Constellation Energy
Encyclopedia
Constellation Energy, headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, is an energy producer, trader, and distributor. The company operates over 35 power plants in 11 states (mainly Maryland, Pennsylvania
, New York
, West Virginia
, and California
) under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group. Constellation Energy is a Fortune 500
company and is one of the top electricity producers in the United States.
In April 2011, Exelon
announced an intention to purchase Constellation Energy.
Constellation NewEnergy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation Energy, is a leading competitive supplier of electricity, natural gas
, and energy-related services to commercial, industrial, and institutional customers throughout North America. Constellation NewEnergy serves more than 19,000 customers throughout 31 states and three Canadian provinces, representing nearly 14,000 megawatts of peak load and more than 354 Gcuft of annual natural gas consumption.
Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy intensive industries and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of 83 generating units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 9,000 megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in central Maryland.
company and employs almost 10,000 people. It was named "2004 Energy Company of the Year" in the Platts Global Energy Awards, and was chosen by its peers as the best in the energy industry when it was awarded Most Admired Energy Company of 2004.
to market the European Pressurized Reactor
(EPR) in the USA. Constellation Energy had withdrawn its Lusby, Maryland
, and Oswego, New York
, sites from the NuStart consortium finalist list. However, both sites desire new nuclear units (see Nuclear Power 2010 Program
).
On December 19, 2005, FPL Group, Inc.
(owner of Florida Power and Light) announced the acquisition of Constellation Energy in a merger transaction valued at more than US$11 billion as well as the fact that it would adopt "Constellation Energy" as its name for the post-merger entity. The merger was canceled on 25 October 2006.
On July 1, 2008, Constellation Energy bought uranium
trading firm Nufcor International from AngloGold Ashanti
and FirstRand International.
Pursuant to a 2007 agreement, French power company EDF
is permitted to purchase up to 9.9% of Constellation Energy's stock. As of 2008, EDF owned 9.5% of the stock.
After Constellation Energy was reported to have exposure to Lehman Brothers
following that company's bankruptcy filing
Constellation's stock went down 56% in the first day of trading having started at $67.87. The massive drop in stocks led to the New York Stock Exchange
halting trade of Constellation. The next day, as the stock plummeted as low as $13 a share, the company announced it was hiring Morgan Stanley
and UBS to advise it on "strategic alternatives" suggesting a buyout. While French power company Electricite de France
, who already owned 9.5% of Constellation's shares, bid for the company, Constellation ultimately agreed to a buyout by MidAmerican Energy
, part of billionaire Warren Buffett
's Berkshire Hathaway
company. On December 17, 2008, Constellation Energy has canceled its merger with Berkshire Hathaway, instead opting to sell its nuclear energy assets to EDF.
Recently in April 2010, Constellation Energy has closed its agreement with Clipper Windpower
to acquire the Criterion Wind Project
in Garrett County, Maryland
, and to purchase 28 Clipper Liberty 2.5MW wind turbines for the project. Construction of the project was completed in December 2010.
On April 28, 2011 Exelon
announced an intention to purchase Constellation Energy.
, chlorine
, nickel
compounds, and hydrochloric acid
.
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
, and California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
) under its operating company Constellation Commodities Group and/or Constellation Generation Group. Constellation Energy is a Fortune 500
Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company and is one of the top electricity producers in the United States.
In April 2011, Exelon
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an electricity generating and distributing company headquartered in the Chase Tower in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago. It was created in October, 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison...
announced an intention to purchase Constellation Energy.
Services
Constellation Energy, a Fortune 500 company with 2007 revenues of $21 billion, is the nation's largest competitive supplier of electricity to large commercial and industrial customers and the nation's largest wholesale power seller.Constellation NewEnergy, a wholly owned subsidiary of Constellation Energy, is a leading competitive supplier of electricity, natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
, and energy-related services to commercial, industrial, and institutional customers throughout North America. Constellation NewEnergy serves more than 19,000 customers throughout 31 states and three Canadian provinces, representing nearly 14,000 megawatts of peak load and more than 354 Gcuft of annual natural gas consumption.
Constellation Energy also manages fuels and energy services on behalf of energy intensive industries and utilities. It owns a diversified fleet of 83 generating units located throughout the United States, totaling approximately 9,000 megawatts of generating capacity. The company delivers electricity and natural gas through the Baltimore Gas and Electric Company (BGE), its regulated utility in central Maryland.
