2024-08-29 21:19

WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai on Thursday gave a strong endorsement to Canada's decision to impose a 100% tariff on Chinese-made electric vehicles and 25% on Chinese steel and aluminum as she finalizes U.S. duties planned at similar rates. In a statement issued by her office, Tai applauded Canada's decision to take strong action against China's "state-directed, unfair, and anti-competitive non-market policies and practices, which threaten the existence of our market-oriented industries." She said this was an important step to ensure that Canada's workers and companies could compete fairly in the electric vehicle, steel and aluminum industries. "We share Canada's concerns over the PRC's unfair, non-market policies and practices and its failure to uphold labor rights, enforce environmental protections, and promote fair, market-oriented competition," Tai said, using the acronym for the People's Republic of China. Canada announced on Tuesday that it will impose the tariffs starting on Oct. 1, including on EVs made in China by U.S.-based Tesla (TSLA.O) , opens new tab, to counter what Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called China's intentional, state-directed policies that have created excess production capacity in these industries. The move comes as the U.S. trade representative is expected to announce final implementation plans by the end of August for tariffs on $18 billion worth of Chinese imports, including duties of 100% on EVs, 50% on semiconductors and solar cells, and 25% on lithium-ion batteries. Many U.S. companies have asked for the duties to be eased, and exclusions expanded, but a U.S. official told Reuters in Beijing that the expectation was for the Biden-Harris administration to follow through with well-communicated intentions on the tariffs. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/us-trade-chief-tai-lauds-canadas-steep-new-tariffs-chinese-ev-metals-2024-08-29/

2024-08-29 20:54

NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) - The Public Utility Commission of Texas selected 17 projects, seeking $5.38 billion in government funding, to advance in a new program aimed at spurring the development of gas-fired power plants, the regulators said on Thursday. The Lone Star State, whose power grid has been plagued with bouts of prolonged blackouts, established the Texas Energy Fund last year to incentivize the build-out of natural gas electricity generation by offering low-interest loans. NRG Energy (NRG.N) , opens new tab, Vistra (VST.N) , opens new tab, Constellation (CEG.O) , opens new tab, NextEra (NEE.N) , opens new tab and GE Vernova (GEV.N) , opens new tab are among the applicants. The selected projects, totaling nearly 10,000 megawatts in power generation capacity, will advance to the next stage of the fund's application review process, the Texas PUC said. Approved applicants are expected to receive initial loan payments by Dec. 31, 2025. The PUC received 72 applications for the loan program, with requests adding up to about $24 billion in funding for projects totaling more than 38,000 megawatts, the PUC said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/texas-narrows-gas-plant-projects-vying-54-billion-funding-2024-08-29/

2024-08-29 20:43

Trump would repeal Biden rules on coal, gas power plants Trump would scrap Biden rules on tailpipe emissions Harris campaign says Trump proposals would raise prices Harris campaign says Trump proposals would pollute air, water WASHINGTON, Aug 29 (Reuters) - Donald Trump would rescind many of President Joe Biden's clean energy rules while also speeding approvals of power plants to meet the nation's rising electricity demands, the Republican's presidential campaign said on Thursday. Should he win the Nov. 5 election, Trump would axe clean energy regulations of Biden and his opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, a Democrat, on both power plants and on emissions from vehicles. Those rules are aimed at slashing carbon emissions from the power industry while also pushing the auto industry to transition to electric cars to cut tailpipe pollution. The former president "will immediately stop all Biden-Harris policies that distort energy markets, limit consumer choice and drive up the costs on consumers on day one," David Bernhardt, Trump's former Interior Department secretary, told reporters in a call organized by the campaign. Bernhardt said Trump would also implement rapid approvals for energy projects and "greenlight the construction of hundreds of new power plants," without detailing how those plants would be fueled. He added that Trump would remove the United States from the Paris agreement on fighting climate change as he did during his 2017-2021 term in the White House. The policy proposals were in line with past statements, and hewed closely to Trump's efforts during his presidency to encourage industrial and fossil fuel projects and cut regulations. In response, James Singer, a Harris campaign spokesperson, said Trump wants to sell out America's energy future to Big Oil executives and that under Biden and Harris, "American energy of all kinds has hit record production levels, resulting in hundreds of thousands of new jobs for American workers because of her leadership." "Trump's proposals would raise prices on consumers, pollute our air and water, and take us backwards," Singer said. During Biden's presidency, U.S. oil and gas production hit the highest levels of any country ever, despite his administration's broader efforts to transition to cleaner energy. Congress passed in 2022 Biden's Inflation Reduction Act, which contains hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies for clean energy such as wind, solar, hydrogen, geothermal projects. No Republicans voted for the IRA, and some in the party have introduced legislation to repeal parts of the bill. When asked whether Trump would support the repeal of parts of the IRA, Corey Lewandowski, a Trump campaign adviser, avoided the question. Bernhardt also said that Trump "will put coal country back to work so that all Americans have access to affordable energy," without elaborating on how those workers would be put to work. Despite Trump's promises to revive the coal industry during his administration, employment in the industry fell as power generators turned to plentiful natural gas and renewable energy. In April, Biden's Environmental Protection Agency finalized rules targeting carbon, air and water pollution from power plants, an industry responsible for nearly 25% of U.S. carbon emissions. The rules will effectively require coal-fired power plants and new natural gas-fired generators in the coming decade to capture emissions before they reach the atmosphere. Bernhardt said Trump would "modernize" the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to speed approvals for new nuclear plants and for existing ones to have their lives extended. "There's been legislation to address some of these issues, but there's a long way to go," Bernhardt said. Biden signed legislation in July to reform the agency to help speed approvals, and his administration has sought to encourage new projects, restart shuttered plants, and delay scheduled nuclear reactor retirements. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trump-would-axe-biden-clean-power-rules-speed-power-plant-approvals-campaign-2024-08-29/

