EnviroPolitics
A daily compendium of environmental and
political news and information
EnviroBusiness News….
London firm buying KeySpan
KeySpan, the nation's
fifth-biggest natural gas distributor, yesterday agreed
to be acquired by National Grid, a London-based conglomerate that has been
steadily buying up energy businesses
in New England and the Northeast. The $7.4B deal will create the nation's
third-largest energy-delivery utility in a
sector experiencing a wave of consolidation as the price of energy has
skyrocketed.
Star-Ledger 2/28/06
Chemical contamination study plans announced
for two New York sites
Chemical contamination sites
in Mechanicville and Warrensburg, NY will be studied as a precursor to their
cleanup under state aid announced
by Denise Sheehan, commissioner of the state Department of Environmental
Conservation The city of Mechanicville
will get $410,000 of the $1.7M in available state aid to study environmental
contamination at the Mechanicville Light
Industrial Park. The City of Mechanicville will use the funding to investigate
the Mechanicville Light Industrial Park
located at Industrial Park Road in the City.
The Business Review (Albany) 2/27/06
South Jersey business leaders go easy on Corzine
Governors looking for ways to balance a state budget
often do not make good company for business leaders looking to hold onto their
money but New Jersey's new
governor encounters an optimistic audience as Development Council meets
AC Press 2/27/06
HydroGen powers up production A fuel cell
company that is aiming at producing commercially viable fuel cells
for industrial use is giving new life to a former tool and die manufacturing
facility on the banks of the Youghiogheny
River in the tiny Pennsylvania borough of Versailles.
HydroGen Corp., which uses a patented
technology developed
by the
Westinghouse Electrical Corp., is in the
process of ramping up production for its 400 kilowatt fuel cells and
plans to announce shortly where it will house its first industrial fuel cell
demonstration project. Construction work
on the fuel cell installation is scheduled to begin by April.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/27/06
Rohm and Haas plans $25M makeover
Rohm and Haas Co., the Philadelphia
chemical company that makes
its home on Independence Mall, has decided to spend up to $25M to renovate its
headquarters, ending an internal
debate over whether to sell its building and relocate to more modern facilities.
For the last two years, the company
had gone back and forth over whether to spend millions of dollars to upgrade its
1960s-era building or move into
cheaper yet state-of-the art space in Center City. Part of those deliberations
centered on selling the building amid
a condominium boom under way in the city that has made any existing structure,
especially one with such a highly
desirable address as Independence Mall, a hot commodity.
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/27/06
Chemical company, FMC, announces $150M buyback, 18 cent dividend
The Philadelphia-based
corporation announces that its Board of Directors has approved the initiation of
a quarterly cash dividend and
declared a dividend of $0.18 per share, payable on April 20, 2006, to
shareholders of record as of March 31.
Additionally, the Board authorized the repurchase of up to $150M of the
Company's common stock. Shares
may be purchased through open market or privately negotiated transactions at the
discretion of management
based on its evaluation of market conditions and other factors. Although the
repurchase program does not
include a specific timetable or price targets and may be suspended or terminated
at any time, the Company
expects that the program will be accomplished over the next two years.
FMC 2/24/06
More trouble for
Xanadu builder
Virginia-based Mills Corp. said
the company's 2005 earnings and
funds from operations will be significantly below expectations and that prior
guidance for 2005 should no
longer be relied on. Mills has already restated earnings twice this year Bergen
Record 2/24/06
> Mack-Cali CEO talks soothingly of Xanadu
Star-Ledger
2/24/06
EU regulators OK takeover of Engelhard
BRUSSELS, Belgium — European Union regulators
yesterday approved the proposed hostile takeover of Iselin, NJ-based
Engelhard Corp. by BASF AG,
the world's biggest chemical maker.
