Electric Utilities

The White House on Thursday set a series a price 'floors' and a?tariff of 15% on products made from polysilicon. This raw material is used to make semiconductors and solar panel. The U.S. president Donald?Trump issued a proclamation pursuant to Section 232 of Trade Expansion Act of 1961 in order to protect domestic polysilicon manufacturers from Chinese 'competition. Polysilicon is an ultra-pure silicon that sits at?the start of the semiconductor and solar manufacturing supply chain. Solar panels are made by assembling solar cells, which are manufactured from silicon wafers. The White House announced that the trade protections would take effect...

Virginia Governor Abigail "Spanberger" said Thursday that she will intervene in the regulatory review of NextEra Energy’s proposed $66.8 billion merger with Dominion Energy to press for "commitments" on electric bill affordability, jobs protection and clean energy investments. The Governor said that she would become a formal party in the case before Virginia State Corporation Commission. This would give her access to all filings, and allow her to ask questions and voice concerns about the transaction. They're not enough?yet. That's one of the main reasons I chose to intervene in the case. "I need more information." In May, the companies...

Constellation Energy, a power company, announced?on Thursday that it would sell a?gas?plant in Texas to LS Power, for $860 millions, and increased its current-year earnings forecast due to robust demand. Shares rose 1.3% in the morning trading. Constellation has completed its $16.4 billion acquisition of Calpine assets by selling Brazos Valley Energy Center to LS Power. Constellation is the largest nuclear power company in the U.S. Constellation has been expanding its fleet beyond nuclear, and its Calpine purchase adds a large portfolio of gas-fired generators, which gives it greater flexibility in markets with high demand, such as Texas. On a...

Constellation Energy, a power company, announced on Thursday that it would sell a 'gas plant' in Texas to LS Power. It also increased its forecast for current-year earnings on the 'back of robust power demand. In premarket trading, shares of 'the company' were up 5%. Constellation must complete its $16.4 billion acquisition of Calpine assets by selling the Brazos Valley Energy Center to LS Power. Constellation is expanding beyond its nuclear fleet. Its Calpine purchase has given it a gas-fired portfolio, which gives them more flexibility in markets with high demand like Texas. Joe Dominguez, CEO of the company, said:...

The U.S. Government announced on Friday proposed guidelines for the sharing of the drought-stricken Colorado River. This river?provides?water to a tenth of Americans, irrigates land that produces 15% U.S. agricultural output, and generates electricity for six million people across seven states. After over three years of talks to replace an existing plan, the seven states -- Colorado New Mexico Utah Wyoming Arizona California and Nevada -- could not 'agree' on the best way to share water. According to the final environmental impact report released by the Bureau, the US Bureau of Reclamation has proposed a 10-year plan through 2036 to...

NextEra Energy and Brookfield are building a $100 billion campus of data centers at an 'ex-uranium enrichment site' in Paducah, Kentucky. The soaring demand for electricity in the United States is driving companies to invest heavily into artificial intelligence data centres and other technologies that strain an aging U.S. electric grid. NextEra is the largest U.S. power company and will provide 2.6 GW in battery storage and 2 gigawatts (GW) of natural gas to support the datacenter. Brookfield, on the other hand, will own and operate the 1.8 GW campus. One gigawatt can power approximately 750,000 homes. The campus will...

The number of appointments of women and minorities of all races to S&P500 boards has dropped to its lowest level in over a decade. This threatens to undo years of progress in boardroom diversity. This shift can be seen in the new research by recruitment firms who study leadership diversity, and in interviews with over a dozen boardroom interviewers, investors and HR analysts. This comes after a series Trump administration initiatives targeting DEI, or diversity equity and inclusion. Major investors in 'corporate America who once pushed companies to diversify boards have now retreated. RECORD DIVERSITY MASKS SHIFT IN NEW APPOINTMENTS...

Experts and grid operator PJM data indicate that a massive amount of?of _power was abruptly disconnected on Wednesday, causing a disturbance in voltage which could be felt all the way from Washington, D.C., up to Chicago. It is unknown what caused the incident in PJM Interconnection territory. It demonstrates why state and federal regulators are studying ways to better manage sudden drops in demand from data centres and crypto miners, which can destabilize grids. The epicenter of the event on Wednesday occurred around 7:55 am. Bob Marshall, CEO at Ting Labs, said that the epicenter of the event occurred in...

