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South Carolina Solar Farm Powering Coops

The 3-MW Colleton Solar Farm, last reported by the Sutherland Coop Team on December 26, 2013, is powering coops.  Central Electric Power Cooperative, in collaboration with Santee Cooper, will purchase the output produced by over 10,000 photovoltaic panels.  Click here for more.

Dairyland to Buy Solar Power from Coop Joint Venture

As last reported by the Sutherland Coop Team on January 17, 2014, Dairyland Power Cooperative (Dairyland), based in La Crosse, Wisconsin, has agreed to purchase the output from a 517-kW solar facility owned by a joint venture of three Minnesota distribution cooperatives.  The deal will allow Dairyland, which currently provides about 12 percent of its members’ energy using renewable...

Minnesota PUC Petitioned to Rethink Project Approval

Certain public interest groups petitioned the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission (PUC) to reconsider its decision approving a $500 million high-voltage transmission line connecting La Crosse, Wisconsin, and Rochester, Minnesota.  The project, currently under construction by Dairyland Power Cooperative and other investing utilities, is scheduled for completion in 2015.  Opponents of...

Alaska Coop Purchases Clean Coal Plant

Golden Valley Electric Association (GVEA), based in Fairbanks, Alaska, recently purchased a 50-MW clean coal project from the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority, with the help of a $45 million, 30-year loan from the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation.  The project, the Healy Unit 2 power plant, will be shored up with an additional $37 million in...

Basin Electric Signs Deal to Add More Wind to Generation Portfolio

Basin Electric Power Cooperative (Basin Electric) announced on December 20 that it had signed a deal to add 98 MW of additional wind capacity to its generating portfolio.  The Campbell County Wind Farm is currently under development in South Dakota and is expected to be brought online in 2015.  Electric Co-op Today has the full story.

South Carolina’s First Solar Farm Online

South Carolina’s first solar farm is officially online as of Friday, December 20.  The 3-MW, $6 million Colleton County project will sell output to Santee Cooper.  South Carolina Electric and Gas is also planning a series of future solar farms that could generate up to 20 MW of power in the state.  Read more here.

Golden Spread Proposes New Transmission Line

Golden Spread Electric Cooperative, Inc. (Golden Spread) is planning a new transmission line that would connect the present divide between the power grid that covers the Texas Panhandle and the grid for the rest of Texas.  The coop, along with Sharyland Utilities, L.P. (Sharyland) will connect new and existing natural gas generation units north of Abernathy to the new transmission...

Electric Utilities Retire Generating Capacity Faster Than They Bring it Online

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported last week that the electric utility industry retired 11.1 GW of generating capacity from January through October of 2013, while adding only about 10 GW of capacity.  Coal-fired and nuclear plants represent the largest and second largest shares of retired capacity respectively, the EIA reports.  Read more here.

USDA to Provide More than $1.8 Billion in Funding

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Friday that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide over $1.8 billion to fund electric utility infrastructure improvements in 25 states and one territory.  The USDA-funded improvements include smart grid and renewable energy projects and the building or improvement of more than 6,500 miles of transmission lines. ...

Second Hawaiian Coop on the Horizon?

Molokai may be the second island of Hawaii (Kauai being the first) to purchase its utility and establish an electric coop.  High rates are at the root of current tensions between residents on Molokai and their utility Maui Electric Company, a subsidiary of Hawaiian Electric Company.  Molokai is also considering a large generation project that would power the island using only renewable...

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