Xcel Energy, already a top U.S. producer of wind energy, announced plans to vastly increase its renewable generation by 2030 and cut its use of fossil-fired generation.

The goals, included in its “2016-2030 Upper Midwest Integrated Resource Plan” filed with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission, call for a 30% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 and a 40% reduction by 2030.

The company plans to add 600 MW of wind energy to its portfolio by 2020 and 1,200 MW by 2030, bringing its total to 3,600 MW. It also plans to add nearly 2,400 MW of solar by 2030, maintain operations of its Monticello and Prairie Island nuclear plants, and reduce reliance on its coal-fired Sherburne County Generating Plant.

More: Star-Tribune

Entergy Adds New CCGT Plant to Louisiana Generation Fleet

Entergy Louisiana has added its first new power plant to its fleet in nearly 30 years. The Ninemile 6 combined-cycle gas turbine plant in Westwego was completed for an estimated $566 million, on time and below budget, the company said. Entergy Gulf States Louisiana and Entergy New Orleans will buy 45% of the 560-MW plant’s output.

Entergy also announced recently its subsidiaries will spend $948 million to acquire the 1,980-MW gas-fired Union Power Station in El Dorado, Ark. The Union Power Station is owned by Union Power Partners, an independent power producer owned by Entegra TC. Both companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in August. Entergy said the plant’s price was about half what it would cost to build a new power plant.

More: PennEnergy; The Times-Picayune

PSEG Taking over Completed Solar Plant in Waldorf, Md.

PSEG Solar Source is acquiring a 12.9-MW solar facility near Waldorf, Md., its 11th utility-scale photovoltaic project. It brings PSEG Solar’s total capacity to 123 MW.

The facility is being constructed by juwi solar and has a 20-year power purchase agreement with Southern Maryland Electric Cooperative. Construction is expected to be completed by June. Terms of the sale were not announced.

More: NJBiz

AEP Blitzing Ohio with 105,000 Automated Meters

American Electric Power will install 105,000 automated meters in Ohio, the third phase of its meter updating program.

The wireless meters will only allow the utility to take readings from a passing vehicle, unlike smart meters, which can both send and receive signals and allow two-way communication about electricity usage. With the new program, nearly a third of AEP’s 1.5 million Ohio customers will have the automated meters, which eliminate the need for a manual reading and should cut down on the number of estimated bills.

AEP has also proposed to increase the size of its smart meter program, which is currently still in the pilot stage.

More: The Columbus Dispatch

UGI Energy to Build $150 Million Gas Pipeline to Power Plant

UGI Energy Services plans to spend $150 million to build a 20-inch pipeline to deliver natural gas to a proposed generating station near Shamokin Dam on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania.

The 35-mile line, which would cross five counties, would connect the Transcontinental Pipeline to the power plant. The company said about 90% of the gas will go to the power plant.

The proposed 1,000-MW power plant, called Hummel Station, will be owned by Sunbury Generation and is slated to go on line in 2017. Sunbury recently retired a coal-fired generating station at the 216-acre site. The former PPL plant still has active oil-fired units on site.

More: PennLive

Dominion Buys 20-MW Solar Plant in Calif. from EDF

Dominion Resources added 20 MW of solar capacity to its fleet with the purchase of a facility in King’s County, Calif., from EDF Renewable Energy. Dominion now has 344 MW of solar either in operation or under construction in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Utah and Tennessee.

The announcement comes after the company said it bought a 50-MW solar project in Millard County, Utah, from juwi solar. That purchase came just two months after Dominion purchased two other solar plants, the 24-MW Cottonwood and the 12-MW Catalina Solar 2 facilities. Both of those California plants were purchased from EDF as well.

More: Zacks

Asheville, NC, Demand Spurs Duke to Build 3 New Substations

Duke Energy has spent $13.6 million to buy three sites for new substations in Asheville, N.C., in order to bolster the company’s distribution system as demand grows in the western North Carolina city. The new substations will be the first in the city in 40 years.

Duke said it plans to open the first new substation by 2018. It did not release cost estimates for the project.

More: Asheville Citizen-Times

FirstEnergy Spending $100 Million on Shale Gas-Related Tx Projects

FirstEnergy said it is investing about $100 million on transmission lines and related projects in West Virginia to support industrial activity to process shale gas and oil, as well as power pumping and compression equipment to send shale-related energy to markets.

Substations, transmission lines and other equipment are included in the list, the company said. Projects include a $52 million 138-kV line to support demand in Doddridge, Harrison and Ritchie counties, and an 18-mile, $55 million 138-kV line expected to go into service near Oak Mound in late 2015.

More: The State Journal