Dynegy has closed its 500-MW Wood River Power Station near Alton, Ill., eliminating more than 90 jobs.
Company officials announced plans to close the coal-fired plant in November after it failed to recover operating costs. The utility cited unfair market conditions in the deregulated and regulated hybrid footprint in MISO. Dynegy also said Wood River was not necessary to maintain reliability in the region.
In addition to $12 million in lost pay for the workforce, the closure will cost the local government $1.6 million in lost property taxes.
More: The Telegraph
Appalachian Power Enters PPA with NextEra Wind Farm
American Electric Power’s Appalachian Power has signed on to a 20-year power purchase agreement with NextEra Energy to buy 120 MW of wind generation in Indiana to supply its service areas in Virginia and West Virginia by 2018.
The wind power will come from the Bluff Point Wind Energy Center to be constructed in Jay and Randolph counties in Indiana. The company selected NexEra’s proposal over a dozen other bids.
The agreement brings Appalachian Power’s total wind portfolio to 495 MW.
More: Appalachian Power
CIO Cavazos Leaving DTE for Investment Firm
DTE Energy Chief Investment Officer Paul Cavazos is leaving his position at the diversified energy company to join Texas-based American Beacon, an investment firm specializing in mutual funds and corporate pension plans.
Cavazos worked at DTE Energy for nearly nine years, managing about $10 billion in investments, including benefit and contribution plans, a foundation and a nuclear decommissioning trust.
More: Chief Investment Officer
Alliant Treasurer Kratchmer Announces Retirement
Alliant Energy Vice President and Treasurer John Kratchmer announced plans to retire last week.
Robert Durian, Alliant’s current controller, will take over Kratchmer’s duties July 1. Kratchmer will serve in an advisory role during a transition period, according to the company. Durian has been with the company since 1992.
Alliant Assistant Controller Ben Bilitz will fill the position of controller.
More: Alliant Energy
Broadwind Signs $137M Manufacturing Contract
Wind turbine manufacturer Broadwind Energy has been awarded a three-year $137 million supply deal with an unnamed customer.
Broadwind, which has factories in Manitowoc, Wis., and Abilene, Texas, would say only that its customer is one of the largest wind turbine manufacturers in the U.S. Siemens and General Electric are among Broadwind’s major customers, according to a 2015 annual report.
More: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Thousands of PG&E Computers Left Vulnerable
Pacific Gas and Electric last month left a “treasure trove” of company data open to Internet hackers, according to a security researcher who revealed the lapse.
The compromised database contained company IP and MAC addresses, hostnames, computer locations and other vital information. More than 47,000 PG&E computers and other devices were left unprotected, the researcher said.
PG&E confirmed the lapse, blaming it on a third-party technology vendor that was developing a new platform.
More: Tech Insider
Municipal Utilities Sign Up with Grain Belt Express
The Missouri Joint Municipal Electric Utility Commission, which buys power for public utilities, said it has signed an agreement for as much as 200 MW of capacity on Clean Line’s Grain Belt Express, bolstering the transmission line’s embattled application with the Missouri Public Service Commission.
The new contract, which is contingent on Clean Line winning approval from Missouri regulators, would replace an electricity contract with Dynegy coal plants expiring in 2021, when Grain Belt is supposed to be operational.
The 780-mile transmission line would carry 3,500 MW of wind power from western Kansas to eastern markets and up to 500 MW of power into Missouri.
More: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Keeping Westar’s HQ in Topeka Key to Great Plains’ Acquisition
Westar Energy CEO Mark Ruelle said Great Plains Energy was the only bidder among multiple suitors that agreed to keep the utility’s headquarters in downtown Topeka, Kan., one of the deciding factors in choosing it as its $8.6 billion merger partner.
Although an investor-owned company must first consider shareholder value, Ruelle said, Great Plains’ offer to stay true to Westar’s commitment to employees and its philanthropic efforts in the Topeka community weighed in its favor. The merger was announced May 31.
“It’s turned out that after all the work, the best deal is with our next door neighbors,” he said. “They’ve agreed to keep Westar headquarters in Topeka, and not only that, in downtown Topeka. Great Plains has agreed to continue our community commitments, our charitable giving, our connections downtown.”