2025-09-16 00:06
BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - (This Sept 15 story has been corrected to say that 116 yuan/MWh is the solar power capture price, not spot price, in paragraph 12) Solar power prices in China's first provincial auction under its new renewable pricing mechanism were so low they could discourage new project investments there, analysts said. Sign up here. Last week's auction in Shandong province, seen as a bellwether for nationwide auctions, signals that renewables prices in the future will be lower than under the previous system - although not necessarily as low as in Shandong, where a glut of solar investment has driven prices down. Based on the results, "I wouldn't be very optimistic in other provinces, unless it's in coastal provinces with strong power [demand] growth," Jefferies analyst Alan Lau said. The auction was part of a reform announced in February aimed at introducing market-based pricing in the world's dominant producer of renewable energy. Previously, renewables projects in China enjoyed a guaranteed rate of return fixed to the coal price benchmark. That gave developers valuable certainty but risked over-investment. From June, local transmission grid operators will award new renewable projects contracts for most of their generation using an auction that sets a clearing price based on the highest bid, after selecting bids from lowest to highest until the province's target volume is met. Renewable generators must sell into the market but will be compensated if the price falls below the auction clearing price, or strike price. Shandong, a top renewables builder, was the first to hold auctions. The clearing price for solar was 225 yuan ($31.58) per megawatt hour (MWh), according to a state media report on Friday citing Shandong's grid operator. Developers could submit bids between 123 yuan/MWh and 350 yuan/MWh. Investors would struggle to make an acceptable rate of return at that price, Lau said. Many of the Shandong projects were already completed so were "desperate" to sell their power at a fixed rate, said Lauri Myllyvirta, co-founder of the Helsinki-based Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. The system offers more certainty than the alternative of selling into Shandong's spot market. Recent average solar power capture prices in the province have been as low as 116 yuan/MWh because of its ample solar supply, said David Fishman, principal at consultancy the Lantau Group, in a post on LinkedIn. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/china-renewable-auction-signals-challenges-solar-developers-2025-09-15/
2025-09-16 00:05
All 31 economists see rates left on hold at 5.00% on September 17 BENGALURU, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Indonesia's central bank will pause its easing cycle on Wednesday according to a Reuters poll of economists published a week after the removal of Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati rattled investor confidence and weakened the rupiah. Indrawati's sudden exit erased most of the rupiah's gains following a U.S. trade deal struck in mid-July, prompting the central bank to step in to steady the market. Even with that intervention, the currency has fallen about 1% since the trade agreement was agreed. Sign up here. The renewed currency pressure, coupled with back-to-back rate cuts in July and August, is likely to deter the central bank from lowering borrowing costs again, despite expectations the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut rates just hours later. All 31 economists in the September 9-15 poll expected Bank Indonesia to leave its benchmark seven-day reverse repurchase rate (IDCBRR=ECI) , opens new tab unchanged at 5.00% when the two-day meeting concludes on September 17. The overnight deposit and lending facility rates were expected to remain steady at 4.25% and 5.75%, respectively. "The abrupt departure of the former finance minister has stoked fears over the government's commitment to fiscal discipline and sapped investor confidence. With the rupiah under renewed pressure, BI's priority is likely to shift back to external stability," said ANZ economist Krystal Tan. "Recent developments have further strengthened our call for a pause." While a pause appears certain, concerns are emerging about BI's independence. Under a 'burden-sharing' arrangement, the central bank will help the government programs by raising interest rates it pays on state deposits - a move some economists see as undermining monetary autonomy. Indonesia announced a 16.23 trillion rupiah ($989.3 million) stimulus package for the fourth quarter of 2025, underscoring the government's spending push. Asked about the risk of political influence over monetary policy, seven economists said they were somewhat worried, one said very worried and two said not worried. "The main idea of burden sharing is simply to help the government finance its ambitious spending plans linked to election promises with a limited multiplier effect. This phase of fiscal dominance suggests potential weakening of central bank independence," said Kunal Kundu, economist at Societe Generale. "But then again, why just blame Indonesia? One can see that in many parts of the world now." A separate Reuters poll in July showed more than 70% of economists, 36 of 50, said they were worried about the Fed's independence from political influence. "At this point, I'd say that I'm somewhat concerned about Bank Indonesia's independence," said Jason Tuvey, deputy chief emerging markets economist at Capital Economics. "I'd become a lot more concerned if we explicitly saw calls from government officials for rate cuts, unexpected changes to the leadership at the central bank, or a return to primary-market government bond purchases." Despite those concerns, economists still expect the central bank to ease policy further once stability returns to the rupiah. Of the 25 economists with a year-end view on rates, 14 forecast a 25-basis-point cut to 4.75%, 10 anticipated two quarter-point cuts to 4.50%, and just one projected a 75-basis-point drop to 4.25%. "Risks are still skewed towards a cut should the currency stabilises quickly. The policy bias will likely stay dovish," said Adam Ahmad Samdin, economist at Oxford Economics. (Other stories from the September Reuters global economic poll) ($1 = 16,405 rupiah) https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/poll-bank-indonesia-hold-rates-this-week-political-shake-up-hits-rupiah-2025-09-15/
2025-09-15 23:36