Associated Press 2/24/06
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Wolf Block partner leaves for Flaster
Longtime
Wolf Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen litigation
partner
Abbe F. Fletman has joined
Flaster Greenberg's recently expanded Philadelphia office. Fletman
will be a
partner in the Cherry Hill, NJ-based firm's commercial-litigation and
intellectual-property practices.
She
handles commercial disputes involving trademark, copyright and patent matters.
She also handles
contracts,
professional-negligence actions, commercial-lease disputes and
housing-discrimination actions,
among other
areas. Fletman is also active in Democratic politics. She served as local
counsel for the
Kerry-Edwards 2004
presidential campaign and was a member of the transition teams for Philadelphia
Mayor John F. Street and
Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/23/06
Toll earnings still terrific
Toll Brothers Inc.
reports strong fiscal-first-quarter results though it
continues
to warn of a year that won't be as robust as its record-setting fiscal 2005. The
company said net income
rose
49 percent from $110.1M to $163.9M, revenues jumped 35 percent from $990M to
$1.34B and diluted
earnings
per share increased from 66 to 98 cents compared to the same period a year ago.
The company's
quarter ended
Jan. 31. Toll of Horsham, Pa., said that signed contracts dropped by 21
percent to $1.14B
compared with the
same quarter a year earlier when the total was $1.44B. Though a decline, it was
the
second-highest number
of signed contracts for a first quarter in the luxury builder's history.
Philadelphia Business Journal
2/23/06
OSHA proposes $236,000 in penalties for
foundry
The U.S. Labor Department's Occupational
Safety and Health Administration has cited United States Pipe and Foundry and
proposed penalties
totaling $236,000 following an August 2005 "enhanced enforcement" inspection
conducted at the
company's plant in Birmingham, Alabama.
"Despite OSHA's enforcement and outreach efforts,
this company has continued to disregard their basic obligation under the
Occupational Safety and
Health Act," said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA's Birmingham area director. OSHA's
enhanced enforcement
policy focuses on employers who receive "high gravity" citations for violations
at the highest level of
severity. Under the policy, OSHA may conduct inspections at employer worksites
other than the one
where the original high gravity citations were issued and may seek a variety of
remedies including federal
court enforcement of citations.
OSHA
2/22/06
Sterman takes over at Environmental
Facilities Corporation
David Sterman has been
approved as president and CEO of the state
Environmental Facilities Corp.
Sterman, who has
been EFC's executive vice president since 1997. He previously was a deputy
commissioner in
the state
Department of Environmental Conservation. EFC
assists New York communities and
businesses with environmental issues and manages billions of dollars in
low-interest loans and
grants. Sterman, a Glenville resident, succeeds Thomas Kelly. Kelly left to
become general
counsel of the
New York Power Authority.
The Business Review (Albany) 2/22/06
Calgon Carbon puts off financial report
Calgon Carbon Corp. said it was delaying release
of its 2005 financial results because of vendor invoices it said were not
accounted for. The Robinson
Township, PA-based company, which provides carbon used to remove
contaminants
and odors from air and water, said it would put off release of the reports
pending the outcome of an
investigation into about $1.3M in invoices that were not "recorded in a timely
fashion," according to
a news release.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/21/06
Keating takes new Kennametal post
Kennametal Inc. has appointed a new corporate vice
president who will also serve as president for the company's traditional
business division that
encompasses 60 percent of its revenues. Ron Keating, a five-year veteran of the
Latrobe, PA.-based
company and who previously headed the company's Energy Mining and Construction
Solutions Group,
takes over the Metalworking Solutions Services Group on March 1. The energy and
mining group
comprises the section of the company's business that manufactures tools used in
drilling and mining
operations. The more mature metalworking solutions division makes tools used in
shaping, drilling
or cutting other metals.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/21/06
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S.C. cement maker to use nonhazardous solid
waste as fuel at plant Energis LLC, a
South
Carolina cement maker, has begun using nonhazardous solid waste as fuel at its
Holly Hill, S.C., plant.
