Constellation

Constellation to Develop 27-MW Biogas Co-Generation Power Plant for City of Los Angeles

Constellation signed an agreement with the City of Los Angeles to design, build and operate a 27-MW renewable energy power plant at L.A. Sanitation's Hyperion Treatment Plant. The new power plant, which will cost approximately $130 million to construct, will use digester gas produced at Hyperion as its primary fuel source. The power plant will produce steam and electricity that will be used to operate Hyperion's treatment operations.

Transactions (October 2013)

Constellation and EdF transfer nuclear licenses to Exelon for $400 million; NRG closes $244 million acquisition of Gregory cogen plant in Texas; Vivint Solar secures $200 million for rooftop solar leases; Virginia Power floats $585 million in bonds; Southern Company issues $700 million; plus equity deals totaling $844 million and debt issues totaling $3.635 billion.

Digest

ABB energizes 500 MW HVDC line; MISO installs synchrophasors; Xcel plans transmission upgrades in Texas Panhandle; Panda orders power blocks from Siemens for Pennsylvania project; EdF starts operations at 110 MW solar project in Mojave Desert; plus contracts and announcements from Sensus, DTE, Calpine, PSNM, First Solar, NRG, and others.

How to Build a Fence (and When)

A formal methodology for developing ring-fencing arrangements and setting conditions.

How can decision makers determine the appropriate degree of ring-fencing for a utility holding company? The authors propose a systematic and objective method – recognizing business and financial risks specific to the regulated utility and its affiliates.

Digest

Duke installed a 36-MW energy storage facility at the Notrees wind farm; Ameren Illinois plans to deploy a Landis+Gyr mesh network; GE and Toshiba formed a strategic alliance to develop combined-cycle power projects; Alberta Newsprint contracted Caterpillar to supply gensets totaling 65 MW; Duke Energy plans to retire two coal-fired stations; EDF started operations at a 150-MW wind project; Sempra completed the first 150-MW phase of the Mesquite solar complex; Atlantic Wind selected Bechtel to build an offshore HVDC transmission line; Alstom Grid and Capgemini allied to offer smart grid solutions; plus contracts and announcements from Itron, Qualcomm, Echelon, Siemens, Portland General Electric, Pattern Energy, Juhl Energy, Honda, and others.

Constellation completes solar project for Portland General Electric

Constellation completed an aggregate 5.7-MW (DC) solar generation project for Portland General Electric (PGE) in Lake County, Oregon. Constellation financed as well as owns and operates the solar power system. In return, PGE purchases and receives all of the electricity generated by the solar panels at a fixed rate from Constellation under a 25-year solar power purchase agreement (PPA). The solar power system comprises more than 20,000 ground-mounted photovoltaic panels.

People (January 2013)

Sempra board names Debra Reed chairman; Entergy utilities and FENOC appoint new CEOs; Rep. Heath Shuler becomes Duke’s federal affairs v.p.; Dominion gets new CIO; NARUC names new officers; plus executive appointments at Constellation, ITC Holdings, Gas Technology Institute, and others.

Digest

(January 2013) Dominion Virginia Power contracts Alstom for HRSGs at 1,300-MW Brunswick County station; Entergy acquires KGen plants; San Diego Gas & Electric installs new outage management system; ChargePoint enters reseller agreement with Service Solutions; Saft to install battery storage project at High Wind project in Saskatchewan; NRG’s eVgo finalizes plans for California charging network; plus contracts and announcements from ABB, ADT, Elster, Itron, ElectroIndustries, Opower, Panasonic, FirstEnergy, PacifiCorp, and others.

Vendor Neutral

Calpine signs PPA with Public Service Company of Oklahoma; TransCanada and Ontario PowerAuthority agree to develop 900-MW gas-fired power plant; Panda selects Siemens to build combined-cycle plant; Progress Energy retires coal plants dating from 1923; Southern Company and Turner acquire 30-MW PV project; PSO begins smart meter pilot rollout; Southern California Edison contracts with Corix to install smart meters; Iberdrola USA hires Burns and McDonnell to review grid infrastructure. Plus contracts and announcements from Itron, eMeter, Echelon, Quanta Services, DNV, Metadigm, Landis+Gyr, and others.

Federal Feud

The jurisdictional battle rages on, with FERC and EPA squaring off against the states.

When Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led an attack on the federal Springfield Armory in January 1787—the spark that ignited the federalist movement—he scarcely could’ve guessed that now, 225 years later, his spiritual descendants would still be fighting that very same battle.