Sept 16 (Reuters) - Australian coal miner New Hope Corporation (NHC.AX) , opens new tab posted a 7.7% drop in its annual profit on Tuesday, missing estimates, as lower realised pricing weighed over increased sales volume. The company, which is largely a thermal coal producer, realised average sales price of A$157 per ton, a 14.3% decrease from a year earlier. Sign up here. Its New Acland mine had experienced challenges with rail capacity in the quarter ended April 30, as rail network constraints led to a "significant" increase in inventory, according to New Hope. Despite significant weather challenges and logistics constraints, New Hope's saleable coal production increased by 18.1% for the full year to 10.7 million metric tons, while sales increased by 21.4% from the previous year. It declared a final dividend of 15 Australian cents per ordinary share compared with 22 Australian cents a year earlier. For the year ended July 31, the miner reported a net profit after tax of A$439.4 million ($293.04 million), down from A$475.9 million reported a year earlier. It missed the Visible Alpha estimates of A$455.9 million. ($1 = 1.4995 Australian dollars) https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/australian-coal-miner-new-hope-logs-77-drop-annual-profit-2025-09-15/
2025-09-15 22:57
WASHINGTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - California's top environmental regulator, who has helped lead the state's effort to ban the sale of gasoline-only vehicles starting in 2035, will retire on September 30 as the state spars with President Donald Trump over climate change rules. Governor Gavin Newsom said California Air Resources Board Chair Liane Randolph, a long-time environmental official, will be replaced by Lauren Sanchez, who is senior adviser to the governor for climate. Sign up here. The state's environmental plans have come under fire from President Donald Trump and California filed suit on a number of fronts over federal efforts to loosen climate change regulations. In June, he signed three resolutions approved by lawmakers barring California's electric vehicle sales mandates and diesel engine rules. Randolph oversaw adoption of a plan laying out California’s path to carbon neutrality by 2045, cutting air pollution and efforts to boost green vehicles. EVs now account for about a quarter of all of the state's new car sales. California's landmark plan to end the sale of gasoline-only vehicles by 2035 has been adopted by 11 other states that represent a third of the U.S. auto market. Trump has taken a series of steps to disincentivize EV sales and make it easier to sell gas-powered vehicles, including ending EV tax credits. In August, the Trump administration sued California to stop the Air Resources Board from enforcing stringent emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks that Trump recently declared void. The Environmental Protection Agency has also announced plans to rescind the long-standing finding that greenhouse gas emissions endanger human health. Randolph said that puts "polluter fantasyland over proven science. Meanwhile, back on Earth, the planet continues to suffer the consequences of unchecked carbon pollution." Trump's Transportation Department has also canceled nearly $4.2 billion in grants for California's high-speed rail project, which is part of the state's emissions reduction plan, which California has challenged in court. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/californias-top-environmental-regulator-retire-amid-trump-battles-2025-09-15/
2025-09-15 22:57
HOUSTON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - The U.S. environmental regulator on Monday said it had issued an air permit for oil transportation and storage company Sentinel Midstream's proposed deepwater oil export project off the Texas coast. The Environmental Protection Agency issued the Clean Air Act permit that allows for the use of an offshore support vessel to control volatile organic compound emissions at the company's proposed Texas GulfLink deepwater port, according to a statement. Sign up here. WHY IT MATTERS U.S. President Donald Trump is pushing for faster approvals of projects that will help bolster the U.S. energy industry, including fossil fuel production, and this permit brings Sentinel one step closer to a final investment decision. CONTEXT This is the first U.S. use of this kind of technology alongside a very large crude oil carrier while it is being loaded, according to the EPA, which said similar technology has been used on shuttle tankers in the North Sea. The offshore project, expected to be situated about 30.5 miles off Freeport, Texas, aims to be able to fully load a supertanker with about 2 million barrels of oil per day. The project was issued a record of decision - a major step in the permitting process - in February and is awaiting a license to begin construction. Currently, only one U.S. port, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, can fully load supertankers. Other facilities can only load a supertanker partially due to draft restrictions, requiring them to use smaller ships to ferry crude to the larger vessel to fill it. KEY QUOTE "In issuing the first Clean Air Act deepwater port permit since President Trump returned to office, EPA is keeping its promise to unleash American energy dominance and economic prosperity," said EPA Regional Administrator Scott Mason. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/epa-issues-air-permit-sentinel-midstreams-proposed-deepwater-oil-export-project-2025-09-15/
2025-09-15 22:33
SANTIAGO, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Chile's state-run mining body ENAMI has received interest from 15 entities, including major miners and traders, to finance a $1.7 billion smelter modernization project, it said in a statement on Monday. WHY IT'S IMPORTANT ENAMI said interested entities include mining companies (Rio Tinto), commodities traders (Mercuria, Hartree Partners, Vitol, Javelin Global Commodities), investment funds (Orion Resource Partners) and banks (Sumitomo Mitsui Bank Limited, Macquarie Bank, Societe Generale). Sign up here. Japanese conglomerate Mitsui, Indian copper producer Indo Asia Copper and China Nonferrous Metal Industry’s Foreign Engineering and Construction also expressed interest, ENAMI said. KEY QUOTE "It has been very gratifying to see the market's interest in this mega-project ... it's a sign of investor confidence in the company," said ENAMI's head, Ivan Mlynarz, in a statement. CONTEXT ENAMI in August kicked off a process to seek investors for a smelter modernization in exchange for copper cathode supply. The Hernan Videla Lira smelter in the Atacama region is undergoing renovations that will give it the capacity to process 850,000 metric tons of copper concentrate a year and produce 240,000 tons of copper cathodes. WHAT'S NEXT Initial offers are due by the end of October, after which ENAMI will proceed to a binding offer stage, the company said. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/chiles-enami-attracts-interest-miners-traders-smelter-financing-2025-09-15/
