2024-03-18 00:13

LONDON, March 18 (Reuters) - Britain's progress in cutting emissions in the home heating sector is being hampered by a slow uptake of heat pumps, a parliamentary watchdog said in a report on Monday. WHY IT’S IMPORTANT Most of Britain’s homes are heated by gas and the home heating sector accounts for around 18% of the country’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. The government hopes replacing gas boilers with electricity-driven heat pumps will play a large role in cutting emissions from the sector. KEY QUOTES The report by the National Audit Office (NAO): "found that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero has no overarching long-term plan to address the low levels of awareness among households about the steps required to decarbonise home heating". "Government needs to engage every household to achieve its objective to decarbonise home heating as part of the transition to net zero," said NAO head Gareth Davies. CONTEXT Britain has a legally binding target to reach net zero emissions by 2050 but meeting it will require a change in the way most of its 28 million homes are heated, NAO said in the report. BY THE NUMBERS Some 18,900 heat pumps were installed between May 2022 and December 2023 compared with government expectations of 50,000, the report said. The government wants to see 600,000 heat pumps installed per year by 2028. THE RESPONSE A spokesperson for Britain's Department for Energy and Security and Net Zero said it is running a TV, radio and newspaper campaign reaching 16.6 million households with information about heat pumps, insulation and ways people can cut their bills. "By helping rather than forcing families to install heat pumps, with a 50% bigger heat pump grant, we have boosted applications by nearly 40%." The Reuters Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britains-emissions-cuts-hampered-by-slow-heat-pump-uptake-watchdog-says-2024-03-18/

2024-03-17 23:26

MELBOURNE, March 18 (Reuters) - Australia's Mineral Resources (MIN.AX) , opens new tab said on Monday it intends to develop a lithium processing hub in the Goldfields region of Western Australia after its buyout of Poseidon Nickel's (POS.AX) , opens new tab Lake Johnston nickel concentrator plant and mining rights. Billionaire Chris Ellison who leads the diversified miner has been vocal about his plans to centrally process lithium ore mined in the region from third parties and from miners it has a stake in, in a "hub and spoke" model. Australia ships out around half of the world's supply of the battery raw material and the move is another step in the magnate's plan to dominate the lithium sector where it already owns three hard rock mines. “We intend to bring our expertise in spodumene production to Lake Johnston, which has the potential to service projects throughout the world’s most prospective region for lithium," Ellison said in a statement. MinRes will convert the existing nickel plant to be able process the lithium into spodumene concentrate. It has not disclosed the capital costs of the project. Ellison has said that further processing in Australia such as the battery grade lithium hydroxide that Tianqi (002466.SZ) , opens new tab and Albemarle (ALB.N) , opens new tab make was too expensive in current conditions. It will pay A$1 million ($655,900) on execution of the acquisition agreement, A$6.5 million on completion of the deal and a further A$7.5 million, a year after the completion. The move comes as the Australian government considers a tax credit for companies that build processing facilities to boost the value of green energy minerals and as nickel miners have put projects on ice due to low prices. "He'll either buy (spodumene) at the mine gate or toll it through the plant.. There will obviously be a number of different arrangements he can do with the juniors," said analyst Glyn Lawcock of Barrenyjoey in Sydney. Ellison will be able to "clip the ticket" several times, by charging for opportunities such as mining, crushing and transportation, Lawcock added. Without a processing hub for third-party ores, much of the region's material would not be viable to process, Ellison has said. MinRes has stakes in developers in the region including Global Lithium (GL1.AX) , opens new tab and Delta Lithium (DLI.AX) , opens new tab. But it lost out in its bid to buy Azure Minerals (AZS.AX) , opens new tab, which has a flagship project in the Pilbara region, to fellow billionaire Gina Rinehart and Chile's SQM late last year. ($1 = 1.5246 Australian dollars) Get a look at the day ahead in U.S. and global markets with the Morning Bid U.S. newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/australias-minres-develop-lithium-processing-hub-goldfields-region-2024-03-17/

