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☆ Why the U.S. Electric Grid Isn’t Ready for the Energy Transition
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Nadja Popovich | Brad Plumer | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +13 min

Power lines 100KV 345kV 500kV Data reflects the contiguous U.S. Power lines 100KV 345kV 500kV Data reflects the contiguous U.S. Power lines 100KV 345kV 500kV Data reflects the contiguous U.S. Power lines 100KV 345kV Data reflects the contiguous U.S. Power lines 100KV 345kV 500kV Data reflects the contiguous U.S. That makes it hard to build the long-distance power lines needed to transport wind and solar nationwide. To make the plan work, the nation would need thousands of miles of new high-voltage transmission lines — large power lines that would span multiple grid regions. Utilities are sometimes wary of long-distance transmission lines that might undercut their local monopolies. “The grid is already a critical element of our energy system,” said Matteo Muratori, an analyst at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

☆ Exclusive: LNG developer Venture Global spars with customers over cargoes
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Curtis Williams | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

Italian electric utility company, Edison SpA (EDNn.MI), in May brought an arbitration proceeding against Venture Global over its failure to supply cargoes, Edison's spokeswoman said. Venture Global described the complex at the time of its first cargo shipment last year as holding "the global record for the fastest large-scale greenfield LNG facility to ever be built." Edison and Repsol signed purchase contracts with Venture Global in 2017 and 2018, respectively. That volume irked contract customers who believe Venture Global took advantage of high spot LNG prices at their expense. In its reply to DOE, Venture Global chastised Repsol as an "impatient" customer.

Persons: Shaylyn Hynes, Hynes, Repsol, Portugal's, Edison, Venture Global's Hynes, Curtis Williams, Gary McWilliams, Paul Simao Organizations: HOUSTON, Venture Global LNG, U.S, LNG, Edison SpA, Venture Global, Repsol SA, U.S . Department of Energy, DOE, Venture, Reuters, Edison, Shell, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, General Electric Co, Thomson Locations: Calcasieu, Spanish, Arlington , Virginia, Cameron Parish , Louisiana, Europe, Russia, Ukraine

Citigroup (C.N) had at one point shown interest in acquiring Credit Suisse Securities China (CSS), they added. Citi, whose CEO Jane Fraser was in China this week, is setting up a securities brokerage in China. UBS already has a majority-owned securities brokerage business in China. UBS and a spokesperson representing both Credit Suisse and CSS declined to comment. Founder Securities and the China Securities Regulatory Commission did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.

Persons: Jane Fraser, Selena Li, Engen Tham, Sumeet Chatterjee, Edwina Gibbs Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Citigroup, Credit Suisse Securities China, Citi, Securities, SS, CSS, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, SHANGHAI, China, Swiss, Hong Kong, Shanghai

[1/4] Li Yunze, director of China's National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), speaks at the Lujiazui Forum in Shanghai, China June 8, 2023. REUTERS/Jason XueSHANGHAI/BEIJING, June 8 (Reuters) - China is open for investment, the country's top financial regulators told foreign financiers at a high-profile forum in Shanghai on Thursday, as concerns mount among foreign firms that they may no longer be welcome. "Opening up is China's long-term national policy, and the door of China's financial industry will only be opened wider and wider." Yi Huiman, chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission, told forum participants that China will "adamantly" push for deregulation in terms of market access, institution qualification and products. Internal circulation will be supported by "external circulation," as in foreign financing and China's interactions with the global economy.

Persons: Li Yunze, Jason Xue, Goldman Sachs Group's, David Solomon, Tesla's, Elon Musk, Xi, Merrill Lynch, Li, Jane Fraser, Yi Huiman, Noah Fraser, Yi, Joe Cash, Shri Navaratnam, Edmund Klamann, Kim Coghill Organizations: China's, Financial Regulatory Administration, REUTERS, HSBC, Credit Agricole, Mizuho Financial, Paypal, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Canada China Business Council, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, Jason Xue SHANGHAI, BEIJING, U.S, flashpoints, Ukraine, South, Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Russia, Mongolia

☆ Chinese regulators warn four analysts over Feb 2022 strategy report
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The research report, published in February 2022 when China was battling the pandemic, predicted that the domestic stock market would still seek bottom following a rebound, as the economy was under heavy downward pressure. Negative comments by analysts and commentators in China are often censored and have come under increased regulatory scrutiny. The warning comes as China's stock market is struggling to stand on its feet amid signs the post-COVID recovery is losing steam. Other analysts and commentators in China have been censored or come under scrutiny after negative comments in the past. Separately, China's securities watchdog last March launched a crackdown on brokerages using feng shui to predict stock market trends in their research notes, state media reported.

