2024-08-21 06:07

LITTLETON, Colorado, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The United States' third most populous state has the country's dirtiest major power system, and looks set to become a stand-out by remaining highly dependent on fossil fuels even as the rest of the nation transitions power systems towards cleaner energy. Fossil fuels generated over 80% of Florida's electricity supplies since the beginning of June, according to LSEG data. That was the highest fossil-fired power share in over three years for the summer period, and compares to 62.4% for the national average, 62% for the power system of Texas, and 72% for the main power system covering the southeast region. Florida's system is also the only major power network that has increased its overall fossil fuel dependency so far in 2024 compared to the year before. Just over 77.2% of Florida's power was produced from fossil fuels from Jan. 1 to Aug. 19, compared to 71.3% for the same period in 2023, LSEG data shows. That rising trend contrasts with drops in fossil fuel dependency nationally and among other regional systems this year, and means Florida is the only major power network that has a growing reliance on fossil fuels. Yet several factors, including a recent repeal of state renewable energy goals and a ban on offshore wind farms, look set to restrict generation options for power firms, and may continue to delay Florida's energy transition progress. GASSED UP Natural gas is the foundation of Florida's power system, with nearly 50 gas-fired power stations supplying around 72% of the state's power, according to the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA). Coal-fired generation has been steadily reduced in the state's power mix over the past decade, but still accounts for around 5%-6% of total electricity generation, while oil-fired power stations account for another 1%, Ember data shows. All told, such a heavy reliance on fossil fuels for power results in a hefty emissions toll. The state's power sector discharged just over 108 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and equivalent gases in 2023, or about 7.4% of the national total for power sector pollution. Florida's pollution tonnage last year was down 1.3% from the year before, and reflects the cuts made to coal-fired power in recent years. However, Florida's emissions have declined by far less than the national average, which dropped 5% in 2023 from 2022. The state's recent emissions cuts have also been overshadowed by the cuts made by other fossil-heavy states, including West Virginia (-9.6% in 2023), Wyoming (-7.2%) and Colorado (-6.2%), Ember data shows. Over the longer run, Florida's power pollution reductions look even more paltry, coming in at 3.1% between 2018 and 2023 compared to a 7.2% drop in Texas, a 25% drop in West Virginia and a 14% drop nationally over the same period. TOUGH GOING A slew of factors have conspired to limit the scope for power firms to reduce their collective reliance on fossil fuels. On the supply side, limited incentives and low wind speeds have curtailed the build-out of renewable energy output. For solar, Florida has been one of the few states without a tax credit for solar systems, which has meant that home owners have had to bear a majority of system costs themselves. Even so, Florida has been the country's third-fastest growth market for solar installations, with capacity climbing from 1,432 megawatts (MW) in 2018 to over 10,000 MW in 2023, according to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA). Net metering deals that to pay households for excess electricity steered onto local grids look set to sustain demand for small-scale solar systems in Florida going forward, while utilities have deployed more large-scale solar systems than any other state so far in 2024, according to EIA data. The state's wind generation sector remains nonexistent, however, with no onshore farms in operation and a ban in place since July 1 on offshore projects. That total absence of any large-scale wind generation capacity means that Florida's power firms will struggle to boost renewable generation at the same pace as rival states such as Texas, where both solar and wind capacity is being developed. At the same time, Florida's power firms face steep annual climbs in energy demand, thanks in part to heavy use of power-hungry air conditioners due to the state's hot and humid climate, and a massive tourism industry that drives electricity use in the state's roughly 500,000 hotel rooms. Florida has also seen power demand increase due to rapid growth in its population, which has swelled by roughly 20% since 2010 to over 23 million in 2024. In combination, continued growth in power demand alongside only piecemeal expansions in clean energy supplies look set to keep Florida's power sector heavily dependent on natural gas for a majority of its power needs for the foreseeable future. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/florida-reverses-energy-transition-by-cranking-fossil-fuel-use-maguire-2024-08-21/