2024-03-17 22:01

March 18 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. A batch of top-tier Chinese economic data releases gets Asian markets underway on Monday, with sentiment pretty fragile after last week's global market wobble and as investors brace for U.S. and Japanese policy decisions later in the week. Asian equity markets are on the defensive. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index's 1.4% slump on Friday - its steepest since January - sealed its biggest weekly loss in two months, while Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 2.5% for its biggest weekly loss this year. The sharp rebound in U.S. bond yields , opens new tab is taking its toll on risk appetite, and was probably the main catalyst for the selloff in global stocks last week. The ICE BofA U.S. Treasuries index fell every day last week, its worst run since August resulting in the biggest weekly fall since October. The two-year yield rose 24 basis points, almost the equivalent of a quarter-point rate hike. The Asia and Pacific calendar this week is packed with hugely important economic data releases and central bank policy meetings, none more so than the Bank of Japan's two-day meeting that starts on Monday. Expectations are high that the BOJ will raise interest rates for the first time since 2007, bringing the curtain down on eight years of 'negative interest rate policy', or NIRP. Japan's biggest companies agreed to raise wages by 5.28% for 2024, the heftiest pay hikes in 33 years, the country's largest union group said on Friday, reinforcing views that policymakers will make their historic move on Tuesday. Sources have also told Reuters that the BOJ will offer guidance on how much government bonds it will buy upon ending NIRP and yield curve control (YCC), to avoid causing market disruptions. Policy decisions from the central banks of China, Australia, Indonesia and Taiwan are also on tap this week, as are inflation figures from Japan and New Zealand's fourth-quarter GDP report. The week kicks off on Monday, though, with four key indicators from China - business investment, retail sales, industrial production and unemployment. Some green shoots of recovery in China are gradually becoming visible. There are signs that capital is no longer flooding out the country, stocks have recovered, and some economic data is improving - China's economic surprises index is the highest since October. But the road to recovery will be long and rocky. Figures last week showed that house prices fell at their fastest annual rate in over a year, and new bank lending growth fell to the lowest on record. Figures on Monday are expected to show that business investment growth in February ticked up to 3.2%, industrial output growth slowed to 5.0% and retail sales also slowed to 5.2% from the month before. These are all year-on-year measures. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Monday: - China 'data dump' (February) - Japan machinery orders (January) - Malaysia trade (February) Get a look at the day ahead in Asian and global markets with the Morning Bid Asia newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-03-17/

2024-03-17 21:52

HOUSTON, March 17 (Reuters) - Venture Global LNG said on Sunday it would acquire a fleet of nine liquefied natural gas (LNG) transport vessels, expanding its ability to sell and ship its own cargoes. Venture Global has exported hundreds of cargoes since it started liquefying gas for export in 2022 from the first of its three planned facilities in Louisiana. The vessels it used were owned by other companies and leased. The nine vessels in Venture Global's future fleet will be built in South Korea with the first to be delivered later this year, the Arlington, Virginia-based company said. The company has shipped more than 250 cargoes under its own account from the first plant, called Calcasieu Pass, sparking complaints from big-name energy companies holding long-term contracts that the sales should have been made available to them. Venture Global says despite the shipments, the Calcasieu Pass plant has yet to start full commercial operations due to equipment malfunctions. Its contracts allow it to decide when the plant is fully operational. The company hopes to complete the commissioning of the plant by the end of the year, CEO Mike Sabel told reporters gathered at Venture Global's Houston offices on Sunday. Repairs were going well, he said. The plant does not have redundant power systems and the potential for outages has kept it from moving to commercial operation, he said. But customers including BP (BP.L) , opens new tab, Shell (SHEL.L) , opens new tab, Edison (EDNn.MI) , opens new tab, Repsol (REP.MC) , opens new tab, Galp Energia (GALP.LS) , opens new tab, Unipec and Orlen (PKN.WA) , opens new tab say they have lost billions of dollars in revenue. They have initiated arbitration proceedings against Venture Global and have pressed federal regulators to allow them to view confidential documents on the plant's startup. Shell on Sunday declined to comment on Venture Global's latest move to bolster its sales. Shell previously said Venture Global's sales of Calcasieu plant LNG cargoes without providing them to contract customers was deceitful. Spanish energy giant Repsol has asked U.S. regulators to review the plant's commissioning process. The shipping fleet, along with a deal Venture Global has for the long-term use of an import terminal to regasify its cargoes in Europe, would give the company a bigger role in the global supply chain for its LNG, the company said. The second phase of Calcasieu Pass could start producing LNG in 2026 if it gets regulatory approval soon, Sabel said on Sunday. The plant would have capacity to produce 20 million metric tons per annum (mtpa), much of which the company has already sold through 20-year sales and purchase agreements. The first two production trains at the plant could be completed within 10 months, Sabel said. The company is planning another LNG project at Plaquemines, also in Louisiana. The completion of that project would give Venture Global more capacity than Shell, BP or Exxon, Sabel said. Venture Global does not expect to sell 100% of future liquefaction capacity, with plans to trade the excess, Sabel added. If a pause by the U.S. government on approving new LNG projects announced in January is prolonged, it would drive up the global cost of the fuel, Sabel said. If the pause becomes permanent, Venture Global will invest in plants in other parts of the world, said Sabel. "We will look for opportunities to develop liquefaction facilities outside the U.S.," Sabel told journalists. A recent fall in LNG prices is driving higher demand for cargoes from Europe, he added. Sabel also said the company was not interested in any mergers nor partners since money was not a problem and the focus was on continued expansion. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/venture-global-lng-buy-fleet-lng-vessels-2024-03-17/

