TransAlta Corp. said it agreed to purchase a 55 Mw gas-fired peak generating plant in Binghamton, NY, for $9 million. TransAlta will own and operate 100% of the facility, its first acquisition in the New York state market. The purchase was facilitated through the Merchant Energy Group of the Americas (MEGA), which will be responsible for commercial management of the plant. In June 2000, TransAlta acquired a 50% interest in MEGA, which specializes in commercial development and management of US power assets. MEGA was established in 1997 by Gener SA, a Chilean-based electric generator, specializing in the commercial management of power generation assets in the United States.
Foster Wheeler Corp. said its subsidiary Foster Wheeler Energy Corp. was awarded contracts worth $100 million by PSEG Power LLC to supply six heat-recovery steam generators (HRSG) for expansion projects at two PSEG power plants in New Jersey. The first contract is for two Foster Wheeler HRSGs to be supplied as part of a $290 million expansion program at PSEG's Bergen facility. The steam generators will be coupled with General Electric 7FA turbines in combined cycle configuration. The HRSG/turbine island will have an output of 500 Mw. Design work has begun and the new units are scheduled to go online in June 2002. The second contract is for the supply and construction of four Foster Wheeler HRSGs as part of a $590 million expansion program of PSEG's Linden power plant.
FuelCell Energy Inc. and King County, Wash., jointly reported signing an $18 million agreement to install a Direct FuelCell (DFC) power plant using municipal wastewater digester gas as the fuel. FuelCell Energy was selected for the project in July to install and operate a 1 Mw DFC power plant at the county's South Wastewater Treatment Facility in Renton, Wash. The 2-year demonstration project is cost-shared equally by FuelCell Energy and King County, through a cooperative grant to the county from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Operations are expected to begin during the third quarter of 2002. FuelCell Energy's field trials are precursors to the DFC commercial market entry.
Northern Border Partners LP said it signed a $370 million letter of intent to purchase Bear Paw Energy LLC, an operator of gathering and processing systems in Wyoming, from a consortium of investors led by Bear Paw Energy management and J.P. Morgan Partners (formerly known as Chase Capital Partners). Under the agreement, $185 million will be paid in Northern Border Partners common units and the remainder in cash and the assumption of liabilities. The deal is expected to close by end of first quarter 2001.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the pending merger of Bangor Hydro-Electric Co. and Emera Inc. Under an agreement reached in June 2000, Emera will acquire all of the outstanding common stock of Bangor Hydro for $205 million. Bangor Hydro's shareholders approved the deal in October, and the Maine Public Utilities Commission approval was received in December. Proceedings are pending at the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Dominion Resources Inc. reported the Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved its $1.28 billion purchase of Units 2 and 3 of the 2000 Mw Millstone nuclear power station from Northeast Utilities. Millstone Unit 1 is no longer in service and is being placed in a safe storage condition for eventual decommissioning.
Business customers in the service territory of Commonwealth Edison (ComEd), a unit of Unicom Corp., may choose a metering service if they also select a supplier. In what is referred to as "meter unbundling,'' metering service providers (MSPs) certified by the Illinois Commerce Commission can enter the marketplace and conduct business in ComEd's service territory. Beginning in January, MSPs can install, read, and service meters for customers that choose to select unbundled metering services.
Marubeni Corp., along with Hitachi group including Hitachi Ltd., said they won an �11 billion turnkey contract from the Department of Electrical Services, the Ministry of Development, of Brunei Darussalam, for construction of a 100 Mw thermal power plant in Gadong and transmission lines and substations. The project also involves the construction of 40 km 275 kv power transmission lines to connect the new power station and the middle western part of the nation, and six substations. Project completion is scheduled in October 2002.
Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has allowed the Gulf Power Generation Co, partly owned by the US energy firm Edison International, to defer the start-up of contractual power sales to Oct. 1, 2004, for the first 350 Mw and to April 1, 2005, for the second unit of its Thai plant. Senior EGAT officials said the extensions was granted to allow the company to make up for time lost during public hearings concerning its 700-Mw coal-fired Bor Nok power project which has been opposed by local villagers. (OGJ Online, Dec 19, 2000).
The Michigan Public Service Commission ordered Consumers Energy Co., Detroit Edison Co., and Indiana Michigan Power Co. to update their electric capacity filings for 2001. Building on Michigan's legislative progress with electric restructuring in 2000 and to avoid a duplication of the situation in California, the commission said it directed the three companies to file capacity plan updates by February 13, 2001.
Marubeni Corp. said it signed a $51 million turnkey contract for two F6 gas turbines (35MW x 2) and a 138 kv substation with Compania Nacional de Fuerza y Luz (CNFL) in Costa Rica belonging to Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE). Marubeni said the gas turbines will be supplied GE Energy Products France and the substation by France's Alstom. Projecting funding will be provided through a bank loan by the Central American Bank of Economic Integration (CABEI). Construction is expected to take 18 months.
