2024-12-13 00:12

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Britain on Friday launched a plan to make it easier for developers to build clean energy projects which it hopes will help the country meet its climate targets and create jobs. Britain has a target to largely decarbonise its power sector by 2030 which will mean reducing its reliance on gas-fired power plants and rapidly increasing its renewable power capacity. The National Energy System Operator last month said reform of the system for connecting new projects to the grid, along with an overhaul to the planning process, would be needed for the target to be met. "Billions of pounds of clean energy projects have been held up by a clogged-up planning system, and a dysfunctional power grid queue that means renewables projects cannot get online," the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) said in a statement. Under the new plans onshore wind projects over 100 megawatts will be placed under the Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project regime in England, making it easier for them to get planning consent. It will also change the system for new projects to gain connection to the power grid by making sure slow-moving or stalled projects are removed from the queue to make room for viable ones. To spur investment in new renewable projects Britain holds annual auctions, inviting developers to bid for government-backed price guarantees for the electricity produced, called Contracts for Difference (CfDs). Under the new plans announced on Friday the government said these auctions would be expanded to enable projects to get funding agreed before their planning permission has been finalised which it said would help more projects get built. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-launches-plan-ease-development-clean-energy-projects-2024-12-13/

2024-12-13 00:08

LONDON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - U.S. start-up Last Energy said on Friday it had received a tentative offer of $103.7 million in debt financing from Washington to set up the first of four planned quick-build, micro-sized nuclear power plants in Britain. There has been growing interest in micro plants as governments, including Britain's, look to use the technology to cut emissions while avoiding the huge upfront costs and long development times of more conventional projects. Washington D.C.-based Last Energy said it had received a letter of interest from the Export-Import Bank of the United States - a 90-year-old institution owned by the U.S. government that helps finance exports of U.S. goods and services. "Upon final commitment, the Bank’s facility would cover Last Energy’s entire costs for a single power plant installation," the company said in a statement. The company said it was planning to build four 20-megawatt (MW) micro reactors at its site in Bridgend, southern Wales, and the first could be up and running by 2027. Large-scale projects - typically a gigawatt (1,000 MW) and larger - can take more than a decade to build. The micro plant could be used to power mid-sized industrial projects and data centres, it added. Britain's Labour government has said micro nuclear plants - and small ones usually up to 500 MW - will play an important role in helping the country meet its target of net zero emissions by 2050. Britain also has a target to largely decarbonise the power sector by 2030, but it is unlikely many small nuclear plants will be built by then. The Export-Import Bank (EXIM) shut in 2015 after Republicans in Congress blocked reauthorisation, then reopened in 2019 with support from then-President Donald Trump. A letter of interest is a non-binding indication of EXIM's general interest in a proposed project and provides general financing terms that it is prepared to consider. EXIM in October approved a final commitment for a loan for preliminary work on development for a small modular reactor project in Romania. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-looks-back-104-mln-micro-nuclear-plant-project-britain-2024-12-13/

