Arizona Public Service Co. has signed a firm electrical services agreement with Panda Energy International Inc., Dallas, for power from a combined cycle natural gas-fired 2,000 Mw plant that Panda will build in the town of Gila Bend, Ariz., Panda reported. The Arizona Plant and Transmission Line Siting Committee approved the transmission line and passed its recommendation to the Arizona Corporation Commission. The electricity will be transmitted by APS to the wholesale market through its Palo Verde substation near Phoenix. The plant's water needs will be met by an aquifer on the plant site previously used for farming. It is projected to begin operation in 2002.
Kinder Morgan Power Co., a wholly owned subsidiary of Kinder Morgan Inc., reported it is ready to begin construction on a $250 million, natural gas-fired 550 Mw electric power plant in Jackson, Mich. All necessary regulatory permits and approvals have been obtained, the company said.. The plant is expected to begin producing power in June of 2002. The company said the plant is expected to operate during intermediate and peak demand periods. Electricity demand has grown by approximately 35% in Michigan during the past decade, but no additional power plants have been built
The US Army Corps of Engineers engineering and support center, Huntsville, Ala., has selected DukeSolutions, a Duke Energy Corp. unit, to design, install, and finance energy-savings measures at Charleston Air Force Base, SC, through a $9.2 million energy savings performance contract. Charleston Air Force Base will save an estimated $840,000/year under the contract. Under the performance contracting program, an energy services company such as DukeSolutions pays for and installs energy-saving technologies at federal facilities, at no upfront cost to the US Air Force. In turn, DukeSolutions receives a share of the savings realized when energy bills are reduced.
Southern Co. Energy Marketing, the energy marketing arm of Southern Energy Inc., said it sold 46.7 million mw-hr of electricity during the second quarter of 2000, down from 49.4 million mw-hr during the second quarter of 1999. The company sold 5.9 bcf/day of natural gas in the second quarter of 2000, up from 4.3 bcf/day during the second quarter of 1999. Southern Co. Energy Marketing is jointly owned by Southern Energy Inc. and Vastar Resources Inc.
BP has selected Triple Point Technology Inc., Westport, Conn., to supply risk management software for its oil trading business divison, Triple Point reported. The company has more than 60 multicommodity trading clients, including major oil companies, investment banks, utilities, metal producers, and other global trading organizations which use its trading business systems.
Allegheny Energy Inc. reported it has transferred its Potomac Edison jurisdictional electric generating plants in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia to Allegheny Energy Supply Co. LLC�its nonregulated energy supply affiliate�at net book value. The Potomac Edison Co., which does business as Allegheny Power, is a subsidiary of Allegheny Energy. With this transfer, Allegheny Energy Supply said it has more than 6,200 Mw of generating capacity to sell in the deregulated marketplace.
Fuel cell maker Plug Power Inc., Latham, NY, said it has completed an amendment to its distribution agreement with GE Fuel Cell Systems that defines product specifications and delivery schedules for precommercial and commercial model introductions. The new agreement allows GE to extend the existing 10-year agreement by 5 years. The company reported it built 61 precommercial systems in the first half of 2000. At the end of the second quarter, Plug Power had 27 field test systems fueled by natural gas providing power to homes and other buildings. These field systems, combined with others installed in Plug Power facilities, have accumulated over 47,000 hours of run time during the first six months of 2000. Based on current progress, the company has adjusted its year 2000 manufacturing schedule to 125 systems. Given the revised product introduction schedule, the company believes it will not achieve 100,000 unit manufacturing volumes until after 2003 and operating losses will continue beyond 2003.
TXU Communications, , a unit of TXU Corp., Dallas, reported it now is providing integrated communications services in Dallas, offering local and long distance telephone services as well as web hosting, e-commerce solutions, high-speed internet access and data network services to local businesses. Today's entry into Dallas marks the eighth Texas market that TXU Communications has entered in 2000, and Dallas is one of the top 20 Texas markets in which TXU Communications plans to operate within the next 4 years, the company reported.