The waste, which will include plastics, oil absorbents, wood and paint solids,
will supplement the
company's use of fossil fuels to power its cement kiln. The materials must have
heat values of at least
5,000 BTUs, said company president Mario Romero. The program will divert waste
from landfills while
reducing Energis's reliance on fossil fuels. Energis is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Holcim Inc., one of
the world's leading cement suppliers
Waste News
2/21/06
Court omission costs advisory firm $13M
U.S.
Bankruptcy Court Judge Kathryn Ferguson
has stripped a Washington, D.C., insurance recovery firm of $13M in legal fees
because it failed
to disclose conflicts of interest while conducting bankruptcy work for
Mercerville NJ's Congoleum,
reports the New Jersey Law Journal.
NJBIZ
2/20/06
Alcoa names Mitchell to lead closures unit
V. Lance Mitchell has been named president of
Alcoa
Closure Systems International business, a supplier of aluminum and
plastic closures and packaging
equipment for food and beverage makers. Most recently, Mitchell, 46, was group
vice president for
PolyOne Corp., an Ohio- company which makes
industrial-use plastic. Pittsburgh-based Alcoa's
closure unit has 27 locations worldwide, employing about 3,000 people. Its major
markets include
carbonated soft drinks, juice, bottled water, beer and motor oil. 2/20/06
Energy marketer finds NY atmosphere electric
North America's
largest energy service company,
Direct Energy, has finally decided it's time to do business in New York. By
the end of the year, the firm
plans to be selling to residential, commercial and industrial customers
throughout New York.
The Business Review (Albany) 2/20/06
WNY has role in NYC water project
In the early to mid-1900s, our engineering
forefathers did a
yeoman's job in designing a system of reservoirs and dams to meet the water
storage and supply needs
of the growing New York City area. Now, modern engineers are doing their part to
ensure that the complex
system, which pumps an estimated 90 percent of the area's daily demand of 1.4
billion gallons, stays in
top working condition for the next half-century and beyond.
Business First of Buffalo 2/20/06
Land buyers face more EPA rules
Anyone looking to purchase commercial property later
this year
should expect to spend more time and money on environmental studies, thanks to
new federal regulations.
The rules, issued last year by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and set to take effect Nov. 1, tighten
the rules for environmental site assessments. If they follow the EPA rules, land
buyers are insulated from
potential future litigation and government penalties.
Pittsburgh Business Times
2/20/06
Mack-Cali buying Gale Co. for $545M
After a week of
intense negotiations, Mack-Cali Realty
will acquire the Gale Co., the companies announced yesterday. The acquisition
puts Cranford NJ-based
Mack-Cali in an even more dominant position as the top owner of office buildings
in New Jersey, and also
will give it Gale's lucrative building-management division.
Star-Ledger
2/17/06
NJ-DEP Compliance Advisory: Mandatory
removal of mercury switches from end-of-life vehicles
NJ-DEP 2/16/2006
Toll gives Fla. division the Toll name
Toll Brothers Inc. said Thursday that is has officially changed
the name of its
Landstar Homes division in central Florida to Toll Brothers, completing
Landstar's transition
into Toll Brothers. The Horsham, Pa., luxury homebuilder bought Landstar Homes
last July, marking the first
time that Toll Brothers (NYSE:TOL) entered the central Florida market. Landstar
was established in 1978
and focuses on the Orlando area. Since the transition started, Toll Brothers has
expanded its central Florida
office to more than 120 employees and plans to move its central Florida
operations this summer into a new
35,000-square-foot headquarters
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/16/06
PDG Environmental gets $3M in contracts
Cleanup contractor
PDG Environmental said it won
several contracts worth a total of $3M for asbestos removal in four states,
including an industrial plant
in Louisiana. The sites were not identified in a release from Pittsburgh-based
PDG (OTCBB:PDGE).
