(February 2013) LA and Burbank enter 250 MW PPA with Sempra’s Copper Mountain Solar 3 project; ABB wins $225 million turnkey PV project contracts; NextEra acquires 165-MW Cimarron I wind project; PG&E builds gas pipeline control center; ITC energizes 227-mile transmission line in Midwest; plus contracts and announcements from Survalent, Landis+Gyr, Dell, DNV, Sensus, Itron, Elster, Ameresco, Constellation, Duke, People’s Natural Gas, and others.
Order 1000, the RTOs, and the power of incumbency.
In Order 1000, FERC wanted—among other things—to open grid development to private developers. But FERC’s natural allies—the regional transmission organizations—are refusing to go along with this new vision.
Using a trial-based approach to improve a project’s chances before state siting boards.
Project development isn’t getting any easier. Using a trial-based approach can improve a project’s chances before state siting boards. And time-tested principles of planning, discovery, and argument lay the groundwork for an effective appeal.
Alstom signed a €250 million contract with Metals & Engineering Corp. (METEC) to supply turbines and generators for the hydro power plant of the Grand Renaissance dam, located on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia. Alstom will supply and supervise the installation of all electromechanical equipment for the plant, including eight 375 MW turbines and eight generators for the first phase. The contract also includes engineering and power plant commissioning, scheduled to start in late 2013 and finish in 2016.
Alliant subsidiary Wisconsin Power & Light (WPL) closed on its purchase of the Riverside Energy Center, a 600-MW combined-cycle, natural gas-fired power plant in Beloit, Wisc. WPL purchased the plant from Calpine for approximately $400 million.
Progress Energy Canada selected TransCanada to design, build, own, and operate the proposed $5 billion Prince Rupert gas transmission project. The proposed pipeline will carry natural gas primarily from the North Montney gas-producing region near Fort St. John, B.C., to the Pacific Northwest liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Port Edward near Prince Rupert, B.C. Progress and TransCanada expect to finalize definitive agreements in early 2013.
Sempra U.S. Gas & Power completed construction of Mesquite Solar 1, the first 150-MW phase of the company’s Mesquite Solar complex in Arlington, Ariz., about 40 miles west of Phoenix. The photovoltaic (PV) solar energy project now is operational and ranks among the largest in the United States.
Duke Energy Renewables completed construction of a 12.5-MW solar power project in Beaufort County, N.C. North Carolina Eastern Municipal Power Agency (NCEMPA) is purchasing the output under a 15-year agreement. Duke contracted with SunEnergy1, a solar design, engineering and construction company based in Mooresville, N.C., to build the 53,000-panel photovoltaic (PV) project. SunEnergy1 designed the solar array and will continue to handle operations, monitoring, and maintenance of the system.