Bizjournals Energy and the Environment

Pattern Energy Group LP bought a 283 megawatt wind project on the Gulf Coast of Texas.

Though its CEO was recently ousted, Aurora Biofuels has raised $15 million in its third round of venture capital financing.

A request by the Cowlitz tribe in Washington state to list the Pacific smelt fish as a “threatened” species under the Endangered Species Act has been agreed to by the government.

The clean energy business grew more than 11 percent in 2009, despite a continued recession, according to the annual Clean Energy Trends Report, released Tuesday by Portland-based research and publishing firm Clean Edge.

The Park People of Milwaukee County, a local nonprofit organization that promotes citizen stewardship of Milwaukee County parks, has appointed Jim Goulee as its new executive director following an executive search process.

A proposal to reduce Xcel Energy Inc.’s coal-fired power generation along Colorado’s Front Range, and replace the use of coal with natural gas or other power sources, has gained the backing of Democrats and Republicans, Gov. Bill Ritter’s administration, environmentalists, the utility and the state’s natural gas industry. (APC)

American Transmission Co. has activated its new 35-mile, $133 million high-voltage electric transmission line in Dane and Rock counties that connects utilities in south-central Wisconsin to regional generation markets in Illinois and other southern states.

Bill Post retired from Pinnacle West Capital Corp. at the end of April last year, but still tallied up more than $5 million in compensation, more than the company’s new Chairman and CEO Donald Brandt. (PNW)

Piedmont Natural Gas Co. Inc. filed Tuesday to reduce its customer billing rates for customers in North Carolina by 4 percent and in South Carolina by 2 percent. (PNY)

New York’s businesses will be able to tap into $100 million in funds to improve the energy efficiency of their manufacturing facilities and data centers.

The state awarded four Austin renewable energy projects $3.3 million in the first round of a $52 million grant program.

Penn Virginia Resource Partners LP’s midstream division said Tuesday it has agreed to build and run natural-gas gathering pipelines and compression facilities servicing a private firm’s properties in the Marcellus Shale formation in Wyoming County, Pa. (PVR)

The markets made modest gains by Tuesday's close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.41 percent, or 43.83 points to 10,685.98 by the closing bell, and the Nasdaq was up 0.67 percent, or 15.80 points to 2,378.01 (AA) (ATI) (AEO) (DKS) (HNZ) (KMT) (KOP) (PNC) (PPG) (X) (WAB) (WCC)

Solar Power Inc. has made a deal with Temescal Canyon RV LLC to build a parking and storage structure for recreational vehicles.

Abraxas Petroleum Corp. has sold off a grouping of non-core assets that generated $11.2 million in net proceeds for the company. (AXAS)

A subsidiary of DPL Inc. is building a 60 kilowatt solar array at the Mound Advanced Technology Center in Miamisburg. (DPL)

Genesis Energy LP has priced a 6.25 million-unit secondary public offering at $20.50 per unit. (GEL)

The mayors of Wauwatosa and Waukesha will hold an open house at the Wauwatosa library March 22 to review a plan to return Lake Michigan water used in Waukesha to the lake via the Underwood Creek.

Agile Energy Inc., a developer of utility-scale renewable power generating projects, said Tuesday it closed a firm round investment.

Xcel Energy Inc. on Monday said electricity bills for its Colorado customers will rise, collectively, about $52.7 million for the second quarter of 2010 to cover higher natural gas costs to fuel power plants and buying more power on the wholesale market. (XEL)