The Louisiana contract is worth $1M; the other deals are a $1.5M contract for a
hospital and power
plant in Oregon, $1M for an industrial plant in Tennessee and $500,000 for a
church in Florida.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/16/06
NY State offers $20M for clean full mass
transit
The New York State DOT has $20M to
pay for
clean fuel hybrid-electric or compressed natural gas fueled buses available to
non-New York City transit
agencies. The money is part of the $2.9B Rebuild and Renew New York
Transportation Bond Act approved
by voters on Nov. 8
The Business Review (Albany)
2/16/06
EPA honors landfill
methane partners
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA),
Washington,
Landfill Methane Outreach Program has awarded it latest round of
partner and project
of the year awards.
The awards recognize “excellence in reducing landfill
methane emissions and
creating renewable energy.”
EPA 2/16/06
Engineering firm to join Canadian consulting firm
Dufresne-Henry, a Vermont
engineering and
planning firm with an office in Saratoga Springs, NY announced Wednesday
it intends to join Stantec,
an international design and consulting firm based in Edmonton, Canada. Stantec
(NYSE: SXC) offers
the same core services as Dufresne-Henry, including engineering, planning,
landscape architecture
and environmental science. Stantec, however, also offers clients expertise in
architecture, interior design,
facilities planning and operations, manufacturing and industrial services,
bio/pharmaceuticals, energy
and resources services
The Business Review (Albany) 2/15/06
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business or organization news to:
envirobusinessnews@enviropolitics.com
Mack-Cali negotiating to buy entire Gale Co.
Mack-Cali
Realty is closing in on a $530M deal
to acquire the Gale Co. in a move that would further solidify the Cranford,
NJ-based real-estate empire
as the leading owner of office space in the state, three real estate executives
with direct knowledge of
the negotiations said yesterday
Star-Ledger 2/15/06
New Jersey makes, the world takes
Exports of New Jersey goods increased by 9.8 percent
to a
record $21B in 2005. Canada remained the top recipient of New Jersey goods,
followed by the United
Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Mexico, according to federal data analyzed by the
World Institute for
Strategic Economic Research. The value of goods imported into New York ports
also increased, rising
7.5 percent to $246 billion, the organization said. Most of those goods come
into ports in Newark, Jersey
City and Elizabeth. Canada was the largest importer. China was second with a 24
percent hike in exports
to New Jersey - the biggest increase of any country in the top 20 importers.
After China, the next biggest
importers were Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.
Bergen Record 2/15/06
Duquesne Light earnings up on sale of energy unit
Duquesne Light Holdings Inc. said earnings
rose for 2005, helped by the sale of its
Energy Solutions unit. The Pittsburgh-based utility (NYSE:DQE)
said 2005 income from continuing operations was $112.9M, or $1.45 per diluted
share, compared to
$87.2M, or $1.14 per share, for 2004.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/14/06
BASF deal could mean higher price
German chemical giant
BASF could prevail it its bid to acquire
NJ-based Engelhard, analysts said, but the deal will likely come at a higher
price.
Star-Ledger 2/14/06
GE looks to local companies to supply dredging
related services
General Electric Co.
said its unprecedented dredging of PCB-laden silt in the upper Hudson River will
create the need
for a wide array of goods and services that it wants local businesses to meet.
The company has
created what it is calling an online "marketplace" --
www.hudsonworks.net -- to give
businesses
information about the project. The Web site will also allow companies to supply
GE information
about their businesses. GE said it can see a need for a wide array of services
and products as
the dredging unfolds, including plumbing, heating, trash and snow removal,
gravel, welding supplies
and rail and marine facilities.
The Business Review (Albany) 2/13/06
Competition pushes starting-lawyer salaries
up in Philadelphia
Duane Morris
and
Wolf Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen
and
are
the first large Philadelphia law firms to match competitor
Drinker Biddle & Reath in raising first-year associate salaries this year to
$125,000 from $115,000.
