Walmart buy boosts green-energy goals
Walmart Inc. will get 60 megawatts of electricity from a recently completed wind farm in Indiana, advancing its goal to reach 100% renewable energy by 2035.
EDP Renewables North America said Wednesday that its 198-megawatt Headwaters II Wind Farm will provide electricity to the Bentonville retailer under a long-term power purchase agreement announced in 2018. Walmart bought another 173 megawatts that year under two other agreements with the wind-energy producer.
Power purchase agreements let customers buy an energy system's electric output for a predetermined period, according to the Department of Energy. Customers get stable and often low-cost electricity with no upfront cost.
"Creating a sustainable future requires bold collective action, which is why Walmart is committed to powering our facilities with 100% renewable energy by 2035 and achieving zero emissions by 2040," said Mark Vanderhelm, Walmart's vice president of energy and facilities management.
Working with EDP Renewables helps Walmart make progress toward those goals, Vanderhelm said.
-- Serenah McKay
Dallas takes top spot for real estate deals
The Dallas area was the country's top market for commercial property investments in the first half of 2021.
Dallas retained the top real estate spot it gained last year during the start of the pandemic, according to a new report by Real Capital Analytics.
Through the first six months of this year, Dallas saw almost $13.4 billion in commercial property deals -- 43% more than in the same period a year ago. Last year, more than $19.7 billion in commercial real estate deals were recorded in the Dallas market.
Sales of dozens of apartment communities and warehouses, plus the $700 million purchase of Uptown Dallas' Crescent complex, all contributed to the huge volume of property investments in the area this year.
The Crescent was ranked as the second-biggest commercial property deal in the country in the first six months of 2021.
Atlanta was second nationally with $11.1 billion in real estate deals. Los Angeles was third with $10.7 billion. Houston was sixth with almost $7 billion in transactions.
-- The Dallas Morning News
Arkansas Index loses 2.89 on a down day
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, closed Thursday at 634.30, down 2.89.
"Equities rose modestly as concerns of a slowing economy spurred rotation by investors from cyclical stocks into growth sectors including information technology and health care," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.