Abengoa, together with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and the Colorado School of Mines (CSM), has been selected by the US Department of Energy (DOE) to develop a new solar storage technology for thermo-electric plants. The program will last for two years and will require an investment of EUR1.3 million by the US Department of Energy.

Terra-Gen Power (Terra-Gen), an affiliate of ArcLight Capital Partners and Global Infrastructure Partners, signed a purchase and sale agreement with NRG Yield for the sale of its 947-MW Alta Wind I-V, X & XI, and Realty projects (Alta Wind). Terra-Gen expects to close the transaction in the third quarter of 2014, pending customary closing conditions, including the receipt of regulatory approval by FERC and the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission.

The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) named Jim Spiers v.p. of technology, engineering and economic analysis. In this position, Spiers will lead NRECA’s Cooperative Research Network (CRN). Spiers currently serves as senior v.p. of business strategy/chief technology officer for Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.

First Wind finalized seven 20-year PPAs with Rocky Mountain Power, a division of PacifiCorp. As part of the purchase agreements, Rocky Mountain Power will buy the output of the planned 20-MW Seven Sisters projects under its obligation from the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, or PURPA. The Seven Sisters portfolio includes seven separate solar photovoltaic projects, four of which are to be sited in Beaver County and three to be located in Iron County, Utah.

Seattle City Light, the Woodland Park Zoo and the Phinney Neighborhood Association (PNA) installed Washington state's largest community solar project to date. The Community Solar on Phinney Ridge project is designed for a 73 to 74 kW system on the roofs of two buildings at the zoo and PNA's Phinney Center. Anyone with a Seattle City Light account can purchase part of the array's output and the cost of which can be added to a participant's electric bill and paid in two installments.

The government of Equatorial Guinea selected MAECI Solar, a division of Management and Economic Consulting, Inc., in collaboration with GE Power & Water and Princeton Power Systems, to install a 5-MW solar microgrid system on Annobon Province, an island off Equatorial Guinea in west central Africa. The solar microgrid will feature 5-MW solar modules and system integration by MAECI, an energy management system and controls from Princeton Power Systems and energy storage from GE.