Awards
Constellation Energy is a Fortune 500Fortune 500
The Fortune 500 is an annual list compiled and published by Fortune magazine that ranks the top 500 U.S. closely held and public corporations as ranked by their gross revenue after adjustments made by Fortune to exclude the impact of excise taxes companies collect. The list includes publicly and...
company and employs almost 10,000 people. It was named "2004 Energy Company of the Year" in the Platts Global Energy Awards, and was chosen by its peers as the best in the energy industry when it was awarded Most Admired Energy Company of 2004.
Joint ventures and acquisitions
On September 15, 2005, Constellation Energy announced a new joint venture, UniStar Nuclear, with ArevaAreva
AREVA is a French public multinational industrial conglomerate headquartered in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie, Paris. AREVA is mainly known for nuclear power; it also has interests in other energy projects. It was created on 3 September 2001, by the merger of Framatome , Cogema and...
to market the European Pressurized Reactor
European Pressurized Reactor
The EPR is a third generation pressurized water reactor design. It has been designed and developed mainly by Framatome , Electricité de France in France, and Siemens AG in Germany...
(EPR) in the USA. Constellation Energy had withdrawn its Lusby, Maryland
Lusby, Maryland
Lusby is a place in Calvert County, Maryland, United States. The population was officially 1,666 at the 2000 census, although residents of the Chesapeake Ranch Estates-Drum Point community also use the Lusby zip code designation, making Lusby in fact a much larger community...
, and Oswego, New York
Oswego, New York
Oswego is a city in Oswego County, New York, United States. The population was 18,142 at the 2010 census. Oswego is located on Lake Ontario in north-central New York and promotes itself as "The Port City of Central New York"...
, sites from the NuStart consortium finalist list. However, both sites desire new nuclear units (see Nuclear Power 2010 Program
Nuclear Power 2010 Program
The "Nuclear Power 2010 Program" was unveiled by the U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham on February 14, 2002 as one means towards addressing the expected need for new power plants...
).
On December 19, 2005, FPL Group, Inc.
Florida Power & Light
Florida Power & Light Company, the principal subsidiary of NextEra Energy Inc. , commonly referred to by its initials, FPL, is a Juno Beach, Florida-based power utility which serves roughly 4.4 million customers in Florida. FPL Group holds power generation assets in more than 20 U.S...
(owner of Florida Power and Light) announced the acquisition of Constellation Energy in a merger transaction valued at more than US$11 billion as well as the fact that it would adopt "Constellation Energy" as its name for the post-merger entity. The merger was canceled on 25 October 2006.
On July 1, 2008, Constellation Energy bought uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
trading firm Nufcor International from AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti
AngloGold Ashanti Limited is a global gold mining company. It was formed in 2004 by the merger of AngloGold and the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation.AngloGold Ashanti Limited is now a global gold producer with 21 operations on four continents...
and FirstRand International.
Pursuant to a 2007 agreement, French power company EDF
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
is permitted to purchase up to 9.9% of Constellation Energy's stock. As of 2008, EDF owned 9.5% of the stock.
Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. was a global financial services firm. Before declaring bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth largest investment bank in the USA , doing business in investment banking, equity and fixed-income sales and trading Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (former NYSE ticker...
following that company's bankruptcy filing
Bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers
Lehman Brothers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on September 15, 2008. The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers remains the largest bankruptcy filing in U.S...
Constellation's stock went down 56% in the first day of trading having started at $67.87. The massive drop in stocks led to the New York Stock Exchange
New York Stock Exchange
The New York Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located at 11 Wall Street in Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA. It is by far the world's largest stock exchange by market capitalization of its listed companies at 13.39 trillion as of Dec 2010...
halting trade of Constellation. The next day, as the stock plummeted as low as $13 a share, the company announced it was hiring Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley is a global financial services firm headquartered in New York City serving a diversified group of corporations, governments, financial institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley also operates in 36 countries around the world, with over 600 offices and a workforce of over 60,000....
and UBS to advise it on "strategic alternatives" suggesting a buyout. While French power company Electricite de France
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
, who already owned 9.5% of Constellation's shares, bid for the company, Constellation ultimately agreed to a buyout by MidAmerican Energy
MidAmerican Energy
MidAmerican Energy may refer to one of the following:*MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, a holding company controlled by Berkshire Hathaway*MidAmerican Energy Company, an energy company and subsidiary of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company...
