Power Markets

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Monday that it had disbursed $57 Million of a loan guarantee of up to $1.52 Billion for Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Holtec hopes this will be the United States' first commercial reactor to resume operations after ceasing to operate. The conditional guarantee of loan was part of a campaign by former President Joe Biden's administration to support nuclear power, which produces virtually emissions-free electricity, to curb climate changes and to help meet the rising demand for electricity from artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, and digital currencies. After closing the loan financing...

The U.S. Department of Energy announced on Monday that it had disbursed 57 million dollars of a loan guarantee of up to $1.52billion for Holtec’s Palisades Nuclear Plant in Michigan. Holtec hopes this will be the U.S.'s first commercial reactor to resume operations after ceasing to operate. The loan guarantee was part a larger effort by former President Joe Biden's administration to support nuclear power, which produces virtually emissions-free electricity, and to curb climate changes and to satisfy the rising demand for electricity from artificial intelligence (AI), electric vehicles, and digital currencies. The Loan Programs Office of the Department closed...

He told reporters that next week, Panama's president Jose Raul Mulino would begin an investigation into a closed copper mine owned by Canada's First Quantum Minerals. Mulino also ordered the restarting of a power station needed to run a port nearby. The port was used to export mine production. First Quantum was ordered by the predecessor of Mulino to close the open-pit copper mine in 2023 after protests. This led to concerns about the maintenance of Cobre Panama and the 120,000 metric tones of copper concentrate that were stockpiled. First Quantum's shares rose by more than 8% after Mulino made...

The chief executive of Colombian conglomerate ISA said that the company expects to invest between 28.4 billion dollars and 33 billion dollars through 2040. According to CEO Jorge Carrillo, the majority of the projected investment will go towards power transmission projects. Around a quarter is destined for new electricity projects. Carrillo said that ISA would also divest its infrastructure in telecommunications, services and other areas. "In the transmission industry, we will stay where we are, and expand into other countries in Latin America. We'll also look at new solutions, such as energy storage. Carrillo said that besides being in the...

Microsoft Vice President for Energy Bobby Hollis said at the CERAWeek conference in Houston, on Wednesday, that the U.S. still has a lot of room to expand wind and solar power development, especially in the Midwest wind-corridor and the sunny southwest. The rapid proliferation of Big Tech’s energy-intensive cloud and AI data centers is shaking the stagnant U.S. electricity industry. It has pushed the country's consumption to a new high and raised questions about the future of carbon-free renewable power. Hollis said, "We think that there is still a long way to go before renewables are a significant part of...

On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced regulatory rollbacks that included a repealing of emission limits for power plants, a reduction in protections for waterways, and a rollback on tailpipe pollution curbs. This was an attempt to meet President Trump's goals. Donald Trump Energy dominance agenda The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is unwinding 31 Biden-era rules that were intended to boost industries from agriculture, electric utilities, oil, petrochemicals, and automobiles. This aligns with Trump's pledges to cut red tape. However, they will also weaken the core environmental protections in U.S. water and air. In a video posted on X by EPA...

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum told Bloomberg News in a Monday video interview that the United States should restart coal-fired plants that have been shut down under President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national energy emergency. Burgum, the chair of Trump's National Energy Dominance Council in Houston, spoke in an interview at the CERAWeek Energy Conference in Houston. "I believe that as part of President Trump's national energy emergency, we have to keep all plants open. "We need to restart any coal plants that were shut down," he added. At the dawn of the 20th century, coal accounted for more than...

The United States is reviewing existing sanctions waivers which provide Iran with any degree of economic assistance, and the U.S. State Department spokesperson stated on Thursday that the United States was urging the Iraqi Government to eliminate their dependence on Iranian energy sources as soon as they can. At her first press briefing as the spokesperson for President Donald Trump, Tammy Bruce responded to a question about whether or not a waiver of sanctions that allows Iraqi electricity payments to Iran would be renewed. She said, "We don't have anything to announce regarding the current electricity exemption that expires (on)...