2024-08-29 20:26

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Texas was sued on Thursday by a nonprofit whose members support environmentally-friendly policies, and which seeks to block a state law targeting businesses that support reduced reliance on fossil fuels. The American Sustainable Business Council said the 2021 law known as Senate Bill 13 violates members' free speech rights by banning Texas from investing in or contracting with businesses that, in the state's view, "boycott" the oil and gas industry. Texas is the largest and among the most prominent Republican-led states to crack down on businesses whose environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies it dislikes. It is also easily the largest U.S. oil producing state , opens new tab. The lawsuit filed in Austin, Texas, federal court named as defendants state Attorney General Ken Paxton and Comptroller Glenn Hegar, both Republicans who support the 2021 law. In a statement, Hegar accused the plaintiff of pursuing a "radical environmental agenda" requiring companies to prioritize politics over shareholders. He called the lawsuit a frivolous attempt to force Texas and its taxpayers to invest "in a manner inconsistent with their values and detrimental to their own economic well-being. That is absurd." Paxton's office did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In connection with the 2021 law, Hegar maintains a list , opens new tab of 16 financial companies and more than 350 investment funds whose ESG policies he believes impermissibly target fossil fuel-based energy. He added British bank NatWest (NWG.L) , opens new tab to the list two weeks ago. In March, the Texas Permanent School Fund said it would yank $8.5 billion of assets under management from BlackRock (BLK.N) , opens new tab, which is also on the comptroller's list. The American Sustainable Business Council said Senate Bill 13 has harmed its corporate and individual members, who represent more than 200,000 businesses, despite Texas portraying itself as a business-friendly state. Two members, Etho Capital and Our Sphere, have funds on Hegar's list. "The law violates the First Amendment by barring companies from competing for state investments or contracting with the state whenever Texas believes those companies espouse a disfavored viewpoint about fossil fuels," the complaint said. "Because SB 13 codifies viewpoint-based discrimination, it is presumptively unconstitutional." The case is American Sustainable Business Council v. Hegar et al, U.S. District Court, Western District of Texas, No. 24-01010. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/legal/texas-is-sued-over-anti-esg-law-2024-08-29/

2024-08-29 20:24

Aug 29 (Reuters) - U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) company Venture Global LNG sought authorization on Thursday from U.S. energy regulators by Aug. 30 to unload the first LNG commissioning cargo at the Plaquemines export plant under construction in Louisiana. About a week ago, a tanker full of LNG named the Qogir docked at Plaquemines, according to Venture Global and data from financial firm LSEG. The tanker came from Norway. Energy analysts and traders said Venture Global would use that LNG to cool down parts of the Plaquemines facility as part of the plant's testing and commissioning process. Officials from the company were not immediately available for comment. Earlier in the week, Venture Global said the Qogir docked at Plaquemines but did not provide other information. On Thursday, Venture Global filed with the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for authorization no later than Aug. 30 to unload the first LNG commissioning cargo on or after Aug. 30. LNG plants under construction, like Plaquemines, use super-cooled fuel to test and cool equipment in preparation for startup. In addition to the Qogir, another LNG vessel, the Venture Gator, which was not fully loaded with LNG, according to data from LSEG, was anchored in the Mississippi River near Plaquemines. Analysts said it was likely the vessel, which was listed as available for orders, would go to Plaquemines. Plaquemines started pulling in small amounts of natural gas from U.S. pipelines in late June, analysts have said the plant could start turning gas into small amounts of LNG in test mode in coming months. Venture Global has said that building the two phases at Plaquemines would entail an investment of about $21 billion. Analysts have said they expect Venture Global to complete work on the first 1.8-billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) phase of Plaquemines from 2024 to 2026 and the second 1.2-bcfd phase from 2025 to 2026. The U.S. is already the world's biggest LNG exporter with seven export plants able to turn about 13.8 bcfd of gas into about 104.6 million tonnes a year (MTPA) of LNG. One billion cubic feet is enough gas to supply about five million U.S. homes for a day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-global-seeks-ok-unload-first-lng-commissioning-cargo-louisiana-plant-2024-08-29/

2024-08-29 20:04

Aug 29 (Reuters) - Social media platform X suffered outages on Thursday afternoon, according to outage tracking site Downdetector.com. The website, which tracks outages by collating status reports from several sources including users, showed more than 37,000 reports of outages in the U.S. as of 3:54 pm ET (7:54 pm GMT) The platform was impacted by an outage earlier in April. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/social-media-platform-x-down-thousands-users-downdetector-shows-2024-08-29/