The closing of a plant in Paducah, Ky., could pose a problem for the American nuclear weapons arsenal over time but is not likely to affect civilian nuclear electric plants.    

One half of Hawaii’s controversial 400-megawatt “Big Wind” project — in which large wind farms on Lanai and Molokai would pump electricity to Honolulu via an undersea cable — is still moving forward. Castle & Cooke Inc., which kept the rights to build a wind farm capable of producing up to 200 megawatts of renewable energy when CEO David Murdock sold the majority of the Pineapple Island to Oracle Corp. (Nasdaq: ORCL) CEOLarry Ellison last year has remained mum about its plans until Friday. A…

NuStar Energy LP’s philanthropic arm and The Greehey Family Foundation are donating $350,000 to the American Red Cross to support tornado relief efforts in Oklahoma. The Greehey Family Foundation is contributing $250,000, while the NuStar Foundation is donating $100,000. Bill Greehey is the chairman of the board for NuStar Energy (NYSE: NS) and the benefactor behind the Greehey Family Foundation. “We’re proud to support the American Red Cross and its efforts to provide critical aid to the…

An energy company's plan to drill an exploratory shale-gas well in the bucolic area of Balcombe, England has galvanized residents.    

Xcel Energy will pay $150,000 in penalties for workplace safety violations at one of the utility’s Colorado power plants where five men died in a chemical fire. Five California men died Oct. 2, 2007, at the utility’s Cabin Creek hydroelectric plant near Georgetown, Colo., after a fire broke out inside a drained water tunnel connected to the plant. The men were resealing the tunnel when a flammable solvent they were using to clean an epoxy paint sprayer ignited. Four other men escaped. In June…

U.S. nuclear-power output increased to its highest level in 10 weeks as the South Texas Nuclear Project and other plants returned to production after maintenance closures, according to a Bloomberg analysis of Nuclear Regulatory Commission data. Generation rose 1.9 percent nationwide to 83,841 megawatts on May 17, or 82 percent of the nation’s total capacity. Output was the highest since March 12 and up 0.7 percent from a year ago. The South Texas Project boosted production to full capacity from…

Xcel Energy Inc. will pay $150,000 in penalties for workplace safety violations at the utility’s power plant near Georgetown found by the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration (OSHA) after five men died in a chemical fire at the site six years ago. Five California men died Oct. 2, 2007, at the utility’s Cabin Creek hydroelectric plant after a fire broke out inside a drained water tunnel, known as a penstock, connected to the plant. The men were resealing the penstock when a flammable…

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the debt assumed by San Antonio Water System from the dissolved Bexar Metropolitan Water District. The bond-rating agency increased to “A+” from “A” the ratings for $49.7 million in revenue refunding bonds, series 2006 (senior lien) and $63.2 million in revenue refunding bonds, series 2009 (senior lien). It also upgraded to “A” from “A-” approximately $100 million flexible-rate revolving notes (subordinate lien). In November 2011, 74 percent of BexarMet…

The Valero Energy Foundation — the charitable arm of San Antonio refiner Valero Energy Corp. — has donated $100,000 to the American Red Cross to assist people affected by the tornadoes that ripped through Central Oklahoma. The foundation also will match employees’ Red Cross donations up to $50,000. Valero (NYSE: VLO) operates a refinery in Ardmore, Okla., about 60 miles south of Moore, the city where at least 24 people were killed by a massive twister. The company reported no significant…

Real Goods Solar Inc., which installs solar panels for commercial, residential, and utility customers, has more money to work with. The Louisville-based company (Nasdaq: RSOL) on Friday announced it had raised $9.25 million by issuing 3,366,974 shares of Class A common stock at a per share price of $2.75 and warrants to purchase 1,683,488 shares of Class A common stock, with a term of five years from the closing date and an exercise price of $2.75 per share. The company said it expects to have…

Real Goods Solar Inc., which installs solar panels for commercial, residential, and utility customers, has more money to work with. The Louisville-based company (Nasdaq: RSOL) on Friday announced it had raised $9.25 million by issuing 3,366,974 shares of Class A common stock at a per share price of $2.75 and warrants to purchase 1,683,488 shares of Class A common stock, with a term of five years from the closing date and an exercise price of $2.75 per share. The company said it expects to have…

The Brightwalk at Historic Double Oaks neighborhood redevelopment in Charlotte will benefit from a $400,000 grant recently awarded to the McColl Center for Visual Art. The center won the funding from ArtPlace America for its plans to use Brightwalk for a grant program that mixes the arts, sustainability, education and community service. The $125 million, 98-acre redevelopment near uptown will become home to environmental art installations from the McColl Center that will incorporate themes typically…

Reuters is reporting that, following an investigation opened by the European Union, a Chicago commodities trading firm is suing three major oil companies, alleging they worked together to fix oil prices. Prime International Trading Ltd. filed a class action lawsuit in New York on May 22 against London’s BP Plc (NYSE: BP), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (NYSE: RDS-A) in The Netherlands and Norway’s Statoil ASA. Each of the multinational companies has major operations in Houston. Craig Pirrong, a finance…

More than 88 percent of Fortune 500 companies have adopted written policies prohibiting bias on the basis of sexual orientation, but Exxon Mobil has refused.    

Conventional wisdom would say that natural gas utilities love high gas prices. That’s not the case. This week, I talked to Kim Cocklin, CEO of Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATM), about the shale boom and how the price fluctuations of the past few years have affected his industry, which provides natural gas to 1.8 million customers in North, West and Central Texas. Utilities such as Atmos aren’t allowed to make money off the gas itself, said Cocklin from the top floor of his North Dallas headquarters. “When…

The Texas Railroad Commission could expire and cease to exist if lawmakers don't add it to a sunset safety net bill by Monday. The agency that regulates oil and gas drilling, production and transmission in Texas is known the world over because of the state's rich energy history. But, a proposal to reform the agency and change its name met gridlock in the Texas House of Representatives and eventually died, just like it did in 2011. That bill also would have allowed the agency to continue operating. When…

The Texas Railroad Commission could expire and cease to exist if lawmakers don't add it to a sunset safety net bill by Monday. The agency that regulates oil and gas drilling, production and transmission in Texas is known the world over because of the state's rich energy history. But, a proposal to reform the agency and change its name met gridlock in the Texas House of Representatives and eventually died, just like it did in 2011. That bill also would have allowed the agency to continue operating. When…

Primera Energy LLC’s second well in the Eagle Ford Shale has gone into production at roughly double the expected output. The Screaming Eagle 2H well near the town of Three Rivers this week began producing with a flow rate of 1,150 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The company had predicted a rate of 500 to 700 bpd. “We couldn’t have wished for anything better,” says Patton Zarate, Primera’s corporate attorney. “We had high expectations and this surpassed them.” San Antonio-based…

It’s impossible not to smile when you see Photo Editor Randy Siner’s cover image for the May 24 print edition of Albuquerque Business First. The photo is of NDI New Mexico, our Education category winner in the Nonprofit of the Year awards. In the image, seven people leap into the air at NDI’s revamped Hiland Theater. Randy caught them midflight. The image captured perfectly the spirit of our 24 Nonprofit of the Year honorees. These nonprofits have not let the economic challenges of recent…

Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) spent almost $5.9 billion on capital projects in the 12 months through the end of the first quarter, placing it second on SNL Energy’s latest list of capital expenditures by publicly traded utilities. That was up the $4.4 billion Duke spent in the 12 months ending with the first quarter of 2012, SNL says. NextEra Energy Inc. of Florida led the latest capital-spending list, with a total of $9.3 billion. Both Duke and NextEra participated in an industry trend that saw capital…