go live with University of Delaware V2G project; Minnesota Power energizes new substation serving taconite mine; FP&L completes 4.5-million smart meter rollout; plus contracts and announcements from Duke, FirstSolar, Iberdrola, SRP, ABB, Elster, Siemens, and others.