Duke Energy Renewables has signed a five-year deal to provide remote monitoring, control and dispatch services to Block Island Wind Farm — the nation’s first offshore wind facility.
The 30-MW wind farm, located off the coast of Rhode Island, is expected to begin producing electricity in November.
Duke Energy presently provides control and monitoring services to non-Duke projects totaling about 2,000 MW.
More: Charlotte Business Journal
PG&E Applies for Rate Increase Spurred by Diablo Canyon Closing
Pacific Gas & Electric is applying to the California Public Utilities Commission for a 1.6% rate increase after promising earlier this year that closing its Diablo Canyon nuclear facility would not raise customers’ rates.
The proposed increase amounts to $1.766 billion to be collected over an eight-year period.
PG&E spokesman Blair Jones said last week that the “short-term rate increase will be offset in the long term.”
More: The San Diego Union-Tribune
Sunrun Partners with LG Chem to Offer Solar Panels with Batteries
Sunrun will offer solar arrays paired with in-home batteries thanks to a partnership announced last week with LG Chem, which supplies batteries to 16 of the world’s largest automakers.
The Korea-based battery builder will supply lithium-ion batteries for Sunrun’s BrightBox system, which allows homeowners to store solar energy generated during the day for use in the evening.
Sunrun began offering BrightBox this year in Hawaii, using batteries made by Tesla Motors. It wants to expand the system into California beginning in 2017.
More: San Francisco Chronicle
DONG Energy Reaches 1,000 Offshore Wind Turbine Milestone
DONG Energy announced last week that it is the first company to install more than 1,000 offshore wind turbines.
Between 2016 and 2020, DONG plans to install more offshore wind capacity than it built in its preceding 25 years of business.
More: Clean Technica
Sims to Serve on Pinnacle West, Arizona Public Service Boards
Paula Sims has been elected to Pinnacle West Capital’s board of directors and also will serve on the board of directors of Arizona Public Service, Pinnacle West’s principal subsidiary.
The appointment is effective immediately and increases the number of Pinnacle West directors from 10 to 11 members, 10 of whom are independent.
Sims is a former senior executive at Progress Energy.
More: Pinnacle West Capital
Dominion Virginia Power Sees Peak Demands for Electricity
Dominion Virginia Power is seeing peak demands for electricity, with its customers having used 28.2 million MWh from July 1 to Sept. 30 — breaking an 11-year record.
“We are now seeing peak demands for electricity in both the summer and winter,” said Robert M. Blue, president of Richmond-based Dominion.
The company has proposed building a transmission line over the James River from its Surry Nuclear Power Station to address increased demands.
More: Richmond Times-Dispatch
EnergySource Testing Process to Extract Lithium from Geothermal Brine
EnergySource is testing a new five-step process to extract lithium from underground brine at its Featherstone geothermal plant by the Saltine Sea in California.
The company purchased several existing extraction techniques and is using its knowledge of the Saltine Sea brine to tweak those technologies, CEO Eric Spomer said.
A Texas investment firm just purchased a 38.5% interest in EnergySource and is funding more thorough testing of the extraction project, which Spomer expects will take about six months.
More: The Desert Sun
Xcel Energy Planning Four Wind Farms for Minnesota, North Dakota
Xcel Energy announced last week that it plans to build four new wind farms in Minnesota and North Dakota — a move that will increase its wind generation capacity by 60% in the Upper Midwest.
The four wind farms, which still require regulatory approval, will generate 750 MW.
The projects are part of a plan that Xcel announced in September to invest $2 billion to add 1,500 MW of new wind generation — or eight to 10 wind farms — by 2020.
More: Star Tribune
Shareholders File Suit to Stop Spectra’s Merger with Enbridge
Shareholders have filed five separate lawsuits against Spectra Energy to stop its $28 billion deal to sell itself to Enbridge.
The suits, which were filed in the U.S. District Court in Houston, all allege that Spectra should have sought other merger partners who might pay more for the company.
Under the deal, Spectra stockholders would trade each of their shares for a 0.984 share of the combined company, which will keep the Enbridge name.
More: Fuel Fix
Idaho Power Project Lowers Temperature of Snake River
Idaho Power is lowering the temperature in areas of the Snake River in order to comply with regulations.
In July, the utility began work to narrow and deepen a channel by widening two islands just downstream of Walters Ferry. It will replace noxious weeds on the two islands with native trees that will help cool the water.
The project is the first of many planned for areas along the Snake River and is expected to end this month.
More: KTVB
Idaho Power Requests Early Exit from Nevada Coal Plant
Idaho Power filed a request with state regulators on Oct. 21 to accelerate its exit to 2025 from the coal-powered North Valmy Generating Station near Battle Mountain, Nev.
The utility, which owns 50% of the power plant, previously said it wanted to wean itself off of Unit No. 1 by 2031 and Unit No. 2 by 2035.
The accelerated exit would result in a $28.5 million cost increase, which would include decommissioning costs and capital investments forecast for the remaining life of the plant, Idaho Power said in its filing with the Public Utilities Commission.
More: Boise Weekly
New Reliant Plan: No Panels Needed to Purchase Solar in Texas
Reliant Energy is offering Texas customers the opportunity to purchase solar energy for 12 months at a fixed rate without installing solar panels. Reliant’s 100% Solar 12 plan allows the company to procure the rights to solar energy through renewable energy credits.
More: Fuel Fix