Wolf Block said it would also report double-digit increases in key financial
indicators, including profits
per equity partner, for fiscal year 2005, which ended for Wolf Block on Jan. 31.
Morgan Lewis & Bockius and
Dechert, the most profitable Philadelphia-based large firms, have listed
their starting salaries at $125,000 for the past two years, while the rest of
the city's large-firm community
was listed at $115,000. But Drinker Biddle announced earlier this year that it
would increase to $125,000,
causing the city's other large firms to make a decision about matching. While
Wolf Block's more senior
associates will all receive raises, Alderman said they will not all experience a
$10,000 jump as the firm
does not have a lock-step pay system. Alderman said the firm plans to pay for
the raises with its usual
annual billing rate increases, an increase in hours its lawyers bill and an
expected increase in profits
for 2006.
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/13/06
Coal shipments firing up revenue increases for railroad
CSX Corp. is in the black, and
not just financially. That's because the company's record-setting fourth quarter
revenues, $2.2B, and
profits, $237M, were fueled in large part by coal. While aggressive pricing and
fuel surcharges helped
boost revenue across all CSX segments, only coal recorded higher volume in the
fourth quarter of 2005
than in the same quarter of 2004, 450,000 carloads to 436,000 carloads. And coal
led all segments in
year-over-year revenue growth at 14.5 percent, or $521M to $455M when adjusting
for the prior fourth
quarter having an extra week. The coal transportation market could be strong for
many quarters to come.
The
Energy Information Administration, the analytical arm of the
Department of Energy, projects coal
consumption will reach 1.8 billion short tons by 2030, up from 1.1 billion short
tons in 2004, or 61.6 percent.
A short ton equals 2,000 pounds.
Business Journal of Jacksonville 2/13/06
CEO touts energy company's future
David Crane,
president and chief executive officer of
NRG Energy, said the West Windsor, NJ company's acquisition of Texas
Genco earlier this month
for $5.8 billion will take it from anonymous to famous. He said NRG is a
wholesale power company --
generating 25,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for 20 million homes -- whose
name doesn't
appear on anyone's utility bill.
Trenton Times 2/10/06
Outages pull plug on Allegheny Energy
Allegheny Energy Inc. said power plant outages
and higher wholesale energy costs caused fourth-quarter earnings to slide. For
the three months
ended Dec. 31, Greensburg, PA.-based Allegheny (NYSE:AYE) said net income
fell to $3.1M,
or 2 cents per diluted share, from $72.4M, or 48 cents a share, a year ago.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/10/06
Lawyer leaving firm to lead bank
George Matteo Jr., a partner in the Cherry
Hill, N.J.,
law office of
Wolf Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen, has left the firm to be president and CEO
of
South Jersey's
Cornerstone Bank,
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/10/06
4Q profits rise for Energy East
Energy East Corp. reported an
increase in net income for the
fourth quarter and all of 2005, but fell short of analyst estimates. The energy
services company,
which has dual headquarters in Albany, N.Y., and Portland, Maine, had net
income for the fourth
quarter of $63.8 million, or 43 cents a diluted share. Analysts had predicted
earnings of 51 cents
a share.
In the fourth quarter of 2004, net income was
$54.7 million, or 37 cents a diluted share.
Revenue also increased to $1.48 billion from $1.27 billion.
The Business Review (Albany)
2/10/06
Environmentally friendly cars to stop over
in Saratoga
The 18th annual Tour del Sol, which
highlights new, high-mileage and zero carbon emission vehicles, will pull into
the Saratoga Spa
State Park May 10 through May 14
The Business Review (Albany) 2/10/06
Exelon-PSEG deal likely to close later in year
With the
planned acquisition of Public
Service Enterprise Group by Exelon facing additional and tougher regulatory
scrutiny, the two
companies yesterday said they expect to close the deal in the third quarter of
this year,
rather than the second quarter.
