Utility reaches deal to buy wind energy
Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corp. has agreed to purchase 108 megawatts of wind energy from an Oklahoma wind farm, the cooperative said Tuesday.
The utility will buy the wind energy from Drift Sand Wind Farm, which is about 60 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. The farm is scheduled to be in service beginning Dec. 31, 2016. The cooperative will be the only recipient of wind energy from the farm, said Duane Highley, Arkansas Electric's chief executive officer.
This is the third wind-power purchase agreement Arkansas Electric has reached since 2012. One of the wind facilities is in Kansas, and the other is in Oklahoma.
When Drift Sand Wind Farm begins operation, Arkansas Electric will have access to more than 309 megawatts of wind energy. Arkansas Electric's 17 electricity-distribution cooperatives have more than 500,000 customers in Arkansas and surrounding states.
-- David Smith
Tyson exec makes $1.4M in stock sales
Noel White, president of Tyson Foods' poultry division, has made about $1.4 million on stock transactions since March 13, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
White exercised stock options on 51,933 Tyson shares, acquiring them for about $730,000 in four transactions. He sold 50,680 shares Friday for about $2.1 million, an average price of $42.16 a share.
White still owns 58,379 shares after the transactions, according to the filing.
In September 2013, White sold 75,000 shares of his Tyson stock for about $2.3 million. He was named poultry division president in November 2013 and earned $6.2 million in compensation last year.
Worth Sparkman, a Tyson spokesman, said in an email Tuesday that the company does not comment on personal transactions. Tyson stock ended Tuesday trading at $42.96, up 77 cents per share.
-- Robbie Neiswanger
Index sheds 0.72; Wal-Mart drops 4%
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, fell 0.72 to 381.18 Tuesday.
"The major averages were little changed as investors focused on reports of strong residential construction in the U.S. along with earnings results from the retail sector," said Bob Williams, senior vice president and managing director of Simmons First Investment Group Inc. in Little Rock.
Tyson Foods gained 1.8 percent. Bank of the Ozarks rose 1.6 percent, Williams said. The company set a 52-week high during the session.
Wal-Mart fell more than 4 percent on the heaviest volume of the year after a disappointing earnings report, Williams said.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 05/20/2015