2024-08-12 20:23

Aug 12 (Reuters) - U.S. electric utilities sounded bullish on demand from data centers powering the artificial intelligence boom after striking several supply deals during the second quarter, reinforcing market expectations of sales growth through the year. Top utilities, including American Electric Power and NextEra Energy (NEE.N) , opens new tab, signed contracts in the recently concluded quarter while others highlighted interest from technology companies. "We started to get some clarity about data center opportunities and the numbers are staggering," said Timothy Winter, portfolio manager at Gabelli Funds. As of March 31, it owned stakes in six utility firms including PG&E Corp (PCG.N) , opens new tab, NextEra Energy (NEE.N) , opens new tab and AES Corp (AES.N) , opens new tab. U.S. utilities, since the start of the year, have raised their 2030 guidance of cumulative data center electricity demand by roughly 50%, said Ben Levitt, associate director of power and renewables, S&P Global Commodity Insights. "The economic development pipeline over the period that we've shared through 2028, data centers represent about 25% of that pipeline. As we get out to 2030 and beyond, that 25% grows," Duke Energy (DUK.N) , opens new tab CEO Lynn Good said on a post-earnings call. Utilities could see meaningful sales growth and are now well-positioned to meet or exceed long-term growth targets after two years of underperformance, analysts have said. For the full year, utilities' earnings are estimated to increase 12.4% versus 10.5% for the overall S&P 500, LSEG data showed. Over the next couple of quarters, analysts expect utilities to provide updates on capital expenditure plans, as well as base rate cases - a regulatory process required to increase service charges - to help finance energy infrastructure upgrades. "We think it's going to be a pretty active second half of the year for the group, not only from a financing standpoint, but from a core rate based in earnings revision standpoint as well," said Nicholas Campanella, head of U.S. power and utilities research at Barclays. Hotter temperatures may also boost bottom-lines in the third quarter. Utilities should outperform other sectors even in case of a recession, but the impact of the U.S. elections remains an uncertainty, analysts said. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-utilities-poised-ride-data-center-demand-wave-second-half-2024-08-12/

2024-08-12 20:19

WASHINGTON, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. is seeking to buy another 6 million barrels of oil from energy companies to help replenish the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), the Department of Energy said on Monday. The solicitation of oil for the SPR is the first for delivery into the facility's Bryan Mound, Texas site since it underwent maintenance work and repairs, the department said. It is seeking to 2 million barrels of the oil a month to be delivered to Bryan Mound from January to March next year. The DOE "will continue to evaluate options to refill the SPR while securing a good deal for taxpayers, taking into account planned exchange returns and market developments," said Charisma Troiano, a department spokesperson. West Texas Intermediate crude prices rose on Monday to $78.72 a barrel on intensifying Middle East supply risks and fading fears of a U.S. recession, but they were still just under the $79 to $79.99 level at which the U.S. wants to buy back oil for the SPR. The department is slowly replenishing the SPR after it sold 180 million barrels in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in an effort to calm fuel prices that had risen. It was the biggest sale ever from the reserve. The U.S. has so far bought back about 43 million barrels from oil companies and worked with Congress to cancel sales from the SPR that had been required by law to help pay for government programs. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-seeks-6-million-barrels-oil-strategic-petroleum-reserve-2024-08-12/

2024-08-12 20:15

STOCKHOLM, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Sweden's plans to expand nuclear power to help tackle climate change are likely to cost around 400 billion crowns ($38 billion) and should be financed by government loans and price guarantees, a government appointed commission said on Monday. The government wants 2,500 MW of new nuclear power by 2035 - the equivalent of two new reactors - and 10 new reactors a decade later. But the private sector has shied away from investment, worried about risks of projects with a life span of around 100 years, that have huge start up costs and that can take more than a decade to deliver any earnings. "The challenge for those who want to build new nuclear power is that the risks are seen as multiple and very large," head of the commission Mats Dillen said. Last year the government said it would need to take a greater share of the costs and appointed a commission to look at ways to get the best deal for tax payers. The commission proposed a fleet of four or five new power plants with 4,000-6,000 MW of installed capacity in order to make the programme cost-effective. It said the state should lend nuclear companies 75% of the cost of building power plants with the owners contributing 25%. Cost overruns should be financed in the same proportions. The commission said the government should guarantee an electricity price of around 0.8 Swedish crowns/kwh ($0.0760) to investors over 40 years. Swedes voted in 1980 to phase out nuclear power but the need to address climate change has forced a rethink and nuclear power is now a centrepiece of the current right-of-centre coalition's strategy to meet its goal of net zero emissions by 2045. Critics, however, have pointed to huge costs overruns and decade-long delays faced by recent projects such as Britain's Hinkley Point C and France's Flamanville 3. They say nuclear cannot be built in time to meet a surge in electricity demand - projects such as green-steel plants, battery production and mining that are expected to require an additional 88 TwH of power in the next decade - and say the programme risks being a hugely costly white elephant. The government, however, says nuclear is the only way to provide reliable power when wind, water and solar power are offline and to meet demand at times of peak demand. Sweden currently has six reactors in operation, all of which were built in the 1970s and 1980s. ($1 = 10.5140 Swedish crowns) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/price-tag-new-nuclear-power-sweden-38-bln-commission-says-2024-08-12/