After the company narrowly missed its estimates for second-quarter core profit, GE Vernova said on Wednesday that global tariffs will increase 'its costs between $100 and $200 million by '2026. Tariffs are a major burden on manufacturers, but contract protections as well as some cost recovery measures have contributed to the expected increase in costs. GE Vernova's shares fell 8% during premarket trading. According to LSEG, the Cambridge, Massachusetts-based firm reported adjusted core earnings for the quarter of $1.25 billion, which was below analysts' expectations of $1.28 million. The wind business 'continued to lag behind its faster-growing Power and Electrification...

Standard Nuclear's shares dropped 10% in their New York Stock Exchange debut on Thursday after the company reduced its?offering?size, as investors remain cautious about valuations. The Oak Ridge, Tennessee-based company opened its shares at $13.50 each, below the $15 offered price. This gives the nuclear fuel firm a value of $2.17 Billion. The market debut shows that investors are still cautious despite a renewed interest in nuclear power. This is fueled by the surge in electricity demand for artificial intelligence data centres and U.S. policies supporting it. Nuclear energy is gaining in popularity as technology giants and utilities seek carbon-free...

Standard Nuclear has reduced the size of its proposed U.S. Initial Public Offering by more than 50 percent on Wednesday. It joins a'string' of companies who have lowered their valuation targets to match cautious investor sentiment this year. The company plans to sell 10,000,000 shares for $15 each. It originally intended to sell 18.25 million of its shares between $18-$21 each. Standard Nuclear's valuation would be $2.4 billion at $15, as opposed to its previous target of $3.55billion. Analysts claim that despite the strong resurgence of the U.S. IPO Market this year, investors remain cautious about valuations and prefer to...

World Leaks, a ransomware group, has released on the dark Web a large cache of files relating to India's largest nuclear plant. These include purported blueprints for parts of its facilities as well as supplier details. The information was labelled by World Leaks as being from Reliance Group. Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant is located in the southern state of Tamil Nadu and is the largest among India's seven nuclear plants. It's also the center of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ambitious plans to increase the country's capacity for?atomic energy?. Reliance Group of Indian businessman Anil Ambani, one of the plants' contractors,...

?Shares in CXMT Corp soared 470% at?their Shanghai debut?on Monday, in Asia's largest IPO of the year. This catapulted the chipmaker to China's top stock market by valuation despite a selloff of global tech stocks. Stocks began trading at 49.50 Yuan, compared to the 8.66 Yuan sale price per share. CXMT's market cap increased sharply in the first minutes, from $85.5 million during the IPO to 3.3 trillion yuan (487.31 billion). The shares briefly fell to 38.11 Yuan before quickly recovering and were trading at 49.51 Yuan by 0236 GMT. CXMT's explosive debut has made it the most valuable listed...

OVER 100 COMPANIES, INCLUDING UBER AND NESTLE?URGE GOVERNMENTS?TO MAKE ELECTRIFICATION CENTRAL IN ECONOMIC STRATEGY 'Nestle' and Ikea, among others, urged government officials to put electrification at the forefront of their economic strategies to reduce exposure to volatile fuel prices and boost energy security. They said that exposure to fossil fuel price shocks undermined their competitiveness. With combined revenues of $1.5 trillion annually, the group also included Iberdrola and Volvo Cars, Mahindra Group and Uber, Nikon Corporation and Levi Strauss. The statement was coordinated by the Global Renewables Alliance and the We Mean Business Coalition. It added that the ability to...

The National Stock Exchange of India filed draft papers to?along-delayed listing? that will be one of the two mega initial public offerings in India this year. Alongside billionaire Mukesh?Ambani's Reliance Jio. NSE's IPO will likely?be worth $3.3 billion based on a?pricing of its shares in the private market, and it comes?after...years of regulatory delay. As part of this issue, existing investors will sell 6% equity in the company. This will be an offer-for sale with no new equity raised. Ambani’s AI-to Telecoms arm Reliance Jio Platforms, is also preparing for an IPO that could be the largest ever in India....

NHK, the public broadcaster, reported that Japan aims to ensure a stable power supply by rebuilding between two and five nuclear reactors. The proposal, which will be presented by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry during a meeting about nuclear policy, reflects an increased reliance on atomic power to help "meet increasing energy demand and reduce expensive fuel imports." After the Fukushima disaster in 2011, Japan closed its?54 nuclear reactors due to public concern about safety standards. 15 of the 33 units which are still operational have been restarted. Tokyo revised its energy policy last year to maximize the...

