EDF Renewables North America announced two agreements with Indiana Michigan Power (I&M), a unit of American Electric Power, through which I&M will add 554 MWdc (425 MWac) of solar energy.  Under terms of the deal, I&M will purchase the output from Sculpin Solar, 236 MWdc (180 MWac) under a 30-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The facility is planned for DeKalb County in northeastern Indiana and could enter service in the fourth quarter of 2025.  The utility will also buy all of the equity interests in Lake Trout Solar, 318 MWdc (245 MWac) following completion of constr ..read more

PacifiCorp outlined its plan to exit coal-fired generation in the coming years as it filed its 2023 Integrated Resource Plan with regulators in six western states. The plan also included 500 MW of advanced nuclear power generation as soon as 2030, with another 1 GW of nuclear by 2032. The utility said it planned to exit the Colstrip project in Montana by 2030; begin the process of a coal-to-gas conversion of Jim Bridger Units 1, 2, 3 and 4 in Rock Springs, Wyoming, for completion by 2030; continue the process of coal-to-gas conversion of Naughton Units 1 and 2 in Kemmerer, Wyoming, for complet ..read more

Otter Tail Power told regulators in three states that it may need to give up its 35% ownership interest in the 425 MW Coyote Station coal-fired power plant if the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Regional Haze Rule requires it to make “a major, non-routine capital investment” in the plant. The warning came as part of the Minnesota-based utility’s supplemental resource plan filed in North and South Dakota and Minnesota.  The updated plan also asked regulators to approve the addition of onsite liquified natural gas fuel storage at Astoria Station in 2026; the addition of around 200 MW ..read more

Job change news in the cleantech and energy sectors. Mitsubishi Electric Power Products named Tricia Breeger as its new CEO, the first female CEO to be appointed throughout the Mitsubishi Electric Group Companies. Brian Heery, current CEO, will remain as the organization’s chairman of the board. Breeger has served as president since 2022. She joined the company in 2000. She earlier served as GM of the company’s electrical distribution division. In 2018, she was promoted to GM of the uninterruptible power supplies division. In 2020, she was promoted to VP. Breeger received a Bachelor of Science ..read more

Georgia Power said the generator at its Vogtle Unit 3 nuclear facility generated electricity for the first time on April 1, and the unit successfully synchronized and connected to the electric grid.  At Vogtle Unit 4, nuclear operators began hot functional testing in March.  Connecting to the electric grid is part of ongoing startup testing for Vogtle Unit 3. The utility said that operators would continue to raise reactor power for electricity generation while performing tests at various power levels. The milestone followed initial criticality, reached on March 6, when operators star ..read more

Hydro-Québec issued a tender 1,500 MW of electricity generated from wind power so that commissioning and connection to the grid can take place between Dec. 1, 2027 and Dec. 1, 2029. Hydro-Québec anticipates an increase in the province’s electricity demand of 25 TWh, or 14%, over the 2022–2032 period. The minimal requirements for bidders include an obligation to show that the proposed project has the support of the host community. Contracts also must be approved by the Régie de l’énergie. A pre-bid meeting for potential bidders is scheduled for early April and the project submission deadline is ..read more

Front-end engineering design work is under way on a project that would deploy carbon capture technology at a natural gas combined cycle power planty in Kentucky. The project is funded primarily by a $5.8 million grant from the Department of Energy and involves Louisville Gas & Electric and Kentucky Utility’s Cane Run Generating Station in Louisville.  The research also involves EPRI and the University of Kentucky (UK). Engineering, construction and project management company Bechtel and the University of Michigan are also participating. The 640 MW generating unit, known as CR7, has be ..read more

Tom Kuhn, who has led the Edison Electric Institute for more than 30 years as its president and CEO, announced March 30 that he plans to step down at the end of the year. Kuhn was elected as EEI President and CEO in 1990 and is the trade organization’s longest-serving president. Kuhn joined EEI in 1985 as executive vice president and became chief operating officer in 1988. He was elected president and CEO in 1990. EEI represents U.S. investor-owned electric companies. Prior to EEI, Kuhn was president of the American Nuclear Energy Council, which later merged with the Nuclear Energy Institute ..read more

TVA’s Browns Ferry Unit 2 successfully synced to the grid in late March following a scheduled refueling and maintenance outage. The unit is prepped for a two-year cycle of operation. Upgrades made during the outage included replacing Unit 2’s main generator. The replacement is intended to support TVA’s plan to extend the service life of its reactors with license renewal requests to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC). Browns Ferry Unit 2 is one of seven TVA nuclear reactors, the third largest in the nation. Unit 2 entered service in March 1975 and uses a General Electric boiling water reac ..read more

By TRISHA AHMED Associated Press MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (AP) — A faulty pipe that allowed water containing a radioactive isotope of hydrogen to leak at a Minnesota nuclear power plant has been repaired and the plant will return to service in the next week, a spokesman for Xcel Energy said March 28. Meanwhile, a state agency said a fish kill that claimed at least 230 fish in the Mississippi River near Xcel’s Monticello Nuclear Generating Plant was caused by a water temperature change resulting from the shutdown of the plant, not by any chemicals leaking into the river. The nuclear plant, about 38 m ..read more