With the very foundation shifting beneath the feet of the energy sector, the industry’s players are trying to figure out their next moves. As with any economic transition, the changes are unsettling, bringing both hope and pain.
In a joint filing with the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, Southern Company and AGL Resources requested regulatory approval of the companies' proposed merger. AGL Resources is the parent company of Elizabethtown Gas. When completed, the combination of Southern Company and AGL Resources is expected to create the second-largest utility company in the U.S. by customer base.
Calpine acquired the Granite Ridge Energy Center from Granite Ridge Holdings for $500 million, subject to working capital adjustments. The 745-MW, combined-cycle, gas-fired power plant is located in Londonderry, New Hampshire. The power plant, which commenced commercial operation in 2003, features two Siemens 501G combustion turbines, two heat recovery steam generators and one steam turbine. Calpine expects the transaction to close by the first quarter of 2016.
Entergy’s wholesale generation division, Entergy Wholesale Commodities, entered into an agreement to sell its 583-MW Rhode Island State Energy Center (RISEC), located in Johnston, R.I., to Carlyle Power Partners. The facility is a natural gas-fired, combined-cycle generating plant that entered commercial service in 2002. The base sales price is approximately $490 million, subject to closing adjustments.
Talen Energy agreed to sell three Pennsylvania power plants with a total combined generating capacity of 996 MW for $1.51 billion in gross cash proceeds, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. The 704-MW Ironwood plant is being sold to a subsidiary of TransCanada for a total purchase price of $654 million. The Holtwood and Lake Wallenpaupack hydroelectric projects, with a combined generating capacity of 292 MW, were sold to a subsidiary of Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners L.P. for $860 million.
Algonquin Power & Utilities jointly developed the 150-MW Deerfield wind power project with Renewable Energy Systems Americas. The project will utilize turbine technology comprised of 44 Vestas V110-2.0 wind turbines and 28 Vestas V110-2.2 turbines and is estimated to generate 555.2 GW-hrs annually. Deerfield has a 20-year PPA with Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative.
Arizona Public Service Company (APS) initiated an expansion of its existing PCI platform to prepare for the California ISO energy (CAISO) imbalance market (EIM). PCI will provide APS with all major system upgrades to fully participate in CAISO EIM. The system upgrades include the EIM software platform that will fully support all APS bid-to-bill and scheduling needs for marketing and trading activities and balancing authority operations.
National Grid chose Siemens to provide its 63 kA arc-resistant switchgear technology for the utility's new electric substation in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. Siemens' 63 kA type GM-SG-AR switchgear is designed to improve power reliability and includes arc-resistant features that increase safety conditions for workers and operators. The technology's design will also allow National Grid and contractor TRC Companies to reduce the project's physical footprint.
Via its subsidiary EDF Renewable Energy (EDF RE), the EDF Group entered into a partnership with Procter & Gamble (P&G) to supply electricity to all North American manufacturing sites for P&G laundry and household products using wind energy. The electricity sold to P&G, within the context of a long-term PPA, will be generated by a wind power farm due to go into operation at the end of 2016 in Cooke County, Texas.
Google plans to buy Vestas’ 12.5 percent share in Lake Turkana Wind Power, Africa’s largest wind park, when the project is complete in 2017. The share purchase agreement is in connection with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's Climate and Clean Energy Investment Forum and builds on a relationship between Google and Vestas, which also includes the 270-MW Alta Wind Energy Centre in southern California and the powering of a Google data centre in Finland. The Lake Turkana wind park is owned by Lake Turkana Wind Power.