Persons: CSRC, Zhang Xia, Chen Gang, Geng Ruitan, Tu, Yi Huiman, Hong Hao Organizations: China Merchants Securities, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Bank of Communications International Holdings Co, Shanghai, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, China, Shenzhen

☆ Opinion | Congress Is Turning Climate Gaslighting Into Law
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Jonathan Mingle | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

If completed, the Mountain Valley Pipeline will be a very large and long-lived methane delivery device. At the end of the line, the methane will be burned in power plants and furnaces, producing carbon dioxide. But now that wind, solar and battery storage are indeed quite ready and, in many places, cheaper than gas, the jig is up. Though the assertions that the pipeline is necessary and good for the climate defy logic, the political calculus is clear enough. Mr. Manchin was also a supporter of another large gas pipeline that would have originated in his state: the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which I have been reporting on since 2019.

Persons: Biden, Manchin Organizations: U.S . Energy, Administration, Congressional, Atlantic Coast Pipeline, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

Embattled Credit Suisse had been preparing for years to set up a wholly owned local bank in China. Credit Suisse and UBS declined to comment. The clock is ticking for UBS to close the deal with Credit Suisse. The China Securities Regulatory Commission did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. UBS currently runs a 67%-owned securities joint venture with a Beijing state-owned company.

Persons: Sergio Ermotti, Summer Zhen, Selena Li, Engen Tham, Sumeet Chatterjee, Muralikumar Organizations: Credit Suisse, UBS, Swiss, Credit, National Financial Regulatory Administration, Suisse's, China Securities Regulatory Commission, Thomson Locations: HONG KONG, SHANGHAI, China, Swiss, Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai

☆ Opinion: We’ve reached a turning point with AI, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jessica Chia | Bethany Cianciolo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +33 min

Will general purpose AI — AI that is as capable as humans — eventually take over the world? CNN/Peg Skorpinski “…even though we may understand how to build perfectly safe general purpose AI, what’s to stop Dr. We don’t know if they reason; we don’t know if they have their own internal goals that they’ve learned or what they might be. It is not general purpose AI, but it’s giving people a taste of what it would be like. And so it turns out that you can actually build AI systems that have those properties, but they’re very different from the kinds of AI systems that we know how to build.

Persons: CNN —, ChatGPT, Bill Gates, —, Stuart Russell, Russell, ” Russell, they’ve, Peg Skorpinski “, ” Stuart Russell Russell, ”, STUART RUSSELL, ” Stuart Russell, we’ll, “, it’s, they’re, That’s, Arthur Samuel, Samuel, Travis Teo, I’ve, Garry Kasparov, Kasparov, Stan Honda, There’s, they’re misaligned, you’ve, It’s, that’s, we’ve Organizations: CNN, University of California, IBM Watson Media, Hyundai, Boston Dynamics, Reuters, Microsoft, Artificial, Intelligence, US National Academies, GPT, IBM's, Getty, Federal Aviation Administration, Nuclear Regulatory, PIXAR Locations: Berkeley, ”, Singapore, New York, AFP, ChatGPT, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, United States, California, —

The easiest trade of the year is fizzling, and the lost momentum is keeping investors' money out. "I will not put any more money into stocks until all my losses are recovered," he said. Interviews with a dozen more small investors showed the sentiment to be reasonably widespread. Brokerage account creation, while volatile, likewise dropped off in April after promising momentum in February and March, China Securities Depository and Clearing data showed. "It is as if stocks are losing faith in the China recovery story," said Grow Investment Group chief economist Hong Hao.

The easiest trade of the year is fizzling, and the lost momentum is keeping investors' money out. Interviews with a dozen more small investors showed the sentiment to be reasonably widespread. Brokerage account creation, while volatile, likewise dropped off in April after promising momentum in February and March, China Securities Depository and Clearing data showed. "It is as if stocks are losing faith in the China recovery story," said Grow Investment Group chief economist Hong Hao. China's April industrial output and retail sales growth undershot forecasts as the recovery turned wobbly.

Persons: Eric Yu, Yi Huiman, Hong Hao, Wang Zaizheng, Chi Lo, Hayden Briscoe, Meng, Jason Xue, Winni Zhou, Tom Westbrook, Shri Navaratnam Organizations: China Securities Regulatory, JPMorgan, China Securities Depository, Mutual, Grow Investment Group, Management, UBS Asset Management, Thomson Locations: SHANGHAI, SINGAPORE, China's, Shanghai, China, United States, Hong Kong, Asia, Pacific, Singapore

☆ Opinion | The New Climate Law Is Working. Clean Energy Investments Are Soaring.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-30 | by ( Brian Deese | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +4 min

The largest increase is projected to be in industrial and manufacturing activity for hydrogen, carbon capture, energy storage and critical minerals — areas key to long-term energy security. The law did not provide all the necessary tools to achieve national goals for expanding our supply of clean energy. First, lawmakers must make it easier to build clean energy infrastructure in America. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission should more aggressively clear backlogs preventing clean energy projects from connecting to the grid. Policymakers should consider new incentives to expand energy capacity, like conditioning federal assistance to states and localities that reform land-use policies to allow clean energy development.