2024-12-12 23:38

NAPERVILLE, Illinois, Dec 12 (Reuters) - After multiple weeks of impressive volumes, last week’s U.S. corn and soybean export sales were a disappointment. Luckily, total export sales for both crops still cover an above-average portion of full-year expectations, which are extremely healthy in the case of corn. But China’s limited involvement with soybeans remains somewhat alarming, and this is a theme that carries across many of the top U.S. agricultural goods typically exported to China. GOOD PACE U.S. corn and soybean export sales in the week ended Dec. 5 hit 11- and 19-week lows, respectively, and both fell below the range of trade estimates. However, that did not tarnish the recent progress. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Tuesday raised its 2024-25 U.S. corn export outlook by 150 million bushels, which by percentage was the month’s largest increase in exactly 30 years. As of Dec. 5, some 56% of USDA’s full-year corn export target had been sold, above the date’s average of about 50%. Mexico, Colombia, European Union members and unknown destinations all boast record U.S. corn booking paces for 2024-25, which began Sept. 1. USDA this month did not adjust its relatively modest outlook for 2024-25 U.S. soybean exports, but as of Dec. 5, total sales covered 75% of the forecast versus an average of around 70%. The strong U.S. corn export program laid out for 2024-25 features no participation from China thus far, but soybean shippers might be getting nervous. China accounts for only 46% of all U.S. soybean sales, the lowest share in 18 years outside of the trade war years of 2018 and 2019. Something closer to 57% is typical. An optimist might propose that China’s laggard approach means it will soon have to play catch-up, leading to plenty more U.S. bean purchases. But that scenario is questionable when the world market is staring down a Brazilian soybean crop potentially 20 million metric tons larger than a year ago, while China’s annual imports are set to shrink. The Brazilian harvest begins next month. CHINESE REJECTION It is not just soybeans and corn that China is snubbing when it comes to U.S. farm exports, which is concerning given that trade with China could come under further pressure as President-elect Donald Trump has pledged steep tariffs on the country. In 2023, the top U.S. agricultural exports to China by value were soybeans, corn, beef, cotton, pork and sorghum, accounting for 77% of the total. As of Dec. 5, U.S. cotton export sales to China for 2024-25 were at nine-year-lows for the date. U.S. sorghum sales to China were at two-year lows and down 68% on the year. Beef sales to China are at four-year lows though down only slightly from last year, and pork sales are at six-year lows. China had also increased its presence in the U.S. wheat market in recent years, but those sales currently stand at six-year lows. Some of this is explainable. Lighter U.S. cotton crops in the last two seasons as well as a contraction in the cattle herd are expected to lead to lighter cotton and beef exports. Pork production in China has returned to more normal levels in the last couple of years, reducing import needs. This trend does not hold at the wider scale because in the first 10 months of 2024, U.S. bulk commodity export volumes to all destinations were up 20% from the same period last year. Bulk commodities primarily refer to grains and oilseeds. But bulk shipments to China in that same period were down 13% from last year, reaching a six-year low. Volume-wise, U.S. bulk commodity exports to China in 2018 plunged nearly 70% on the year with the onset of the trade war. While the recent declines are far less extreme, they may be a precursor of things to come should trade U.S.-China trade relations remain rocky. Karen Braun is a market analyst for Reuters. Views expressed above are her own. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/brisk-us-corn-soy-sales-paces-tempered-by-chinas-absence-braun-2024-12-12/

2024-12-12 23:31

CHISINAU, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Moldova's parliament voted early on Friday to impose a national state of emergency for 60 days starting on Dec. 16 due to an expected cut-off of Russian gas supplies from Jan. 1. Fifty-six members in the 101-seat chamber backed the measure in the vote just after midnight following Prime Minister Dorin Recean's call for approval to ensure Moldova's separatist Transdniestria region secured the gas it needed. It was a vote, he said, to end "gas blackmail" from Moscow. Declaring a state of emergency allows the government to respond rapidly and curb energy exports. Moldova receives Russian natural gas via Ukraine, which has said it will not extend its transit contract with Russian gas giant Gazprom (GAZP.MM) , opens new tab. The contract expires on Dec. 31. Recean said Russian President Vladimir Putin "wants to leave the population of Transdniestria without gas and electricity and hold them hostage. Moscow is doing this to destabilise the situation in Moldova." It was up to parliament, Recean said, to approve the state of emergency so that "this winter must be the last in the country's history when we can be subject to energy blackmail". Failing to provide gas to Transdniestria, the government said in a statement, "will lead to a humanitarian crisis... and will also create risks for the stability of the electricity sector of Moldova". Moldova receives about 2 billion cubic metres of gas per year from Russia. Since 2022, Transdniestria and the central government have agreed that all Russian gas received by Moldova flows to Transdniestria. Transdniestria is home to a power plant fuelled by Russian gas that is a vital plank of the breakaway region's economy and also provides most of the power for government-controlled areas of Moldova. Transdniestria, which has no international recognition, declared its own economic state of emergency on Tuesday. Recean said the transit issue through Ukraine was an "artificial problem" as Russian gas could move along other routes. Moldova has said an alternative route to Transdniestria could be to ship Russian gas via the TurkStream pipeline to Turkey and then through Bulgaria and Romania. The supplies, however, could be under question as Gazprom in talks linked continued deliveries via alternative routes to its demands that Moldova pay a debt on past supplies, which according to Russian calculations stands at $709 million. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/moldova-declares-state-emergency-risk-russian-gas-cutoff-looms-2024-12-12/