Star-Ledger 2/9/06
AK Steel announces second price hike
AK Steel Holding Corp. said Wednesday that it will
raise prices on its hot-rolled stainless steel sheet, strip, tubular-quality and
continuous mill plate
products by about 6 percent, effective with Feb. 19 shipments.
The
steel maker said higher
manufacturing, energy and transportation costs were the primary reasons for the
increase.
AK Steel will also use the price hike to support its capital investments. The
price jump follows a
Feb. 7 announcement that the company is boosting the price of zinc coatings by
70 percent as
of April 1. That increase affects the company's galvanized steel products.
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/8/06
Pfizer may sell Morris-based business
Pfizer said yesterday
it may sell its Morris County,
NJ-based consumer products business that markets some of the biggest
over-the-counter brands,
including Listerine mouthwash, Visine eye drops and Sudafed decongestant
Star-Ledger 2/8/06
Daily Record
2/8/06
Toll tweaks forecast downward again
Toll Brothers Inc. said Tuesday that selling houses
during its fiscal first quarter was more "difficult" than a year ago and lowered
its sales forecast
for fiscal 2006. The company now believes it will deliver between 9,200 and
9,900 homes. That
compares to 8,769 deliveries in its last fiscal year. Its previous forecast for
this fiscal year was
9,500 to 10,200 home deliveries. It was the second time since November that the
Horsham, PA.,
residential developer reduced its forecast for this fiscal year and could be
another indicator that
the nation's housing market is losing steam after being red hot the last five
years.
Philadelphia Business Journal
2/7/05
Star-Ledger
2/8/06
Koppers closes IPO
Koppers Holdings Inc. said it closed its initial public offering after
having
sold 11.5M shares, including 8.7M from the company. The other 2.8 million were
offered by
shareholders. Koppers (NYSE:KOP), a Pittsburgh-based maker of carbon compounds
and treated
wood products that increase the durability and decay resistance of rubber,
steel and aluminum,
priced its IPO at $14 a share.
Pittsburgh Business Times
2/7/06
SWEP announces environmental grants program
The
Society of Women Environmental
Professionals (SWEP) of Greater Philadelphia announces an environmental Grant
Program to help
fund organizations or programs that creatively address a locally defined need to
create, enhance,
restore, or protect the natural environment or to provide environmental
awareness through educational
sessions. For 2006, the available funds are between $1,000 and $2,000, depending
on project needs.
Grant applications will be accepted between January 15 and March 15.
Awards will be
announced
during National Environmental Education Week (April 16 – April 22,
2006). More here
2/7/06
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N.J. Resources leaps past estimates
The energy company
reports higher fiscal-first- quarter
earnings, propelled by its wholesale energy business, which more than doubled
its profit from the
previous quarter a year ago. The Wall Township, NJ-based company said
earnings for the three
months ended Dec. 31 increased to $34.3M, or $1.24 per share, a 14 percent
increase from the
$30.2M, or $1.09 per share, it made in the first quarter in 2005.
Star-Ledger 2/7/06
Phila.-based firm had a very good year
Sunoco denies that its South Philadelphia refinery leaked
the oily mess that the feds are suing over, but if the Philadelphia-based firm
must pay for the cleanup,
it shouldn't have any trouble coming up with the scratch
Daily News
Star-Ledger 2/7/06
Westinghouse sold to Toshiba for $5.4B
British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. on Monday finalized a deal
to sell
Westinghouse Electric Co. to
Toshiba Corp. for $5.4 billion.
Toshiba, of Japan, will hold a 51
percent stake in Westinghouse, which was founded in 1886 in Pittsburgh by George
Westinghouse.
The companies expect the transaction, which still needs approval from federal
regulators, to be
completed in six months. Toshiba outbid
General Electric Co. and
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.
