2023-12-04 22:37
WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury on Monday said it has been overwhelmed by applications for bonus clean energy tax credits in low-income communities, with officials estimating the energy generated by the proposed wind and solar projects would surpass this year's targeted allocation by more than four times. THE TAKE: Clean energy tax credits in President Joe Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act were designed to offer a 10-20% bonus on top of the base 30% investment tax credit if projects are located in low-income communities, on Native American land or part of affordable housing projects. The aim was to drive investment to economically disadvantaged that have long suffered from job loss. Data released on Monday shows robust demand for the extra tax credit, on projects estimated to be worth billions of dollars. With demand exceeding available capacity, Treasury will prioritize those with ownership by non-profits, local or tribal governments, or worker cooperatives, in addition to location criteria, a Treasury spokesperson said. The spokesperson added a lottery system may also be used for allocations meeting similar criteria. BY THE NUMBERS: During the initial 30-day application window, the IRA's Low-Income Communities Bonus Credit Program received more than 46,000 applications for new wind and solar projects, representing more than 8 gigawatts of proposed capacity. The 2023 allocation for the program is only 1.8 gigawatts. Clean energy developers will still get the base 30% tax credit for these projects if they proceed this year. They also may be able to wait for the 2024 program to open, for another 1.8 gigawatts of capacity. KEY QUOTE: "One of the goals of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act is to ensure all Americans benefit from the growth of the clean energy economy," Deputy Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said in a statement. "Sky-high demand for this new program shows that communities that have long been held back by lack of investment will see significant benefits from these resources." PROGRAM PARAMETERS The program is available across four categories of qualified wind or solar facilities with a maximum output of less than five megawatts. The Internal Revenue Service has announced its intention to allocate up to 700 megawatts of capacity in low-income communities; 200 megawatts to Indian lands, 200 megawatts for federally subsidized residential buildings; and 700 megawatts for projects where half the financial benefits go to low-income households. The IRS may choose to reallocate some 2023 program capacity between categories, the Treasury said. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/us-treasury-swamped-by-demand-bonus-wind-solar-tax-credits-low-income-areas-2023-12-04/
2023-12-04 22:33
WASHINGTON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - U.S. Supreme Court justices on Monday struggled over whether to approve OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy settlement, voicing concern the deal would shield its wealthy Sackler family owners from lawsuits over their role in a deadly opioid epidemic while also worrying that scuttling it could harm victims. The court heard arguments in an appeal by President Joe Biden's administration of a lower court's ruling upholding the settlement for the Stamford, Connecticut-based company. Purdue's owners under the deal would receive immunity in exchange for paying up to $6 billion to settle thousands of lawsuits filed by states, hospitals, people who had become addicted and others who have sued the company over allegedly misleading marketing of its powerful pain medication OxyContin At issue in the case is whether U.S. bankruptcy law allows Purdue's restructuring to include legal protections for the members of the Sackler family, who have not filed for personal bankruptcy. Some justices seemed to convey skepticism toward the Biden's administration stance. "Bankruptcy courts for 30 years have been approving plans like this," conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh told Justice Department lawyer Curtis Gannon, while asking why the Supreme Court should decide such plans are "categorically inappropriate." But some justices also seemed wary of extending protections to the Sacklers under bankruptcy law when the family members themselves were not debtors under the plan. "In some ways, they're getting a better deal than the usual bankruptcy discharge," liberal Justice Elena Kagan told Gregory Garre, a lawyer representing Purdue, adding that the Sacklers under the deal would be "protected from claims of fraud and willful misconduct," which does not happen in a typical bankruptcy proceeding. The justices in August paused bankruptcy proceedings concerning Purdue and its affiliates when they agreed to take up the administration's appeal of a ruling by the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit of Appeals upholding the settlement. Outside the court, about 50 people protested the settlement, including family members of opioid victims. "Sacklers lie, people die," some of the demonstrators chanted. Some held signs in memory of people