2024-08-21 05:49

HANOI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Authorities in Vietnam's Thanh Hoa province plan to select an investor through a bidding process by October to develop a $2.5 billion LNG-fired power plant, a provincial official said on Wednesday. The Nghi Son LNG Power Plant in the province's Nghi Son Economic Zone would have a designed capacity of 1.5 gigawatts and would start commercial operations by 2030. "The bids will be opened on September 30 and the name of the investor will be announced mid or late in October," said Nguyen Anh Tuan, deputy director of the zone. The project would also include an LNG terminal and storage, and regasification facilities, Tuan added. State media reported in March that five consortiums have been chosen as potential investors, including Korea Southern Power [RIC:RIC:KEPCOS.UL], Korea Gas Corp (036460.KS) , opens new tab, Daewoo Engineering & Construction (047040.KS) , opens new tab, Gulf Energy Development (GULF.BK) , opens new tab, SK E&S [RIC:RIC:SKENS.UL], and some Vietnamese companies. Electricity-hungry Vietnam wants to have 13 LNG power plants with combined capacity of 22.4 GW by 2030, but is unlikely to meet that target as power producers and foreign investors balk at the country's strategy for making the super-chilled fuel affordable. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/vietnam-select-investor-25-bln-nghi-son-lng-power-plant-by-october-2024-08-21/

2024-08-21 05:43

MUMBAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - The Indian rupee weakened on Wednesday pressed by importers' dollar bids, while forward premiums nudged up with traders anticipating a sharper rise if revised U.S. payroll data rekindles concerns about an economic slowdown. The rupee was at 83.86 against the U.S. dollar as of 10:15 a.m. IST, compared to its previous close of 83.7925. The currency had touched a two-week high of 83.7550 in the previous session, but pulled back as importers bought dollars, traders said. The rupee is broadly expected to hover between 83.70 and 83.90 in the near term, with traders taking cues from any shift in expectations of the depth and pace of rate cuts the U.S. Federal Reserve may deliver. Investors are currently pricing in about 100 basis points of rate cuts over 2024. Swap traders will keep a keen eye on revisions to U.S. payroll data alongside the minutes of the Fed's latest policy meeting, both due later in the day. The revised data will pertain to the 12 month-period ended March 2024 and may signal that job growth may have been weaker than estimated. "The (U.S.) Bureau of Labour Statistics could revise lower the nonfarm payroll employment by about 300,000 to 1 million jobs over the period from April 2023 to March 2024. So, the labour market may not have been as strong," MUFG Bank said in a note. Weakness in the data could "once again spur recession concerns and drive the 1-year yield to 2.10%-2.11%," a swap trader at a state-run bank said. The 1-year implied yield was last quoted up 2 bps at 2.06%. Concerns of a slowdown in the U.S. could also weigh on risk appetite, prompting outflows from local equities, the trader added. Overseas investors have net sold nearly $2.6 billion of local stocks so far this month. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/rupee-slips-forward-premiums-biased-higher-ahead-us-payroll-revisions-2024-08-21/

2024-08-21 05:29

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Donations to a Malaysian orangutan conservation programme will be eligible for tax relief, including on funds that come from palm oil industry players, the overseeing foundation said on Wednesday. The tax relief would be in accordance with the income tax act, the Malaysian Palm Oil Green Conservation Foundation said in a statement, although the amount of relief was not specified. The initiative overseeing the orangutan conservation programme is led by the plantation and commodities ministry. Orangutans are critically endangered, with conservation group WWF estimating the population of the primates at less than 105,000 on the island of Borneo. The foundation will use donations to preserve and conserve orangutans, including by establishing expert teams to monitor the endangered animals. "Funds can also be used for the planting of forest trees and fruits that are a source of food for orangutans," the foundation's general manager Hairulazim Mahmud said. On Sunday, the commodities minister said companies that import palm oil from Malaysia would be able to adopt orangutans but the primates would not be able to leave the country. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/malaysia-orangutan-programme-says-donations-eligible-tax-relief-2024-08-21/