On Wednesday, the County of Los Angeles, City of Pasadena and other public entities filed lawsuits against Edison International, its subsidiary Southern California Edison and others, alleging that they were responsible for igniting California's most devastating wildfire. The Eaton Fire, which began early in January in the foothills to the east of Los Angeles and scorched over 14,000 acres - nearly as large as Manhattan - caused dozens of fatalities. The authorities have not yet released an official cause of the major fires including the Eaton fire. The County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District...

On Wednesday, the County of Los Angeles, City of Pasadena and other public entities filed lawsuits against Edison International, its subsidiary Southern California Edison and others, alleging that they were responsible for igniting California's most devastating wildfire. The Eaton Fire, which began early in January in the foothills to the east of Los Angeles and scorched over 14,000 acres - nearly as large as Manhattan - caused dozens of fatalities. The authorities have not yet released an official cause of the major fires including the Eaton blaze. The County of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Flood Control District...

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments about whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is authorized to issue licenses for nuclear waste storage. The states of Texas and New Mexico along with the oil industry objected. The U.S. Government and a company, which was granted a license to operate an operation in western Texas by the NRC (the federal agency responsible for regulating nuclear energy in the United States), have appealed the ruling of a lower court that declared this storage arrangement illegal. Arguments were still ongoing. In several important rulings, the Supreme Court's conservative majority of 6-3 questioned the...

On Wednesday, the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is authorized to issue licenses for nuclear waste storage sites. Texas and New Mexico have objected to this as has the oil industry. The U.S. Government and a company, which was granted a license to operate an operation in western Texas by the NRC (the federal agency responsible for nuclear energy regulation in the United States), have appealed the ruling of a lower court that declared this storage arrangement illegal. In several important rulings, the conservative-majority Supreme Court, with a 6-3 majority, questioned the authority of federal...

China's coal exports increased 2.1% in the past year, according to official data released on Friday. The import arbitrage was still open, despite the risks that could affect the outlook of imports. China releases data for both months together to reduce the impact of Lunar New Year which can fall in either month. Data from the General Administration of Customs shows that imports from January to February were 76.12 millions metric tons. This is up from 74.52million tons the previous year. Two major industry groups last week called for limits on coal imports from China, especially low-quality coals, due to...

The Environment Ministry announced on Tuesday that China is seeking public opinion regarding rules for the importation of leftovers from the recycling spent lithium-ion batterys, as well recycled steel materials. The deadline for comments was set at March 20, in accordance with China's desire to speed up recycling efforts. This is reflected in the establishment of the China Resources Recycling Group, a group that focuses on recycling in the city of Tianjin, located in the north of the country. According to the proposal of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, black mass, which is a mixture of nickel and cobalt...

As part of the Trump administration's "maximum-pressure" campaign against Tehran, the United States on Wednesday imposed sanctions on six entities in Hong Kong and China that they accused of involvement in an Iranian drone acquisition network. The U.S. Treasury Department announced that entities involved in the procurement of components for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on behalf of a firm under U.S. sanction, Pishtazan Kavosh Gostar Boshra and its subsidiary Narin Sepehr Mobin Isatis were also key suppliers to Iran's UAVs and ballistic missile program. We were unable to reach PKGB and NSMI immediately for comment. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated...

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel opened the first of 92 Solar Parks on Friday, as part of an initiative backed by China to reduce the number of blackouts that can last for hours in the Caribbean Island nation. The park in Havana is one of 55 that are expected to be online by this year. It will generate 1,200 megawatts. Last year, the outdated power grid of this Communist-run nation collapsed multiple times. A severe fuel shortage made it impossible for smaller clusters to operate diesel-powered generators which typically backup the system. Blackouts that lasted for years have weakened the economy,...

