Xcel Energy began work on a new substation in the town of Brunswick, Wisconsin. The substation will tie into an existing transmission line. Xcel Energy received all state regulatory approvals in early November, and construction work began in late November. The substation is scheduled to be in service by April 2014 and is estimated to cost $4 million.
Electric Transmission Texas (ETT) energized the last of seven 345-kV transmission line projects associated with the Competitive Renewable Energy Zones (CREZ) initiative in west Texas. The Edith Clarke to Cottonwood transmission line was energized to the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) grid on Dec. 4.
Renewable Energy Systems Canada (RES Canada) will construct two 10-MW solar PV facilities for Canadian Solar Solutions (Canadian Solar). The Mighty Solar and Taylor Kidd projects qualify for the province's FIT (feed-in-tariff) program and are scheduled for completion in 2014. The electricity from Mighty Solar and Taylor Kidd will be sold under the 20-year feed-in-tariff contract with the Ontario Power Authority.
KEMA-Powertest added a new test cell, number 9, at its High Voltage & High Power Test laboratory in Chalfont, Pennsylvania. Once completed, the new high power test cell will be the largest test cell in size & volume (34 ' x30 ' x26 ' H) and will provide a safer environment to test and certify the latest Power Utility equipment coming into the marketplace.
EDF Renewable Energy (EDF) and UBS International Infrastructure Fund (UBS) signed a definitive agreement under which UBS will acquire a 50 percent equity interest from EDF in the 161-MW Spinning Spur II wind farm project, subject to completion of construction and customary conditions precedent. Spinning Spur II, located in Oldham County Texas, commenced construction in June 2013 with an expected commercial operation date on or about July 1, 2014. Spinning Spur II will utilize 87 General Electric wind turbines with a rated capacity of 1.85 MW each.
CS Week 2014 provides education across all aspects of Utility Customer Service including: CS Week Executive Summit, Key Account Forum, CS Week Colleges, CS Week Synergy Groups, Women in Utilities, Expanding Excellence Awards and Conference 38 with 60+ workshops in the following tracks: customer engagement, payments, credit & collections, billing, water focus, Canada track, field customer service, smart infrastructure and strategies & management. Central to CS Week is the largest meter-to-cash exhibit hall with 130+ exhibitors.
ABB delivered and commissioned a microgrid control solution that enables the island of Faial in the Atlantic Ocean to add more wind energy to its power mix without destabilizing the network. The island of 15,000 inhabitants has an electricity network which operates as a self-contained microgrid, powered by six oil-fired generators that produce up to 17 MW of electric power.
SunEdison introduced a renewable energy project in partnership with New York City, which is scheduled to break ground in the second half of 2015. The project will consist of two PV systems totaling up to 10 MW in size, and will utilize between 30,000 and 35,000 high efficiency solar panels installed across 47 acres leased to SunEdison at Freshkills Park, a former landfill that closed in 2001. When reopened, the converted 2,200 acre park will be the largest in the city and help to meet the PlaNYC goal of a 30-percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Dominion Virginia Power installed more than 2,000 solar panels on the rooftop of Canon Virginia Inc.'s (CVI) Industrial Resource Technologies (IRT) facility in Gloucester, making it the largest roof solar system in Virginia. When operational, the panels at the Gloucester facility will generate more than 500 kW of electricity and will flow to the electric grid for use by Dominion Virginia Power customers. Construction started in December and the panels are expected to be fully installed and operational in early 2014.
First Wind reached an agreement with Burlington Electric Department (BED) to sell the utility power generated from the planned Hancock Wind project near Ellsworth, Maine.