First Solar sold the 50-MW Macho Springs Solar Power Plant to Southern Company subsidiary Southern Power and Turner Renewable Energy. El Paso Electric has a 20-year PPA for all energy generated by the power plant. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The power plant, located on approximately 600 acres of State Trust land near Deming, New Mexico, is the state's largest solar power plant.

As part of a regional upgrade to the transmission grid in southeastern Ohio and West Virginia, AEP Ohio, a unit of American Electric Power, and the AEP Ohio Transmission Company plan to replace the existing wire on a 345-kV transmission line that runs from Waterford, Ohio, to New Haven, West Virginia. All of the work will take place within existing transmission line right of way, and more than 90 percent of it will be done on existing towers.

Abengoa completed construction of Mount Signal Solar, the 206-MW photovoltaic plant in the city of Calexico, south east of California. Abengoa was responsible for the engineering, construction and commissioning of the plant for Silver Ridge Power. The project covers 801 hectares and includes more than three million photovoltaic modules that rotate on a north-south axis tracking the path of the sun.

Ventyx, an ABB company, joined an initiative to create one of the world's smartest electricity networks, part of a development project entitled Smart Grid Gotland. As part of the project, Ventyx will deploy a comprehensive distribution system optimization solution encompassing network control, demand response management, demand forecasting and business analytics to support the project, enabling large quantities of wind and other renewable and distributed energy sources to be integrated into the grid.

NRG eVgo, a subsidiary of NRG Energy, plans to roll out the EZ-Charge (SM) platform, an initiative that will offer EV drivers the ability to access multiple EV charging networks with a single all-access card. The EZ-Charge card will support all eVgo public charging plans and enable EV drivers to enroll in participating partner network plans either through their charging company or directly with eVgo. eVgo expects to begin distributing EZ-Charge cards this summer to EV drivers with participating plans in San Francisco, San Diego, Dallas-Ft.

SunEdison partnered with Rosedale Union School District (RUSD) in Bakersfield, Calif. to install, monitor and manage 1.8 MW of solar at the district's nine schools. Solar shade canopies will be constructed in parking lots at the district's schools, taking advantage of underutilized space to produce solar energy and provide needed shade for parking. Project completion is scheduled by the end of the year. SunEdison will install, monitor and maintain the solar system at no additional expense to the district.

AREVA signed an agreement with the American engineering firm NUCCORP to be the exclusive supplier of the nuclear grade air trap (NGAT) technology to the nuclear industry. The NGAT system eliminates the need for periodic venting and ultrasonic testing inspections, which can increase costs and impair operational efficiency. Winner of a 2012 Nuclear Energy Institute Vendor Top Industry Practice award, the device can be easily installed in existing plants and has already been demonstrated in operation.