Westinghouse was put up for sale last year by
BNFL, which acquired it from
CBS Corp.
in 1996 for about $1.2 billion
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/6/03
Saratoga chamber president named chairman of
statewide group
Peter
Aust, president and CEO
of The Chamber of Southern Saratoga County, has been elected the 2006 chairman
of the board for the
Chamber Alliance of New York State. The association consists of 90 statewide
chambers whose mission
is to enhance the effectiveness of chambers in legislative issues, share
knowledge and experience among
chambers and provide advocacy and support to chamber executives throughout New
York State. Aust has
been active with association since 2000 and was elected to the board of
directors in 2002. 2/6/06
Coal makes a comeback as manufacturers
consider building power plant
U.S. Steel Corp.
is leading a consortium of manufacturers interested in constructing a coal
gasification plant, possibly
in the Mon Valley.
Such a plant would convert the region's substantial
coal reserves into a cheaper,
cleaner form of natural gas. "There is a lot of interest in exploring whether
this would this work for
manufacturers in southwestern Pennsylvania," said U.S. Steel's director of
government affairs, Chris
Masciantonio. "So far, the indication is that it will." Masciantonio said the
company plans to announce
more details as early as next month and disclose which local companies it will
work with on the concept.
Whether U.S. Steel and its partner companies would build the power plant or
simply sign on as customers
hasn't been determined
Pittsburgh Business Times 2/6/06
Anti-windpower groups to meet Feb. 6
An ad
hoc coalition of anti-windpower groups from
around New York will meet in Albany, N.Y., Monday, Feb. 6, to lobby against New
York's indirect
underwriting of wind farms. Calling the event "The Albany Tea Party," the
anti-wind groups, who
mainly hail from rural areas near wind farms, will push legislators to rein in
commercial wind power
projects and take control of the state's energy policy, said
Ruth
Matilsky, one
of the organizers.
The Business Review (Albany) 2/3/06
Engelhard reaping profit from sales growth
As the threat
of a hostile takeover looms, the
Iselin, NJ-based chemical company yesterday reported solid quarterly
earnings. Engelhard said
fourth-quarter earnings rose 10 percent, to $63.9 million, or 53 cents a share,
compared with
$58.1M or 47 cents a share a year ago.
Star-Ledger 2/3/06
Upgrades help boost PSEG earnings
Public Service Enterprise Group yesterday posted
$205M
million in fourth quarter earnings, more than double the same quarter a year
ago, primarily due to
improved performance of its nuclear power plants. The Newark-based company
credited an agreement
with Exelon for turning around the operations at the five nuclear plants, which
operated at 93 percent
of capacity in the quarter compared with only 64 percent the prior year
Star-Ledger 2/3/06
Rohm reports 2005 figures
Rohm and Haas Co. said Thursday that 2005 was a record year
for sales and earnings despite challenges from rising raw-material costs. The
Philadelphia specialty
chemical company also projected a 2006 sales increase of 3 percent to 5 percent
to more than $8B.
Earnings came in at $638M, or $2.86 a share, up
29 percent from $496M, or $2.21 per share, in 2004.
Sales were up 10 percent on the year to $7.9B. Higher selling prices accounted
for most of that gain,
though the company said demand in two areas -- electronic materials and various
salts -- helped push
revenue. Cash from operations for full-year 2005 was about $1B.
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/3/06
RCM recruited for Canadian nuclear plant
RCM Technologies Inc., an information-technology
company, is based in Pennsauken, NJ, says that a joint venture involving
its Canadian subsidiary has
been awarded a $62.3Mn contract to help restart two nuclear-generating units.
RCM Technologies Canada Corp. and
E.S. Fox Ltd. of Niagara Falls, Ontario, were awarded the contract
by
Bruce Power A LP of Tiverton, Ontario, which is restarting units one and two
at Bruce Nuclear Generating
Station A in Tiverton .The companies will provide engineering analysis and
design and field modifications
to ensure components in the generating units that are critical to safety will
function properly in the event
of adverse environmental conditions.
Philadelphia Business Journal 2/2/06
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