2024-06-05 22:21

June 5 (Reuters) - Central U.S. power grid operator Southwest Power Pool (SPP) said on Wednesday that it had filed for approval to add western entities under its tariff to provide full regional transmission organization (RTO) services across both the eastern and western interconnections. Arkansas-based SPP filed tariff amendments with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on June 4, including provisions for its western members. If approved, SPP will become the first organization in the U.S. to provide RTO services in both of the interconnections, SPP said. The operator said the expansion was expected to provide more than $200 million in annual benefits to new western members in Arizona, Colorado, Utah and Wyoming, adding to the current $2.8 billion in benefits for existing members. RTO manages electricity transmission over large areas, and expanding the services enhances reliability, efficiency, and resilience, leading to significant cost savings and benefits for participants. "The RTO offers unprecedented access to regional transmission and generation resources that will help us reach our emission reduction goals, add more renewable energy, manage customer costs and ensure the reliability of our electric grid," Colorado Springs Utilities CEO Travas Deal said in a statement. SPP said it had engaged with parties interested in evaluating the benefits and requirements of RTO membership since October 20, 2020 and expansion of the SPP RTO was scheduled to go live on April 1, 2026. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/spp-seeks-approval-become-first-us-grid-operator-bridging-western-eastern-2024-06-05/

2024-06-05 21:50

June 6 (Reuters) - A look at the day ahead in Asian markets. So much for 'bad news is bad news'. After struggling for days to take advantage of tumbling U.S. bond yields, pushed lower by increasingly gloomy signals on the U.S. growth outlook, Wall Street snapped back on Wednesday, surging over 1% and pushing the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to new highs. Nvidia is a $3 trillion company, U.S. futures are pointing to another rally at the open on Thursday and volatility is sinking. Bad news - and there was another dose of it on Wednesday in the form of soft private sector job growth - no longer seems to be bad news. That's the backdrop to the Asian open on Thursday, and it is worth highlighting because the drip feed of soft U.S. economic data recently had begun to cast an increasingly dark shadow over markets and sour investor sentiment. Throw in this week's political and market volatility from the general elections in India, Mexico and South Africa, and the strength of Wednesday's rally is perhaps doubly surprising. That said, a much stronger-than-expected reading on Wednesday of U.S. service sector activity in May can be seen as 'good news'. But if equity investors seized on that, why did bond yields fall across the curve? To be sure, the global interest rate picture is looking more risk-friendly. The Bank of Canada cut rates on Wednesday and the European Central Bank is expected to do so on Thursday. The 2-year U.S. Treasury yield has fallen more than 25 basis points in the last week, and is now down five days in a row - its longest stretch of down days this year. The 10-year yield is down 35 basis points in five days. The Asian economic on Thursday sees the release of unemployment data from the Philippines, trade and housing market figures data from Australia, the latest reading of inflation from Taiwan, and Chinese trade data for May. China's trade data will be closely watched for signs that activity is picking up after months of disappointing numbers. Exports are seen rebounding strongly, rising 6.0% year-on-year, but import growth is expected to halve to 4.2%. The combination of a powerful rally on Wall Street, falling volatility, lower bond yields and a fairly steady dollar should be a positive one for investors in Asia on Thursday. Indian stocks jumped more than 3% on Wednesday, recovering half of Tuesday's slump. The NSE Nifty 50 index and S&P BSE Sensex are now higher than they were on Friday, before the volatility sparked by the election exit polls and final results. Japanese equities, meanwhile, look set to bounce back from two down days in row after the yen on Wednesday registered its biggest fall against the dollar in over a month. Here are key developments that could provide more direction to markets on Thursday: - China trade (May) - Australia trade (April) - Taiwan inflation (May) Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/markets/asia/global-markets-view-asia-graphic-pix-2024-06-05/

2024-06-05 21:35

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - Solar power developers will soon build two big solar projects on U.S. Department of Energy-owned lands in Idaho that are now cleaned up after decades of tests on nuclear reactors for civil and defense, the first projects in a program across five states, the department said on Wednesday. NorthRenew Energy Partners and Spitfire plan to install solar arrays with battery storage at the DOE's Idaho National Laboratory (INL). More than 50 reactors were built at the site since the Cold War, including the Navy’s first prototype nuclear propulsion plant. The site also explored ways to manage radioactive waste. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT? The federal government is the largest U.S. energy consumer and land manager. These are the first renewable projects that are expected across 70,000 acres (28,330 hectares) of DOE land in New Mexico, Nevada, Washington, Idaho and South Carolina. In the Cleanup to Clean Energy program announced last year, the largest U.S. solar power site and other clean projects could be built on DOE lands. The plan is expected to help achieve President Joe Biden's clean electricity goals. The administration wants the U.S. grid to run on clean energy by 2035. Many of the sites already have power customers and work forces, officials have said. BY THE NUMBERS The two companies are expected to build 400 megawatts (MW) of solar power across the INL site. That is enough to power about 70,000 homes, according to industry estimates. NorthRenew proposes to install 300 MW of battery backed solar at INL. Spitfire proposes to install about 100 MW of battery backed solar. KEY QUOTE “Working closely with community leaders and private sector partners, we’re cleaning up land once used in our nuclear deterrence programs and deploying the clean energy solutions we need to help save the planet and strengthen our energy independence.” Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/big-solar-projects-launch-idaho-us-nuclear-test-sites-go-green-2024-06-05/