, part of billionaire Warren Buffett
Warren Buffett
Warren Edward Buffett is an American business magnate, investor, and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as one of the most successful investors in the world. Often introduced as "legendary investor, Warren Buffett", he is the primary shareholder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway. He is...
's Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway
Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, that oversees and manages a number of subsidiary companies. The company averaged an annual growth in book value of 20.3% to its shareholders for the last 44 years,...
company. On December 17, 2008, Constellation Energy has canceled its merger with Berkshire Hathaway, instead opting to sell its nuclear energy assets to EDF.
Recently in April 2010, Constellation Energy has closed its agreement with Clipper Windpower
Clipper Windpower
Clipper Windpower is a wind turbine manufacturing company formed in 2001 by James G.P. Dehlsen, who also formed Zond in 1980. In December 2010 Clipper Windpower was acquired by United Technologies Corporation.-History:...
to acquire the Criterion Wind Project
Criterion Wind Project
The Criterion Wind Project is a wind farm located on Backbone Mountain east of Oakland, Maryland, United States. The project has a rated capacity of 70 MW and uses 28 Liberty Wind Turbines manufactured by Clipper Windpower. Each of the wind turbines is about 415 feet tall...
in Garrett County, Maryland
Garrett County, Maryland
Garrett County is the westernmost county of the U.S. state of Maryland. Created from Allegany County, Maryland in 1872 it was the last Maryland county to be formed. It was named for John Work Garrett , railroad executive, industrialist, and financier. Garrett served as president of the Baltimore...
, and to purchase 28 Clipper Liberty 2.5MW wind turbines for the project. Construction of the project was completed in December 2010.
On April 28, 2011 Exelon
Exelon
Exelon Corporation is an electricity generating and distributing company headquartered in the Chase Tower in the Chicago Loop area of Chicago. It was created in October, 2000 by the merger of PECO Energy Company and Unicom, of Philadelphia and Chicago respectively. Unicom owned Commonwealth Edison...
announced an intention to purchase Constellation Energy.
Environmental record
The Political Economy Research Institute ranks Constellation Energy 33rd among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States. The ranking is based on the quantity (16 million pounds in 2005) and toxicity of the emissions. Major pollutants indicated by the study include sulfuric acidSulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid is a strong mineral acid with the molecular formula . Its historical name is oil of vitriol. Pure sulfuric acid is a highly corrosive, colorless, viscous liquid. The salts of sulfuric acid are called sulfates...
, chlorine
Chlorine
Chlorine is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is the second lightest halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17. The element forms diatomic molecules under standard conditions, called dichlorine...
, nickel
Nickel
Nickel is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Ni and atomic number 28. It is a silvery-white lustrous metal with a slight golden tinge. Nickel belongs to the transition metals and is hard and ductile...
compounds, and hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid
Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, that is a highly corrosive, strong mineral acid with many industrial uses. It is found naturally in gastric acid....
.
See also
- Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Generating Station
- Conemaugh Generating StationConemaugh Generating StationThe Conemaugh Generating Station is a 1,711 MW baseload coal-powered plant located on , across the Conemaugh River from New Florence in Western Pennsylvania.The station generates enough electricity to light 17 million 100-watt bulbs...
- Ginna Nuclear Generating StationGinna Nuclear Generating StationThe Robert Emmett Ginna Nuclear Power Plant, commonly known as Ginna , is a nuclear power plant located on the southern shore of Lake Ontario, in the town of Ontario, Wayne County, New York, approximately east of Rochester, New York. It is a single unit Westinghouse 2-Loop pressurized water...
- Keystone Generating Station
- Nine Mile Point Nuclear Generating StationNine Mile Point Nuclear Generating StationNine Mile Point Nuclear Station is a two-unit nuclear power plant located in the Town of Scriba, approximately five miles northeast of Oswego, New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario. The 900 acre site is also occupied by the Fitzpatrick Nuclear Generating Station.Nine Mile Point is operated...
- Safe Harbor DamSafe Harbor DamThe Safe Harbor Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the lower Susquehanna River with an associated hydroelectric power station. It is the most northerly and last of three Great Depression-era public electrification projects' hydroelectric dams and was constructed between 1 April 1930 and 7 December...