Construction Completed on Germany’s Meerwind Süd Ost Offshore Wind Farm

WindMW GmbH (WindMW), a joint-venture of Blackstone Energy Partners and Windland Energieerzeugungs GmbH, completed the sale of Meerwind Süd 'Ost, a 288-MW offshore wind farm located in the German North Sea. Construction of the wind farm began in 2012 and was completed on schedule within 18 months. Meerwind was the first German offshore wind project to be fully financed by private investors, was the largest German offshore wind farm to achieve a full financial closing, and was the first to close under Germany's KfW financing program.

SMUD Unveils Electric Vehicle Fast-Charge Station

The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) installed a new EV fast-charge station at the SMUD campus. The station features dual capability to accommodate most types of EVs manufactured by domestic and foreign automakers. This station is one of the world's first commercial installations of certified DC fast-charge hardware that meets the new industry standard. The station is a joint SMUD, General Motors and U.S. Department of Energy project. Funding for this station comes from the sale of carbon credits.

Digest

Solar Reserve commissions 110-MW solar thermal plant with molten-salt heat storage; Minnesota Power orders 64 3-MW wind turbines from Siemens; Alstom wins contract to supply 6-MW offshore wind turbines; Itron announces subscription-based service offering; plus announcements and contracts involving SunEdison, Lockheed Martin, Washington Gas Energy Systems, and others.

Canadian Solar Completes the Sale of Little Creek Solar Power Plant to BluEarth

Canadian Solar Solutions completed the sale of Little Creek, an 8.5-MW solar power plant valued at over C$53.0 million ($47.95 USD), to a BluEarth Renewables subsidiary (BluEarth). This is the first of four planned solar projects being acquired by BluEarth from Canadian Solar, totaling 38.5 MW. The additional three utility-scale solar power plants being purchased by BluEarth, which are planned to reach commercial operation through Q2 2015, are located in Kawartha Lakes, Belleville and Beaverton, Ontario, Canada.

Honeywell and CPS Energy Expand Efforts to Help Make the Electrical Grid Smarter

Honeywell and CPS Energy (CPS) announced a two-year program where CPS will use automated demand response (ADR) technology and services from Honeywell. The program is expected to be the largest ADR deployment by a municipal utility, and will build on a pilot project that CPS Energy and Honeywell completed last year. The pilot included nine commercial and industrial facilities, and helped trim demand by approximately 1.5 MW. Honeywell and CPS Energy will look to enroll 60 additional sites, bringing the potential reduction to nearly 6 MW.

Mon Power Installing New Conductors near Morgantown

Mon Power, a subsidiary of FirstEnergy, installed new conductors near Morgantown on a 138,000-volt transmission line to handle future load growth in the Monongalia County area. The $5 million project includes three phases, with all the work occurring on existing right-of-way. The transmission line upgrade is expected to be completed before year's end.

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Selects Geronimo's Distributed Solar Proposal

Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) ruled in favor of solar as a cost-competitive energy source for Xcel Energy. Geronimo Energy's Aurora Solar Project was selected by the PUC to fill a portion of Xcel's future generation needs. The Aurora Solar Project is a 100-MW distributed solar generation project that will utilize solar arrays ranging in size from 2 MW to 10 MW across Xcel's service territory.

Duke Energy Florida Sells Unused Nuclear Fuel Assemblies from Retired Crystal River Nuclear Plant

Duke Energy Florida sold 76 unused nuclear fuel assemblies from its retired Crystal River Nuclear Plant through a request for proposals (RFP) process. Federally licensed U.S. nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel fabricators are the only entities receiving Duke Energy Florida's RFP to buy the nuclear fuel assemblies. All proceeds from the sale of these assets will benefit Florida customers by reducing the amount of money Duke Energy Florida may recover from customers.