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☆ South Sudan is home to ‘world’s largest land mammal migration.’ War means no one knows about it.
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Nell Lewis | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Antelopes, hundreds of thousands of them, are crossing the savannas of South Sudan. But a report published today estimates that South Sudan is home to the largest known migration of land mammals on Earth. South Sudan, a country in central Africa, has a varied landscape, from rainforests to lush savannas and swamplands fed by the Nile River (pictured). Marcus Westberg He suspects that the migration’s survival and growth is likely to be linked to the decades of war South Sudan has suffered. South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011 after decades of civil war.

Persons: Marcus Westberg, Mike Fay, ”, Steve Boyes, South Sudan Fay, He’s, “ It’s, Jigar, Fay, ” Fay, “, you’ve, We’ve, “ We’ve, Boyes, Salva Kiir Mayardit Organizations: CNN, Initiative, African Parks, African Parks Network, Parks Network, United Nations, Parks, Rolex, Ministry of Wildlife Locations: South Sudan, Sudan, Africa, African, Ethiopia, South Sudan’s, Juba, “, Tanzania

☆ Gold extends rally to hit new record as Powell hints at rate cut in 2024
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-07 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Gold prices rallied to hit new records on Thursday, on track for their seventh consecutive daily rise, led by weak U.S. economic data and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's indications of potential rate cuts in the coming months if inflation eases. Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,159.79 per ounce, as of 0432 GMT, after hitting an all-time high of $2,161.09 earlier in the session. Gold got a boost on Wednesday after Powell indicated that interest rate cuts were likely in the coming months "if the economy evolves broadly as expected," along with further evidence of falling inflation. Hence, in an uncertain financial environment, gold will remain safe investment for banks," said Jigar Pandit, head of commodity and currency business at BNP Paribas' Sharekhan. Spot silver rose 0.4% to $24.25, while platinum fell 0.1% to $906.82 per ounce, and palladium slipped 0.8% to $1,033.44.

Persons: Jerome, Marcus Garvey, Gold, Powell, Powell's, Macquarie's Garvey, Jigar Pandit Organizations: Federal, Macquarie, Treasury, BNP Locations: U.S, China, Turkey, Russia, Poland

☆ Gold prices gain as traders assess hopes for sizeable Fed rate cut
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Spot gold rose 0.5% to $2,046.63 per ounce by 0355 GMT. The Fed left interest rates unchanged and knocked down the idea that the U.S. central bank could cut rates in the spring, but dropped a long-standing reference to possible further hikes. Futures pared bets for a rate cut in March to 35.5% from 90% at 2023-end, but increased chances of a reduction in May to 96%, according to LSEG's interest rate probability app IRPR. Traders are pricing in about 142 basis points (bps) of Fed rate cuts for this year, up from bets of about 130 bps of reductions on Wednesday morning. Data showed U.S. private payrolls rose far less than expected in January.

Persons: Gold, Jigar Trivedi Organizations: Korea Gold Exchange, Reserve, Reliance Securities, Traders, U.S, New, New York Community Bancorp, Treasury, Investors Locations: Seoul, South Korea, U.S, New York

A flock of goats gather under a set of power lines above Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant at Avila Beach, California. A flock of goats gather under a set of power lines above Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant at Avila Beach, California June 22, 2005. In addition, there are about $5 billion to $8 billion in hydrogen projects in the pipeline at LPO, he added. Critics of nuclear power say that it is too expensive to make a big difference on climate and that even so-called advanced nuclear power projects could create toxic waste that has to be dealt with. Shah did not specify what kind of projects joining nuclear and hydrogen LPO might consider.

Persons: Shah, Timothy Gardner, Rami Ayyub Organizations: US Energy Corp, WASHINGTON, Office, U.S . Department of Energy, Reuters, Hydrogen, America, Thomson Locations: Avila Beach , California, U.S, Houston, LPO

☆ Ford-SK venture to get $9.2 billion US loan for battery plants
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( David Shepardson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department plans to lend up to $9.2 billion to a joint venture of Ford Motor (F.N) and South Korea's SK On to help it build three battery plants in Tennessee and Kentucky. The conditional commitment for the low-cost government loan for the BlueOval SK joint venture comes from the government's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program. The joint venture is building three battery manufacturing facilities in Kentucky and Tennessee capable of collectively producing more than 120 gigawatt hours annually, the Energy Department said. This is the sixth loan for battery supply chain projects from the ATVM program. Last year, the department awarded a joint venture of General Motors (GM.N) and LG Energy Solution (373220.KS) $2.5 billion to help finance construction of new lithium-ion battery cell manufacturing facilities.