2024-03-17 21:51

PARIS, March 17 (Reuters) - TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) , opens new tab said on Sunday it had exceeded 1.5 gigawatts (GW) of long-term solar power contracts at sites for more than 600 industrial and commercial customers worldwide. The French oil and gas company "develops, finances, builds, and operates solar panels installed on rooftops, carports, and vacant industrial lands", it said. The panels are installed at customers' premises to provide them with electricity and support local networks. So-called power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been signed in sectors ranging from agrifoods to construction and retail, TotalEnergies said. The group said the system ensures predictable electricity prices for customers, from 20% to 45% lower than current prices depending on the country. The PPAs, with an average duration of 20 years, also limit the customer's carbon footprint, it added. TotalEnergies expects on-site solar generation capacity to reach 8-9 GW by 2030, said Matthieu Langeron, leader of on-site renewable production at the company. That represents just under 10% of the overall gross renewable capacity target of 100 GW. "Across all of our sites around the world, our production represents approximately 20% of our customers' consumption," Langeron told journalists. The Reuters Power Up newsletter provides everything you need to know about the global energy industry. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/totalenergies-hails-progress-on-site-solar-generation-contracts-2024-03-17/

2024-03-17 18:43

NEW YORK, March 17 (Reuters) - Reddit's (RDDT.N) , opens new tab initial public offering is currently between four and five times oversubscribed, people familiar with the matter said on Sunday, making it more likely the social media platform will attain the $6.5 billion valuation it seeks. While the oversubscription does not guarantee a strong performance in the stock market debut, it means the company is poised to at least reach its targeted price range of $31 to $34 per share when it prices the IPO in New York on Wednesday, the sources said. The sources said the marketing of the IPO was continuing and asked not to be identified because the details are confidential. A Reddit spokesperson declined to comment. Reddit has already curbed its valuation expectations after it was valued in a $10 billion private fundraising round in 2021. The company's IPO is currently seeking to raise as much as $748 million. Despite the loyalty of many of its users, Reddit has lost money every year since its launch in 2005 and has lagged the commercial success of contemporaries such as Meta Platforms' (META.O) , opens new tab Facebook and Twitter, now known as X. The focus of many Reddit users on niche subjects and the platform's somewhat loose approach to content moderation has been a sticking point with some advertisers. Reddit relies on volunteers from its user base to moderate the content posted on its forums. Moderators can decide to withdraw from their duty at any time, as in 2023, when several quit in protest over Reddit's decision to charge third-party app developers for access to its data. Reddit's 100,000 online forums, dubbed "subreddits," allow conversations on topics ranging from "the sublime to the ridiculous, the trivial to the existential, the comic to the serious," according to co-founder and chief executive Steve Huffman. The company's influential communities are best known for the "meme-stock" saga of 2021 when several retail investors collaborated on Reddit's "wallstreetbets" forum to buy shares of highly shorted companies such as video game retailer GameStop (GME.N) , opens new tab. To tap retail investors, Reddit has reserved 8% of the total shares on offer for eligible users and moderators on its platform, certain board members and friends and family members of its employees and directors. Reddit had an average of 73.1 million daily active "uniques" - users who use its platform at least once a day - in the three months ended Dec. 31, 2023, according to a regulatory filing. Get U.S. personal finance tips and insight straight to your inbox with the Reuters On the Money newsletter. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/reddits-ipo-much-five-times-oversubscribed-sources-say-2024-03-17/