Oil and gas producer Swift Energy has appointed Robert J. Banks as interim CEO. He replaces Terry E. Swift, who retired as the company’s CEO earlier this month, according to a statement.
Banks is Swift’s executive vice president and chief operating officer and will continue in those roles.
Terry Swift led the company for 15 years. He succeeded his father, Aubrey Swift, who founded the company in 1979.
More: Houston Chronicle
Entergy Proposes $1B Gas-Fired Plant for Texas
http://logo.clearbit.com/entergy.com”>Entergy is seeking to build a $1 billion natural gas-fired power plant to serve the Montgomery County, Texas, area beginning in 2021.
The proposed 993-MW plant would serve 27 southeastern Texas counties primarily to the north and east of Houston. Entergy hopes to begin construction in early 2019.
More: Fuel Fix
GE to Spend $1.65B to Acquire Wind Turbine Blade Maker
General Electric announced last week that it plans to spend $1.65 billion to acquire LM Wind Power, a maker of wind turbine blades.
The deal will accelerate growth in GE’s renewable energy unit, which was established last year when the company acquired Alstom SA’s power operations for $10 billion.
LM Wind Power will run as a standalone business within the unit, the companies said in a statement.
More: Bloomberg News
Ranger Solar Takes First Steps to Develop Maine’s Largest Solar Farm
Ranger Solar has signed a lease for more than 600 acres at the former Loring Air Force Base in Maine to develop what could become the state’s largest solar farm, producing up to 100 MW of electricity.
The company would like to obtain the necessary regulatory approvals and power purchase agreements to begin construction before 2019.
“We know we have a long road ahead of us, but we’re committed to it. We’re hoping to bring new renewable energy to the region and new economic investment to northern Maine,” said Aaron Svedlow, the company’s director of environmental permitting.
More: The Associated Press
Duke: Plant Operating Safely After Cooling Pond Wall Break
Duke Energy said its H.F. Lee Plant in Goldsboro, N.C., is operating safely after experiencing a break 50 to 60 feet wide in its cooling pond wall.
The pond is about 545 acres and does not contain coal ash, Duke said in a press release. An actively used ash pond across the Neuse River is also safe, the company said.
Duke expects the event to contribute less than one inch of water to the Neuse River.
More: Duke Energy; The Charlotte Observer
Dynegy Delays Mothballing Illinois Power Plant Unit
Dynegy has delayed mothballing Unit 1 of its Baldwin power plant in Illinois after scoring a winning bid in the Illinois Power Authority capacity auction held in late September.
Unit 1 was scheduled to go offline on March 31, 2017, but will now remain in operation through September 2018. Unit 3 is scheduled to be mothballed on Oct. 17.
More: The Randolph County Herald Tribune
Alpha Sells Eastern Ky. Mine to Kingdom Coal
Coal company Alpha Natural Resources has sold one of its two remaining Eastern Kentucky mines to Kingdom Coal, a subsidiary of Keystone-Kingdom Resources.
Kingdom has expressed interest in restarting the mine, which Alpha shut down in July, said Alpha CEO David Stetson in a statement.
Alpha had 11 mines in Eastern Kentucky in 2012. It announced last month that it would shut down its last active mine — Sidney Coal’s Process Energy — in November.
More: Lexington Herald-Leader
NIPSCO Forecasts 24% Rise in Customer Heating Bills
Northern Indiana Public Service Co. customers should brace for a 24% rise in their winter heating bills, based on the utility’s forecast last week.
NIPSCO indicated that although higher natural gas costs are the primary driver of the hike, its gas infrastructure modernization plan is also a contributing factor.
On the same day as NIPSCO’s announcement, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted utility bills would increase an average of 22% across the nation this winter for households using natural gas.
More: The Times