Persons: Jigar Shah, Dave Webb, Robert Rhee, Ford, Jim Farley, Tesla, David Shepardson, Toby Chopra, David Evans, Alexander Smith Organizations: U.S . Energy Department, Ford Motor, Korea's SK, BlueOval SK, Technology Vehicles Manufacturing, SK, South Korea's SK Innovation, Energy Department, Energy, Ford, Lincoln, Republican, Republicans, Biden, General Motors, LG Energy, Ultium Cells, Thomson Locations: Tennessee, Kentucky, South, United States, KS, Ohio , Tennessee, Michigan, Fremont , California

For 100 of those applicants, the Energy Department has hired staff to provide business development advice and "intense mentorship," Jigar Shah, head of the Energy Department's Loan Programs Office, told Reuters on the sidelines of the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston. Given the rapidly evolving technologies in the clean energy space, Shah said the department might shorten loan terms. If we think that that's a risk, then we just change the terms of the loan," Shah said. The LPO office would like more applications from electric utilities and oil and gas companies for projects designed to reduce emissions, as well as geothermal companies, Shah said. Commercial debt markets are "less interested in the more innovative approaches that (wind companies) are taking.

Feb 27 (Reuters) - The U.S. Energy Department on Monday said it will lend Li-Cycle Holdings Corp (LICY.N) $375 million as it builds a battery recycling facility in New York set to become one of the country's largest sources of lithium by next year. Senator Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who serves as Senate majority leader, had long advocated for Li-Cycle to receive the funding. Li-Cycle's Rochester, New York, processing facility is slated to open later this year at a cost of roughly $485 million. The Rochester facility will break down that black mass into lithium and other metals. The Energy Department in the past month has agreed to lend $2 billion to Li-Cycle peer Redwood Materials and $700 million to ioneer Ltd's (INR.AX) Rhyolite Ridge lithium mining project.

☆ Redwood Materials scores a new $2 billion loan to build out battery recycling facility in Nevada
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Lora Kolodny | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Redwood Materials was founded by former Tesla CTO and cofounder JB Straubel in 2017 during his tenure at Elon Musk's car company. The battery-recycling startup will use the funding to build and expand its battery recycling facility outside of Reno, Nevada. Redwood Materials has attained a $2 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy, the agency announced on Thursday via its loan programs office. As CNBC previously reported, last year Redwood Materials struck a multi-billion dollar deal with Tesla supplier Panasonic. Redwood Materials has a pilot line up and running for production of anode copper foil in Nevada already.

Jan 31 (Reuters) - Solar panels and home batteries have soared in popularity because they allow consumers to generate and store their own carbon-free power and save on their electricity bills. When used this way, they are called virtual power plants, or VPPs. "Virtual power plants are at the center of that." U.S. solar companies including Sunrun Inc (RUN.O) and SunPower Corp (SPWR.O) have pooled some of their customers' systems into virtual power plants in California, Hawaii and New England. Sunrun last year, for example, operated a virtual power plant with thousands of homes in New England that provided 1.8 gigawatt-hours to the grid during June through August.

☆ Nine arrested after bridge collapses in India, killing 134
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( The Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

MORBI, India — Police in western India arrested nine people on Monday as they investigated the collapse of a newly repaired 143-year-old suspension bridge in one of the country’s worst accidents in years, officials said. The collapse Sunday evening in Gujarat state plunged hundreds of people into a river, killing at least 134. The same month, Oreva closed the bridge, which spans a wide section of the Machchu river, for repairs. Modi was the top elected official of Gujarat for 12 years before becoming India’s prime minister in 2014. A Gujarat state government election is expected in coming months and opposition parties have demanded a thorough investigation of the accident.

☆ Why convenience stores aren't rushing to replace gas pumps with EV chargers
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-18 | by ( Matt Mcfarland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Washington, DC CNN —Gas stations with convenience stores seem like an obvious location for electric vehicle chargers. The bipartisan infrastructure bill is providing $7.5 billion to help pay for electric vehicle chargers that could help gradually replace gas pumps. Convenience stores with fuel pumps account for 80% of fuel purchased in the US, according to the industry trade group. Customers charging electric vehicles must stick around longer, so they may be more likely to buy food and other goods. That way the convenience stores aren’t pulling a huge amount of power from the grid at once.

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