SoftBank Group is working with?banks? to prepare its initial public offerings (IPOs) for its energy and technology developer SB Energy, and its autonomous robotics spin-off Roze. This comes as Masayoshi son ramps up his Japanese group's push for artificial intelligence infrastructure, amid strong investor interest in companies that support AI buildout. SoftBank has hired JPMorgan Chase, Goldman Sachs Morgan Stanley Citi, Mizuho and Mizuho to handle SB Energy's IPO. The IPO could happen as soon as September, according to the sources. SB Energy may aim for a market valuation of over $50 billion, according to the sources. Sources say that...

Morgan Stanley analysts stated that advanced artificial intelligence tools can 'help reduce video game development costs by nearly half and unlock about $22 billion per year in profits for game makers around the world. In a note published on Tuesday, the brokerage stated that AI tools could be used to automate tasks such as creating game environments, generating dialog and testing software. This would help reduce production times and costs and increase margins. It added that gains will not be distributed equally across the gaming industry. Wall Street brokerage estimates that global consumer spending will reach $275 billion in video...

Karel Havilicek, Minister of Industry and Trade, said that the 'Czech Republic' will extend the life span of the four existing units at the Dukovany nuclear power plant by 20 years to 80 years and run them until 2065-2067. Dukovany was built by CEZ, a majority-owned state-owned company, in 1985-1987. Its Soviet-designed VVER nuclear reactors are capable of 2,000 megawatts. This decision follows other life extension decisions, particularly in France, as countries seek to ensure sufficient supplies following the gradual demise of fossil fuels. The 'decision' means that the old units will be running for a longer period alongside the...

On Thursday, France announced seven offshore wind projects totaling 10 gigawatts as well as smaller onshore and solar wind tenders. The country said it would favour domestic technologies as part of its quest to achieve energy independence. Due to the political gridlock regarding financing renewables, France is struggling with high debt. The two-year delay in tendering is due to this. Roland Lescure, Finance Minister, said that the projects will help France to further wean itself off of imported oil and natural gas. The Iran War continues to disrupt cargoes that are sailing through the Strait of Hormuz. This is expected...

Dan Lipman, the president of global business initiatives for 'Westinghouse', said that Japan and the United States have reached an agreement on their respective responsibilities in a possible?joint project between Westinghouse and Japanese manufacturers of nuclear power equipment. On Saturday, Dan Lipman, president of?global business initiatives at?Westinghouse's told? Sources told us this month that Japan and the U.S. were working together to include a nuclear project as part of a second tranche of deals in Japan's $550 billion investment package. The deal will involve Westinghouse. As nations seek to increase their domestic energy resources, the momentum for building nuclear facilities...

Tokyo Electric Power announced 'on Friday that it is likely to delay the start of commercial operations at the 'Kashiwazaki Kariwa nuclear power station due to a minor leak in electricity transmission. TEPCO announced that it has decided to suspend?from the No. 6 reactor of the plant. The electricity leak was detected by an alarm in the reactor No. A spokesperson for the utility said that the utility had planned to restart commercial operations on March 18, but needed time 'to investigate the issue.' It is unclear how long this delay will last. The spokesperson stated that the reactor showed...

Kim Jung-kwan, South Korea's Industry Minister, said that Seoul was 'in talks' to invest in a nuclear project in the United States. This is part of Seoul’s pledge of investing $350 billion into U.S.-based projects. Seoul is scrambling to review its deals with Washington, after U.S. president Donald 'Trump' threatened to increase tariffs on goods imported to South?Korea by 25%. He blamed a delay of the Asian ally in implementing a trade agreement agreed last year. Kim responded to a question from a member of the parliamentary committee about Korea's potential investments in U.S. nucleopower plants by saying, "We are...

Is this the Art of the Deal, Gregor Stuart Hunter? U.S. president Donald Trump warned that trade partners should not "play games" and back out of recently agreed trade agreements after the Supreme Court ruled against his 'emergency tariffs. Some foreign governments want to check if they still have the same terms that were originally negotiated. Trump will "come out smokin'" in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday, after the tariff setback. He may even take aim at the Supreme Court Justices who are seated there. However, governments in Asia still have concerns. Japan wants to know if...