2024-06-05 21:27

WASHINGTON, June 5 (Reuters) - The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said on Wednesday it is again extending cuts to minimum flight requirements at congested New York City-area airports through October 2025, citing air traffic controller staffing shortages. The FAA said the number of controllers handling traffic in New York is insufficient for normal traffic levels and that without "increased flexibility," congestion, delays, and cancellations are likely at JFK, LaGuardia and Newark airports. Under minimum flight requirements, airlines can lose their takeoff and landing slots at congested airports if they do not use them at least 80% of the time. The FAA's waiver allows airlines to fly fewer flights and still retain slots. Airlines for America (A4A), the trade group representing American Airlines (AAL.O) New Tab, opens new tab, Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) New Tab, opens new tab, United Airlines (UAL.O) New Tab, opens new tab and Southwest Airlines (LUV.N) New Tab, opens new tab, in April asked the FAA to extend the cuts, citing the controller shortage. The FAA said in March it would relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing and congested New York City area traffic by June 30. The agency will require 17 air traffic controllers to move from New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON), known as N90, to Philadelphia. New York TRACON is one of the busiest U.S. facilities in the country. In a letter to lawmakers this week, the FAA said N90 staffing levels have remained significantly below the national average for many years and the agency has been forced to routinely assign controllers six-day work weeks and slow air traffic in the New York area. The FAA said the transfer of airspace would relieve the stress on N90 and allow FAA to optimize capacity. The FAA said despite offering $100,000 lump-sum awards and other incentives, it did not get enough volunteers for the transfer that will last up to two years. The FAA projects N90 will not reach 70% of the targeted staffing level until the end of 2026 and notes the current 25% training success rate will not outpace attrition. President Joe Biden wants funding to hire 2,000 new controllers and reports have warned of the safety impacts of shortages. American Airlines Chief Operating Officer David Seymour praised the FAA for "moving proactively to improve the operational reliability of our airspace" and said the slot waiver has significantly reduced delays for customers. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/us-extends-cuts-minimum-new-york-flight-requirements-through-late-2025-2024-06-05/

2024-06-05 21:20

June 5 (Reuters) - The timing for when exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the cryptocurrency ether can begin trading depends largely on how quickly issuers respond to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's queries, Chair Gary Gensler said on Wednesday. The SEC last month approved applications from Nasdaq, CBOE and NYSE to list spot ether ETFs. It was a surprise win for the cryptocurrency industry which had expected the SEC to reject the filings after discouraging meetings with the regulator. The SEC still has to approve the ETF issuers' registration statements detailing investor disclosures before they can start trading. That process usually involves a lot of back and forth between the ETF issuers and SEC officials. "These registrants are self-motivated to be responsive to the comments they get, but it's really up to them how responsive they are," he said. Gensler declined to say whether he thought that process would take weeks or months. Gensler and agency officials had not commented previously on why the SEC appeared to do a U-turn and approve the ether exchange filings. On Wednesday, Gensler said last year's court challenge brought by Grayscale Investments which forced the SEC to approve spot bitcoin ETFs in January had influenced its thinking on the ether products. Grayscale successfully argued that because the SEC previously approved ETFs tied to bitcoin futures it should also approve spot bitcoin ETFs, since bitcoin futures prices are highly correlated with spot prices. Gensler said the cases are similar, since ethereum futures have been trading since last year. SEC staff "looked at these (ether) filings, looked at the various correlations... the correlations are relatively similar to the correlations in the bitcoin space," Gensler said. After the court ruled last year in Grayscale's favor, the SEC approved spot bitcoin ETFs in January. Gensler in a statement at the time acknowledged the court's decision, adding he felt that approving the products was "the most sustainable path forward." The SEC had for a decade rejected bitcoin ETFs. "Courts ruled otherwise. We adjusted," Gensler said. Still, he added he continues to see the crypto space as "rife with fraud and scams and conflicts." Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/technology/timing-us-ether-etf-launches-depends-how-fast-issuers-can-move-sec-chair-says-2024-06-06/

2024-06-05 21:04

CHICAGO, June 5 (Reuters) - A U.S. outbreak of bird flu in dairy cows expanded to a tenth state as Iowa reported its first infection in a herd on Wednesday. The United States has confirmed cases in more than 80 herds nationwide since late March and three dairy workers have tested positive. Iowa, which is projected to be the tenth biggest milk-producing state this year, is the first new state to find an infected dairy herd since the U.S. confirmed an outbreak in Colorado on April 26. The U.S. Department of Agriculture in late April began requiring lactating cows to test negative before being shipped across state lines. It later said the order likely helped prevent the spread of the virus to new states. Iowa's agriculture department said it would take additional steps to protect its dairy cows and poultry flocks. Avian flu has circulated in wild birds and poultry for years and more recently infected several species of mammals. "Poultry producers and dairy farmers should immediately take steps to harden their biosecurity defenses, limit unnecessary visitors, and report symptomatic birds or cattle to the department," said Mike Naig, Iowa's agriculture secretary. USDA previously confirmed that poultry farms in at least five states had been infected with the same distinct H5N1 virus genotype detected in dairy cattle. Iowa said genomic sequencing of the bird flu virus detected at a commercial farm with egg-laying chickens last week was consistent with the variant in infected dairies in other states. Officials are sequencing the DNA of the virus detected recently in a turkey flock in Iowa and in the infected dairy herd. Sign up here. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bird-flu-detected-iowa-dairy-herd-first-time-state-says-2024-06-05/