2024-12-12 23:22

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - A top trade adviser to President-elect Donald Trump told Reuters on Thursday that the new administration would not look "fondly" on any attempt by China to manipulate its currency, responding to a Reuters report that authorities there were considering allowing the yuan to weaken next year. Peter Navarro, Trump's incoming senior counselor for trade and manufacturing, said the White House would not interfere with the Treasury Department's biannual review looking into whether foreign trade partners are manipulating their currencies. He added, however: "I don't believe the Trump Treasury Department would welcome Chinese currency manipulation very fondly. The history of China as a currency manipulator is well-known." The Chinese embassy in Washington, reached for comment, said Navarro's statements "have no factual basis" and that the nation is not a currency manipulator. "As a responsible major country, China has reiterated on many occasions that it will not engage in competitive currency depreciation," the embassy said. Trump's administration labeled China a currency manipulator in 2019, the first time the U.S. government made that determination since 1994. The determination was revoked the subsequent year. The move is more symbolic than substantive, but would nonetheless signal that Trump is willing to engage in an unprecedented trade war with China, the world's No. 2 economy, as he frequently threatened to do on the campaign trail. The 2019 Treasury determination followed a period in which the Chinese government allowed the value of its currency to fall against the dollar. On Wednesday, Reuters reported that China's top leaders and policymakers are considering allowing the yuan to weaken in 2025 as they brace for higher U.S. trade tariffs when Trump returns to the White House next month. The contemplated move reflects China's recognition that it needs bigger economic stimulus to combat Trump's threats of punitive trade measures, Reuters reported. Trump has said he plans to impose a 10% universal import tariff, and a 60% tariff on Chinese imports into the United States. Navarro, who also served as an economic adviser during Trump's first term, said Trump could choose to escalate tariffs even further if China weakens its currency, rather than waiting for the biannual Treasury report. "There's appropriate remedies there," Navarro said. "If (Trump) didn't want to wait for any report, he could just raise tariffs higher." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/currencies/trump-trade-adviser-warns-against-currency-manipulation-china-mulls-weaker-yuan-2024-12-12/

2024-12-12 23:17

First LNG from Venture Global's Plaquemines plant expected in days Contract customers to face two-year wait for cargoes Long commissioning part of financial strategy, document shows Plant to run 15% above capacity to lift revenue, says document HOUSTON, Dec 12 (Reuters) - Venture Global LNG is on track to inaugurate liquefied natural gas (LNG) production at its Plaquemines export plant in Louisiana as soon as this week, LSEG data showed on Thursday. This will mark the first new U.S. plant in two years to produce the superchilled gas, beating Cheniere Energy's (LNG.N) , opens new tab Corpus Christi midscale expansion project to market. It also kicks off a commissioning period of up to two years in which Venture Global retains all revenue from the shipments. The 20 million metric tons per annum (MTPA) export plant was set to draw over 100 million cubic feet (mmcfd) of natural gas for the first time on Thursday, LSEG data showed. U.S. regulators gave Venture Global permission on Thursday to commission its sixth of 18 blocks at Plaquemines, a document showed. Each block has two trains and utilizes 150 mmcfd of gas. Some long-term contract customers of the Louisiana facility may wait up to two years to get their cargoes under the commissioning schedule, which extends to 2026 in the first phase and to 2027 in the second, a separate document showed. Similar waits at another Venture Global plant, Calcasieu Pass, have led to contract disputes sent to arbitration by BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, Edison (EDNn.MI) , opens new tab, Repsol (REP.MC) , opens new tab and Orlen (PKN.WA) , opens new tab. The disputes could cost Venture Global billions of dollars if it loses the cases, documents in a July offer of senior notes showed. Having sales contracts in place for the LNG plant aided Venture Global's financing efforts for the new facility. But the company has earned increased profits by selling on the spot market. During commissioning, the company contends that the plant is not operating optimally and it is not bound to deliver contracted cargoes. "A key element of our business strategy is to generate proceeds from the sale of LNG...prior to the relevant project achieving COD (commercial operation date)," Venture Global said in its offering. COD marks the end of commissioning. Shell said its experience with Venture Global makes it view the LNG developer as "an unreliable supplier." Exxon Mobil, EDF, Petronas, and Chevron, which have announced purchase deals for Plaquemines, declined to comment. Venture Global said Shell's criticism was "the height of hypocrisy," noting the late start of Shell’s Canada LNG plant. "Our business model and plan for simultaneous operations ... has been disclosed to our customers, regulators and financial stakeholders," a Venture Global spokesperson said. OVER BUDGET The LNG exporter's first plant has been in commissioning mode since March 2022. Through December 2023, it sold 360 cargoes on the spot market, earning operating profits of $8.4 billion, a separate investor document showed. Plaquemines has gone more than $2.3 billion over budget as the company seeks to stay on schedule. Venture Global plans to run the plant at 15% above nameplate capacity, bond documents showed. Venture Global has not signed a new customer contract since June 2023, when Reuters reported that the company was facing arbitration with Italian electric company Edison (EDNn.MI) , opens new tab. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-globals-plaquemines-plant-produce-first-lng-ahead-controversial-long-2024-12-12/