AES entered into an agreement with SYND Holdco Limited, a joint venture of Greencoat UK Wind PLC and Swiss Life Funds Global Infrastructure Opportunities to sell 100% of its equity interests in four operating wind projects in the United Kingdom, totaling 87.5 MW, for $160 million, subject to customary purchase price adjustments. This transaction includes four operating wind projects in the United Kingdom: 28.6-MW Drone Hill; 22-MW North Rhins; 20.5-MW Sixpenny Wood; and 16.4-MW Yelvertoft.

Ventyx, an ABB company, signed a new license agreement with diversified energy company Black Hills to deploy Ventyx's leading enterprise asset management (EAM) solution, Ventyx Asset Suite, across the utility's T&D operations. Black Hills is replacing its myriad existing systems to modernize and optimize its T&D operations as part of a broad "Utility of the Future" initiative. Black Hills will roll out Asset Suite in a phased approach across its gas and electric utility operations serving 777,000 customers in seven states.

The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) decided unanimously that TECO Energy's pending stock acquisition of New Mexico Gas Intermediate (NMGI), the parent company of New Mexico Gas Co. (NMGC), is in the public interest and can proceed. The parties in the case reached a settlement on the acquisition, and the PRC staff did not oppose it. NMGC serves more than 513,000 gas customers throughout New Mexico.

Ford Motor Company teamed up with DTE Energy to build Michigan's largest solar array at Ford World Headquarters. The project, funded by DTE Energy, will provide employees with 360 covered parking spaces and 30 charging stations for plug-in electric vehicles. The solar canopy will have capacity to generate 1.038 MW of electricity. Under a recently finalized agreement, DTE Energy will construct, operate and maintain the carport for 20 years. Construction is slated to begin in September and be completed in early 2015.

ABB was awarded a contract by Atlantis Resources Limited to provide the onshore grid connection for Phase I of the MeyGen tidal stream project in Scotland's Pentland Firth. The first 6-MW demonstration phase of the UK's first large-scale tidal array scheme will see four submerged turbines installed in the Inner Pentland Firth just north of Caithness, with first power expected to be delivered by 2016. ABB is responsible for the onshore power conversion and grid connection systems to feed the electricity into the local distribution grid.

Exelon and Integrys Energy Group entered into a definitive agreement for Exelon to purchase Integrys Energy Services, a competitive retail electricity and natural gas subsidiary serving approximately 1.2 million customers. Integrys Energy Services will become part of Exelon's Constellation business unit. Exelon will pay $60 million for the Integrys retail operations, plus adjusted net working capital at the time of closing. The transaction does not include Integrys' energy assets - primarily solar - which will remain a part of Integrys Energy Group.

The Kentucky Public Service Commission (KPSC) approved Kentucky Power's plan to convert the Big Sandy Unit 1 from coal-fired electricity generation to gas-fired electricity generation. Kentucky Power is converting the 278-MW unit in order to meet stricter federal air quality standards. Following the conversion to natural gas, the unit will be rated at approximately 268 MW. The conversion project is expected to cost approximately $50 million and should be completed by the summer of 2016.

Vattenfall awarded Siemens Energy an order for 72 Model SWT-4.0-130 wind turbines for its new Sandbank offshore wind farm. The project is being erected 90 kilometers west of the island of Sylt off the German North Sea coast. A service plan for the project will generate synergy from its close vicinity to DanTysk offshore wind farm, utilizing joint operations to drive down the maintenance costs of both projects. Vattenfall has contracted Siemens to perform maintenance services on the Sandbank installations for an initial period of five years.

GE’s Digital Energy business and the City of Aberdeen will implement GE’s Solutions as a Service (SaaS) technology. SaaS is a cloud-based, fee-for-service grid management system that enables small- and mid-market utilities to build modern and interconnected grids. Using SaaS, a GE Predictivity solution, GE will provide Aberdeen with access to an online customer portal, enabling residents to visualize their energy usage and billing information.

Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) and partners Marubeni and Toyota Tsusho closed financing with GE Energy Financial Services and 14 other lenders for the $775 million CPV St. Charles Energy Center under construction in Charles County, Maryland. Financial details were not disclosed. Located 25 miles southeast of Washington, DC, the CPV St. Charles Energy Center is a 725- MW combined-cycle natural gas-fired power plant using two GE 7F.05 gas turbines and a GE D400 steam turbine.