Speaking at the annual Cambridge Energy Research Associates conference in Houston, project director James Stanway indicated he's making at least enough savings to cover overhead for his 30-person staff.
For now, Stanway is buying just for Wal-Mart's Texas store needs while eyeing the potential for expanding the strategy to stores in power grid regions like Louisiana, California and, naturally, Arkansas.
Stanway's traders are buying power in load blocks of 250 to 300 megawatts--enough current to keep the air-conditioning and lights on at more than 200 superstores, depending on the weather (and enough to power 250, 000 homes).