who died from opioids. Another sign read, "Deadliest white collar criminals - the Sackler cartel." CHAPTER 11 Purdue filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019 to address its debts, nearly all of which stemmed from thousands of lawsuits alleging that OxyContin helped kickstart an opioid epidemic that has caused more than half a million U.S. overdose deaths over two decades. Purdue estimates that its bankruptcy settlement, approved by a U.S. bankruptcy judge in 2021, would provide $10 billion in value to its creditors, including state and local governments, individual victims of addiction, hospitals and others who have sued the company. The Biden administration and eight states challenged the settlement. All the states dropped their opposition after the Sacklers agreed to contribute more to the settlement fund. In upholding the settlement in May, the 2nd Circuit concluded that federal bankruptcy law allows legal protections for non-bankrupt parties like the Sacklers in extraordinary circumstances. It ruled that the legal claims against Purdue were inextricably linked to claims against its owners, and that allowing lawsuits to continue targeting the Sacklers would undermine Purdue's efforts to reach a bankruptcy settlement. Garre cautioned the justices that blocking the bankruptcy deal could ultimately leave many victims of the opioid crisis empty-handed by subjecting the Sacklers to a flood of lawsuits. "The billions of dollars that the plan allocates for opioid abatement and compensation will evaporate, creditors and victims will be left with nothing and lives surely will be lost," Garre said. Kavanaugh suggested that the argument put forth by Gannon for the administration seemed to signal that the views of the opioid victims and their families do not matter. Gannon said the Sackler family members withdrew billions from Purdue before agreeing to contribute up to $6 billion to its opioid settlement. The deal conflicts with "the nuts and bolts" of bankruptcy law, Gannon said, because it "permits the Sacklers to decide how much they're going to contribute." Although the vast majority of claimants who participated in a vote on whether to approve the deal viewed it favorably, some justices expressed concern about depriving those opposed to the deal from suing over their injuries. "We don't normally say that a non-consenting party can have its claim for property eliminated in this fashion without consent or any process of court," conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch told a lawyer for the debtors. https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-supreme-court-set-review-purdue-pharma-bankruptcy-settlement-2023-12-04/
2023-12-04 22:23
Dec 4 (Reuters) - Kinder Morgan (KMI.N) on Monday forecast higher 2024 earnings as the U.S. pipeline operator bets on growth in its natural gas pipelines and energy transition ventures. Net income attributable to Kinder Morgan for 2024 is expected to be $1.21 per share, up 11% from its forecast of $1.09 per share for 2023, the company said. "We expect to continue benefiting from strong natural gas market fundamentals driving growth on our existing natural gas transportation, storage, and gathering and processing assets as well as expansion opportunities," Kim Dang, chief executive officer of Kinder Morgan, said in a statement. The pipeline operator also anticipates to benefit from increased rates in refined products businesses, demand for renewable diesel and renewable diesel feedstocks, and demand for renewable natural gas. The company said it expects to get a boost from contract rate escalations in its products pipelines and terminals business units. Profits for oil and gas transportation have been helped by strong demand due to low U.S. inventory levels and increased exports, as buyers sought alternatives to Russian oil since Moscow's invasion of Ukraine last year. Kinder Morgan is one of the largest energy infrastructure companies in North America and operates about 82,000 miles of pipelines. Canadian peers TC Energy (TRP.TO) and Enbridge (ENB.TO) also earlier estimated higher adjusted core earnings for 2024. Kinder Morgan expects to generate $8 billion of adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) in 2024, up 5% from the 2023 forecast of $7.6 billion. The company added that it expects to invest $2.3 billion in discretionary capital expenditures, including expansion projects and contributions to joint ventures. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/kinder-morgan-forecasts-higher-2024-profit-2023-12-04/
2023-12-04 22:06
