QUICK NEWS, January 8: BUFFETT COMPANY BUYS WORLDS BIGGEST PV; UTILITY BUYS WIND AT $1.36MIL PER MW; MILITARY ARMS WITH MICROGRIDS

BUFFETT COMPANY BUYS WORLDS BIGGEST PV MidAmerican Solar Acquires World's Largest Solar Development from SunPower; Antelope Valley Solar Projects Will Generate 579 Megawatts for Southern California Edison

January 2, 2013 (PR Newswire via MidAmerican Renewables)

“…SunPower Corp. (NASDAQ: SPWR) announced [Warrern Buffett-owned Berkshire Hathaway subsidiary] MidAmerican Solar's acquisition from SunPower of the 579-megawatt Antelope Valley Solar Projects (AVSP), two co-located projects in Kern and Los Angeles Counties in Calif. Together, the two combined projects will form the largest permitted solar photovoltaic power development in the world and will create an estimated 650 jobs during construction…

“…[AVSP] will provide renewable energy to Southern California Edison (SCE) under two long-term power purchase contracts approved by the California Public Utilities Commission…SunPower developed the co-located Antelope Valley Solar Projects over the last four years. At the 3,230-acre site, SunPower will install the SunPower®Oasis® Power Plant product [high-efficiency SunPower solar panels and SunPower® T0 Trackers], fully integrated, modular solar technology that is engineered to rapidly deploy utility-scale solar projects while minimizing land use…”

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“…SunPower will be the engineering, procurement and construction [EPC] contractor and will operate and maintain the facility via a multiyear services agreement…Construction of the solar project is scheduled to begin in first quarter 2013, with the plants expected to be complete by year-end 2015…AVSP has secured final conditional use permits and has completed full environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act…

“MidAmerican Solar's projects also include the 550-megawatt Topaz Solar Farms in San Luis Obispo County, Calif., and a 49 percent ownership interest in the 290-megawatt Agua Caliente solar project in Yuma County, Ariz…SunPower has more than 1,000 megawatts of solar power plants operating worldwide, including the first 130 megawatts of the 250-megawatt California Valley Solar Ranch, which is under construction in San Luis Obispo County, Calif…”

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UTILITY BUYS WIND AT $1.36MIL PER MW Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. Announces Acquisition of 109.5 MW Shady Oaks Wind Power Facility

January 2, 2013 (Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp.)

“Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. ("APUC") (TSX: AQN)…has acquired a 109.5 MW contracted wind powered generating station ("Shady Oaks") from Goldwind International SO Limited ("Goldwind") for total consideration to all stakeholders of approximately US$148.9 million.

“The Shady Oaks wind power facility is located in Northern Illinois…and reached commercial operation in June 2012. Total annual energy production is expected to be 364 GW-hrs per year. The Shady Oaks wind facility has entered into a 20 year inflation indexed power purchase agreement with the largest electric utility in the state of Illinois, Commonwealth Edison (BBB flat stable: Moody's, S&P)…”

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“The facility is comprised of 68 Goldwind GW82 1.5MW and 3 Goldwind GW100 2.5MW permanent magnet direct-drive wind turbines; these turbines are well suited for the wind regime, and offer significant technological advantages providing proven reliability, enhanced energy production efficiency and lower long term maintenance costs.

“Through its affiliate, Goldwind has assumed all operations, maintenance, and capital repair responsibilities for the Shady Oaks wind facility pursuant to a 20 year fixed price agreement…”

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MILITARY ARMS WITH MICROGRIDS Military Microgrids; Stationary Base, Forward Operating Base, and Mobile Smart Grid Networks for Renewables Integration, Demand Response, and Mission-Critical Security

4Q 2012 (Pike Research/Navigant)

“The United States Department of Defense’s (DOD) interest in improving energy security through microgrid technology stems from its heavy reliance upon all forms of fossil fuels, often imported from regions of the world hostile to U.S. interests. Microgrids can shrink the amount of fossil fuels consumed to create electricity by networking generators as a system to maximize efficiency…

“They can also be used to help integrate renewable energy resources (such as wind and solar) at the local distribution grid level. Simultaneously, microgrids enable military bases – both stationary and forward operating bases – to sustain operations, no matter what is happening on the larger utility grid or in the theater of war.”

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“According to the Secretary of Defense, over 40 DOD military bases either have currently operating microgrids, planned microgrids, or have conducted studies or demonstrations of microgrid technologies…

“DOD also has 600 forward operating bases (FOBs) and is investigating the deployment of even smaller mobile, tactical microgrids in Afghanistan and other engagement hot spots. Pike Research forecasts that, in an average scenario, the total capacity of U.S. military microgrids for stationary bases will reach 54.8 megawatts by 2018…”

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