2024-08-12 19:51

MADRID, Aug 12 (Reuters) - More than 47,000 people died in Europe due to scorching temperatures in 2023, with countries in the region's south hit the hardest, according to a report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) published on Monday. Last year was the world's hottest on record. As climate change continues to increase temperatures, Europeans live in the world's fastest-warming continent, facing growing health risks stemming from intense heat. The 2023 death toll - below the more than 60,000 heat-related deaths estimated for the previous year - would have been 80% higher without measures introduced in the past 20 years to help people adapt to rising temperatures, such as early warning systems and healthcare improvements, according to the report by the Spanish research centre. "Our results show how there have been societal adaptation processes to high temperatures during the present century, which have dramatically reduced the heat-related vulnerability and mortality burden of recent summers, especially among the elderly," said Elisa Gallo, researcher at ISGlobal and lead author of the study. Researchers used death and temperature records from 35 European countries. They estimate that 47,690 died from causes related to high temperatures. Adjusting the data for population, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain were the countries with the highest mortality rates related to heat. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/more-than-47000-people-died-europe-last-year-due-heat-report-says-2024-08-12/

2024-08-12 19:25

NEW YORK, Aug 12 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday sued the cryptocurrency company NovaTech and its married co-founders, saying they fraudulently raised over $650 million from more than 200,000 investors worldwide, including many Haitian-Americans. NovaTech and co-founders Cynthia and Eddy Petion allegedly promised investors their money would be safe, with Cynthia Petion assuring they would be "in profit from day one." The SEC said the Petions instead used new money mainly to repay earlier investors and pay commissions to promoters, while siphoning millions of dollars for themselves. It said the scheme lasted for four years until NovaTech's May 2023 collapse. Monday's lawsuit in Miami federal court came two months after New York Attorney General Letitia James sued NovaTech and the Petions in a state court in Manhattan, estimating their fraud at more than $1 billion. The regulators said NovaTech tried to appeal to victims' religious faith through social media, Telegram and WhatsApp, and sometimes in the Haitian Creole language, with Cynthia Petion branding herself "Reverend CEO" and saying NovaTech was "God's vision." Lawyers for NovaTech and the Petions, who are believed to live in Panama, could not immediately be identified. Both regulators called the fraud a pyramid scheme, where companies pay bonuses or commissions to recruit new investors. The SEC also charged six NovaTech promoters with fraud, saying they kept recruiting investors despite "red flags," such as delayed withdrawals and U.S. and Canadian regulatory actions, that raised questions about NovaTech's legitimacy. One promoter, Martin Zizi, agreed to pay a $100,000 civil fine. His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Both lawsuits seek restitution for victims and civil fines. The case is SEC v Nova Tech Ltd, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No. 24-23058. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-sec-sues-over-alleged-650-million-global-crypto-fraud-2024-08-12/

2024-08-12 19:24

OTTAWA, Aug 12 (Reuters) - Residents forced to evacuate the wildfire-hit western Canadian tourist town of Jasper three weeks ago will be allowed to return home on Friday, local officials said on Monday. Authorities have restored some basic emergency services, including ambulance and police, but there would not be enough resources to accommodate visitors and those whose houses were damaged, officials told reporters in a briefing. "Whether you still have a home standing or you don't, you can't really count on being able to stay there that night," said Christine Nadon, an official from the municipality of Jasper. Out-of-control wildfires forced some 25,000 people to evacuate the picturesque tourist town of Jasper and its surroundings in Canada's Rocky Mountains on July 22. The town in the middle of Jasper National Park draws more than two million tourists a year and those evacuated included visitors and the town's roughly 5,000 residents. Trails, campgrounds and day-use areas will also remain shut to re-entry and officials said it would take more time for these areas to reopen due to risks from poor air quality, hazardous trees and waste requiring containment. Nadon said there had not been any assessment done on any private property yet and even if a home was standing there could be significant damage on the inside. The fires destroyed nearly a third of Jasper's structures before firefighters managed to douse the flames burning 100 meters (330 feet) high. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/environment/wildfire-evacuees-return-canadian-tourist-town-jasper-friday-2024-08-12/