Manitoba Hydro and Great River Energy Announce 600 MW Power Sale Memorandum of Understanding

Manitoba Hydro and Great River Energy signed a MOU to jointly investigate the sale of up to 600 MW of electricity from Manitoba Hydro to Great River Energy, commencing in approximately 2020. Under the MOU, the utilities have agreed to discuss supplying some of Great River Energy's long-term electricity needs from Manitoba Hydro's proposed new hydroelectric stations.

ABB Wins Orders Worth $56 Million From Power Grid of India

ABB won orders worth around $56 million from Power Grid Corporation of India (POWERGRID), to supply power transformers and shunt reactors for substations being built to support the country's ultrahigh voltage transmission grid development. Fourteen 500 megavolt ampere (MVA), 765 kV ultrahigh voltage single-phase auto-transformers based on ABB's technology will be installed at greenfield substations being constructed in Kanpur and Varanasi.

Siemens Completes Estlink 2 Transmission Project

Siemens Energy completed the EstLink 2 project, a high-voltage direct current (HVDC) link consisting of converter stations in Anttila, Finland, and Püssi, Estonia. Power is now being transmitted by Fingrid, the transmission system operator in Finland and the Estonian transmission system operator Elering. The new joint transmission capacity between the two countries is now increased from 350 MW to 1000 MW. Siemens was responsible for designing the HVDC system as a monopolar connection with metallic return conductor.

NRG’s Solar Thermal Power Project at Ivanpah Achieves Commercial Operation

NRG Solar’s Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System is now operational and delivering solar electricity to California customers. At full capacity, the facility produces a gross total of 392 MW. Ivanpah is a joint effort between NRG, Google, and BrightSource Energy and Bechtel is the EPC contractor on the project. The project received a $1.6 billion loan guarantee from the US Department of Energy's Loan Programs Office. The facility achieved commercial operation on December 31, 2013.

FirstEnergy Completes Sale of Eleven Hydroelectric Power Stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings

FirstEnergy completed the sale of 11 hydroelectric power stations to Harbor Hydro Holdings, a subsidiary of LS Power Equity Partners, for approximately $395 million. The two companies originally announced the sales agreement in September 2013. The hydroelectric power stations included in this sale are owned by FirstEnergy Generation, Allegheny Energy Supply and Green Valley Hydro and have a total capacity of 527 MW.

Washington Gas Energy Systems Completes Solar Arrays at California Schools

Washington Gas Energy Systems completed two solar projects: one for Western University of Health Sciences and one for Corcoran Unified School District, both located in California. Both facilities will be owned and operated by Washington Gas Energy Systems under 20-year PPAs. The solar array at Western University is a 672-kW project with a roof-mounted system composed of 2,688 solar panels. Green Energy Partners developed the project; Conergy managed EPC activities. The 1,269-kW solar array at Corcoran Unified School District consists of 4,422 solar panels.

Lockheed Martin and Victorian Wave Partners Sign Contract to Start Development of World’s Largest Wave Energy Project

Lockheed Martin signed a contract with Victorian Wave Partners Ltd. to begin developing the world's largest wave energy project announced to date. The 62.5-MW peak power wave energy generation project will be built off the coast of Victoria, Australia, using the PowerBuoy wave energy converter technology of Ocean Power Technologies (OPT). The project is scheduled to be built up in three stages, with the first stage producing approximately 2.5-MW peak power.

SolarReseve Begins Commissioning Phase of the Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project

SolarReserve began commissioning the 110-MW Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project, the first utility-scale facility to feature advanced molten salt power tower energy storage capabilities, located near Tonopah, Nevada. Commissioning activities include energization of the utility interconnection system and other electrical systems.

Alstom Signs Contract with Deepwater Wind to Supply the Haliade' 150-6 MW Turbine

Alstom will supply 5 Haliade' 150-6 MW offshore wind turbines for Deepwater Wind's 30-MW Block Island Wind Farm located off the coast of Rhode Island. Alstom will manufacture the turbines and will provide 15 years of operation and maintenance support. The project is aligned with The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's "Smart from the Start" offshore wind program, which aims to accelerate the development of clean, renewable offshore wind along the eastern seaboard of the U.S.

Canadian Solar Announces the Sale its Fourth Utility Scale Solar Power Plant in Ontario to a Fund Managed by BlackRock

Canadian Solar Solutions entered into an agreement with a fund managed by BlackRock, whereby BlackRock will acquire from Canadian Solar the 10 MW Oro-Medonte (Oro) solar power plant. The fourth utility-scale solar power plant purchased by BlackRock is located in the Township of Oro-Medonte and is scheduled to start construction in the first quarter of 2014, with commercial operation expected in the third quarter of 2014. Canadian Solar is providing turnkey EPC services to complete the project and will provide operation and maintenance services after completion.