2024-08-21 05:27

JAKARTA, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Indonesia may shut down a portion of a coal-fired power plant near Jakarta to reduce air pollution affecting the city, a senior minister said on Wednesday. The country is looking at closing 2 gigawatts (GW) of power capacity at the 4 GW Suralaya coal-fired power complex in Indonesia's Banten province that is owned by state utility PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara (PLN), Luhut Pandjaitan, Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, who oversees some commodity policies, said a solar power conference. "(Shutting down Suralaya) is important for air pollution in Jakarta," Luhut said. "We are working on that and we will announce soon." PLN did not immediately respond to a request for comment. PLN operates eight units at the Suralaya power complex west of Jakarta, with the oldest unit in operation since the 1980s. The Suralaya plants are some of the main sources of electricity for Jakarta, but they have also been blamed for high air pollution levels in the city of 10 million. Jakarta residents have complained of toxic air from chronic traffic, industrial smoke and coal-fired power plants. Some of them launched and won a civil lawsuit in 2021 demanding the government take action to control air pollution. Rachmat Kaimuddin, a deputy maritime minister, said on the sidelines of the conference that discussions on cost calculations and other details for the close down of some of Suralaya's units were underway. While Indonesia is considering shutting some units at Suralaya, PLN is adding capacity there as well. Through its joint venture with Indonesian firm Barito Pacific (BRPT.JK) , opens new tab named PT Indo Raya Tenaga, PLN is developing 2 GW of more modern coal-fired capacity at Suralaya to provide power for Java and Bali. The new power capacity will be operational by the end of August, state news agency Antara reported last week. ($1 = 15,440.0000 rupiah) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/indonesia-may-shut-part-suralaya-coal-power-plant-curb-pollution-2024-08-21/

2024-08-21 05:24

Aug 21 (Reuters) - The dollar fell to a more than one-year low against the euro and sterling on Wednesday after data showed employers added 818,000 fewer jobs in the year to March than previously thought. The release comes before a highly anticipated speech by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at the Kansas City Fed's Jackson Hole economic symposium on Friday, which will be watched for any new clues on his view of the labor market. "It probably puts more weight on Powell's appearance at Jackson Hole," said Vassili Serebriakov, an FX strategist at UBS in New York. "It suggests the labor market was not as strong as the Fed believed at the time and has been communicating. But it's less clear what it means for the outlook going forward." Markets are looking for clarity on the likely size of a rate cut at the Fed's Sept. 17-18 meeting, and whether borrowing costs are likely to be lowered at each subsequent Fed meeting. "This is very consistent with the Fed starting to cut rates. But it's harder to say what it means for the pace of easing and other details," Serebriakov said. Fed officials last month were strongly leaning toward an interest rate cut at their September policy meeting and several of them would have even been willing to reduce borrowing costs immediately, according to the minutes of the July 30-31 gathering released on Wednesday. Traders are now pricing in a 38% probability of a 50 basis point cut next month, up from 33% early on Wednesday, and a 62% chance of a 25 basis point reduction, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. "It got easier for the Fed to cut rates now and through year-end but I don't think (the jobs data) makes a strong case for 50 basis points," said Adam Button, chief currency analyst at ForexLive in Toronto. "We know that it was a year of solid economic growth, that company profits were fine and that the economy grew at a good clip for the year ending in March," Button said. Fewer-than-expected job gains in July and an unexpected increase in the unemployment rate led traders to price for larger rate cuts on concern the United States is facing an imminent recession. Those concerns were rowed back by better data, including a strong retail sales report for July and also higher-than-expected shelter inflation for the month. But markets remain highly sensitive to jobs data for any new signs that the economy is worsening at a quicker pace. August's employment and inflation reports will be released after Powell’s speech but before the September meeting. The dollar index was last down 0.33% at 101.03, the lowest since Dec. 28. The euro rose 0.27% to $1.116, the highest since July 2023. Strength in the euro may be stretched after the recent rally, said UBS' Serebriakov. "You haven't seen a big move in U.S. rates. I don't think the European data is especially positive for the euro. So, it seems still a bit of a technical move in FX," he said. Sterling strengthened 0.59% to $1.3101, also the highest since July 2023. The dollar weakened 0.34% to 144.74 Japanese yen , the lowest since August 7. Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda is expected to discuss the central bank's decision last month to raise interest rates when he appears in parliament on Friday. The Bank of Japan will raise interest rates again by year-end, according to more than half the economists in a Reuters poll published on Wednesday, with those who had a view on which month leaning towards a December increase. Data next week is expected to show Japan's consumer inflation rate picked up in July for a third consecutive month, a Reuters poll of 18 economists showed. In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin rose 2.47% to $60,769. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/dollar-hits-lowest-this-year-vs-euro-traders-brace-jobs-data-jackson-hole-2024-08-21/