The Ganfeng lithium mining company in China has started producing lithium in its Mariana project, located in northern Argentina. This is the first of many new lithium projects that are underway in South America. Ganfeng, one of the largest producers of white metal in the world is used primarily to manufacture rechargeable batteries. The Mariana plant in Salta province represents an investment of $790 million and is capable of producing 20,000 metric tonnes of lithium chloride each year. This comes from the extraction of the Llullaillaco flat salt. Ganfeng spent another $190 million on a solar park that will support...

Japan's agricultural, forest and fishery exports rose by 3.7% in 2024 to reach a new record, despite China banning seafood imports after the Fukushima nuclear plant water discharge. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said that exports in 2018 totaled 1.507 trillion yen, up from 1.454 billion yen by 2023. Kazuyoshi Nakasugi, deputy head of MAFF’s export policy planning department, noted that it was the 12th consecutive year of growth and a new record. He also pointed out that exports from China and Hong Kong were down, but exports in other parts of Asia and the United States increased....

Kansai Electric Power Co, Japan's largest nuclear power company, has raised its profit forecast by 40% for the fiscal year that ends in March to 365 billion Japanese yen ($2.4billion) due to higher nuclear power runs as well as stronger earnings from its transmission and distribution businesses. Kansai Electric has five nuclear reactors with a combined power of 4.6 gigawatts. This was the case as of December 31. The company increased its nuclear capacity factor forecast, an indicator of nuclear power load to 85% on Friday from the previous expected 80%. Kansai Electric expects its profit in the transmission and...

Helion, a start-up working to create electricity from nuclear combination, on Tuesday stated it has raised $ 425 million in endeavor financing from a group of financiers led by SoftBank Group's Vision Fund 2. The Everett, Washington-based Helion said the financing will help it speed up the development of its next generation combination reactor design, which intends to take advantage of the very same responses that power the sun to make carbon-free electrical power without lasting radioactive waste. The business has an agreement with Microsoft to start providing power in 2028. Helion is amongst the lots of public and personal...

China, the world's. most significant coal consumer, extended its lead in imports over No. 2. buyer India in 2015 to the largest because at least 2013, customizeds. information shows, cementing its hold on worldwide coal markets and. assisting to suppress a slide in rates. International thermal coal costs have pulled away from record highs. hit after Russia's 2022 intrusion of Ukraine, however are 50% greater. than the average during the 2017-19 duration, according to the. International Energy Firm (IEA). China's hunger is triggering prices to remain in the existing. variety. If not, costs will really decrease, Ramli Ahmad,. president director...

China imported a record amount of coal in 2024, driving world imports of the fuel to an alltime high. So why are coal exporters beginning 2025 in a deep blue funk? For coal exporters, China is both their saviour and tormentor, as the record import volumes are only possible due to the fact that seaborne prices have dropped to multi-year lows. Rates for export coal have declined in order to stay competitive with China's domestic prices, with the world's. biggest producer and importer of coal driving what takes place in. international coal markets. China's coal imports increased to an all-time...

U.S. energies are lastly signing concrete supply deals with datacenter operators as the artificialintelligence wave triggers a rise in power need, paving the way for greater earnings in the coming quarters. Data centers are expected to represent 8% of the power produced in the U.S. by 2030, compared to 3% in 2022, according to a Goldman Sachs report in May. Here are some deals announced by utilities in 2024: Constellation Energy signed a special handle Microsoft to restart among the systems at the 3 Mile Island nuclear plant in Pennsylvania. Under the agreement, the utility will provide 835 megawatts (...

Japan wants renewable energy to account for approximately 50% of its electrical energy mix by fiscal year 2040 with nuclear power using up another 20%, according to a. draft of its revised standard energy policy, as it makes a tidy. energy push while meeting rising power need. As the world's second-largest importer of melted natural. gas and a major consumer of Middle Eastern oil, Japan and its. fundamental energy plans are drawing worldwide attention from oil, gas. and coal producers. Thermal power usage, particularly from inefficient. coal-fired power plants, is set to decrease to in between 30% and. 40% by...