LONDON, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Britain has no records or evidence to suggest that networks at the Sellafield nuclear site were the victim of a successful cyber attack by state actors, the government said on Monday following a report by the Guardian newspaper. The Guardian reported that Sellafield, which carries out nuclear fuel reprocessing, nuclear waste storage and decommissioning, had been hacked by cyber groups closely linked to Russia and China. "Our monitoring systems are robust and we have a high degree of confidence that no such malware exists on our system," the government said. "This was confirmed to the Guardian well in advance of publication, along with rebuttals to a number of other inaccuracies in their reporting." Sellafield, controlled by the government's Nuclear Decommissioning Authority, is located in northwest England and has 11,000 employees. In a separate statement, Britain's Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR) also said it had seen no evidence that state actors had hacked its systems as the paper had described. But the regulator said Sellafield was currently not meeting certain high standards of cyber security it required, adding that it had placed the plant under "significantly enhanced attention. "Some specific matters are subject to an ongoing investigation process, so we are unable to comment further at this time," the ONR said. The Guardian report said the ONR was "believed" to be preparing to prosecute individuals at Sellafield for cyber failings. https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/britain-says-no-evidence-sellafield-nuclear-site-has-been-hacked-2023-12-04/
2023-12-04 20:40
NEW YORK, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Underlying inflation pressures eased in October compared to the prior month, according to a report released on Monday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The bank said that its Multivariate Core Trend (MCT) inflation reading for October stood at 2.6%, from September’s 2.88%. The higher level of the MCT relative to its pre-pandemic average "is in large part due to the sector-specific trends in housing and services ex-housing," the bank said. The NY Fed MCT index is designed to measure inflation persistence and how broadly price pressures are changing. The report arrives as Fed officials are approaching their final policy meeting of the year, one in which they are broadly expected to keep their overnight interest rate target steady at between 5.25% and 5.5%. The current level of the central bank's rate target appears to be its peak. Over recent weeks, a wide range of Fed officials have signaled that with inflation pressures well off their pandemic peak, they have the space to take in new data to see whether they need to increase rates again, or keep them steady. On Friday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said the economy is "better balanced," and when it comes to the trajectory of the economy, "we are getting what we want." On Thursday, New York Fed leader John Williams said "based on what I know now, my assessment is that we are at, or near, the peak level of the target range of the federal funds rate." The NY Fed MCT reading has tracked a broader retreat in price pressures. The index peaked in June 2022, when it stood at 5.44%. October's reading also closely matched the six-month trend of the personal consumption expenditures price index, which stood at a 2.5% rise in October. "While the lower inflation readings of the past few months are welcome, that progress must continue if we are to reach our 2% objective," Powell said on Friday. Williams in his Thursday appearance said he expects the Fed to be closing in on its target in 2025. Officials will update their official outlook on inflation at the FOMC meeting scheduled for Dec. 12-13. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/underlying-us-inflation-pressures-eased-october-ny-fed-2023-12-04/
2023-12-04 20:17
MEXICO CITY, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Latin America and the Caribbean need to rapidly boost spending to up to 4.9% of gross domestic product (GDP) annually by 2030 to meet their climate targets, a United Nations agency said in a report on Monday. The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) report presented at Dubai's COP28 summit said the region must spend between 3.7% to 4.9% of GDP annually, up from just 0.5% in 2020, amounting to total investments of $2.1 trillion to $2.8 trillion by 2030. This implies the "availability of substantial but not unattainable amounts - and the time to act is now," ECLAC Executive Secretary Jose Manuel Salazar-Xirinachs said. Climate mitigation - mostly projects around transportation as well as energy, infrastructure and deforestation - would take up the lion's share of spending, ECLAC said, while a remaining third would need to go toward adaptation methods. These include early warning systems, combating poverty, protecting coasts and sanitizing water. Climate change - excluding the impacts of extreme phenomena - could strip 10% off labor productivity in some countries, it added, cutting potential for economic growth. The study pointed to extreme weather already plaguing parts of the region and devastating some agricultural sectors, such as core farmlands across Uruguay, Brazil and Argentina. South America's Parana-La Plata, home to Argentina's key farming sector, suffered its worst dry season since 1944, the report said, while estimating that Chile is experiencing its most prolonged and severe drought in a millennium. "The cost of inaction outweighs the cost of action," Salazar-Xirinachs said. https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/latin-america-must-invest-up-49-gdp-annually-meet-climate-goals-un-2023-12-04/