☆ Ivan Toney: Brentford and England striker banned for eight months and fined for breaching betting rules
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( David Close | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Ivan Toney, the star striker for English Premier League club Brentford, has been suspended from soccer and fined £50,000 ($62,407) due to “breaches of The FA’s Betting Rules,” England’s Football Association announced on Wednesday. According to the FA, Toney “was charged with 262 breaches of FA Rule E8 in total between 25 February 2017 and 23 January 2021. The FA subsequently withdrew 30 of these breaches and he admitted to the remaining 232.”Rule E8 in the FA’s handbook highlights the rules around betting. Brentford said the club was aware of the eight-month ban decision and is awaiting the written report from the independent Regulatory Commission who ruled on the case. According to the FA, Toney can return to training only with the Bees for the final four months of his suspension starting September 17.

☆ Futu, UP Fintech shares fall on plan to remove apps in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SHANGHAI, May 16 (Reuters) - New York-listed shares in Futu Holdings Ltd and UP Fintech Holding Ltd plunged in pre-market trading on Tuesday, after the online brokerages said they will remove their apps in mainland China following guidance from regulators. U.S.-listed shares of Futu slumped more than 15% in pre-market trading, while UP Fintech dropped roughly 10%. It added the company remains dedicated to serving existing clients in mainland China. It's not clear if Hong Kong units of Chinese brokerages, such as China International Capital Corp and Haitong Securities, also need to remove their apps in China. Futu, which has delayed its Hong Kong listing plan, holds a licence in Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.

☆ Sam Altman says a government agency should license AI companies — and punish them if they do wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Sindhu Sundar | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman suggested that a government agency should be formed to oversee AI safety. Such an agency could give licenses to companies for advanced AI work — and revoke them. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told a Senate panel on Tuesday that there should be an agency to police AI projects that operate "above a certain scale of capabilities." "I think if this technology goes wrong, it can go quite wrong," Altman said during in the hearing. Altman, 38, is one of its founders, along with Elon Musk, who has since parted ways with the organization.

☆ Two online trading apps yanked from stores on Chinese mainland as regulators bring pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-16 | by ( Michelle Caruso-Cabrera | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of online brokerages Futu Holdings and Up Fintech Holding were sharply lower on the Nasdaq Tuesday after they said they'll remove their apps from online stores on the Chinese mainland in response to "rectification requirements" from the Chinese Securities Regulatory Commission. Tencent -backed Futu will remove its Futubull app from app stores in China by May 19, and Up Fintech said it will remove its app, Tiger International, by May 18. Both companies said existing mainland Chinese customers will still be able to trade using the apps. Up Fintech said existing Chinese mainland clients will receive links for instructions on how to update and download the app going forward, while Futu gave a phone number for clients to call. The two Chinese firms stopped accepting mainland Chinese clients at the end of last year after the CSRC started inquiries regarding their cross-border operations, including providing cross-border securities services for domestic investors.

☆ Opinion | Speeding Up the Update of Our Electrical Grid
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-14 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “We Desperately Need a New Electrical Grid. Otherwise, America will not be able to decarbonize our grid or our economy. Fortunately, the proposed Streamlining Interstate Transmission of Electricity (SITE) Act would provide F.E.R.C. has decades of experience approving interstate natural gas pipelines. has been more responsive to the legitimate needs of states and other stakeholders when siting pipelines.

☆ Microsoft bets that a fusion power plant from Helion Energy will be operating this decade
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Microsoft agreed to buy electricity from a fusion power plant being developed by Helion Energy. Microsoft on Wednesday agreed to buy 50 megawatts of electricity — enough to power about 40,000 homes — from a fusion power plant being developed by Helion Energy. The seventh prototype, expected be completed this year, is set to be the first to convert fusion energy into electricity, Kirtley said. If Helion doesn't deliver Microsoft the 50 MW of electricity from its fusion power plant, there will be financial penalties, Kirtley said. Helion had previously projected that it would start building a commercial fusion power plant by 2022 — if it obtained sufficient funding.

☆ China names head of NFRA as financial industry faces greater scrutiny
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Laura He | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Hong Kong CNN —China has appointed the head of its powerful new financial watchdog, which was created as part of sweeping reforms aimed at reining in the $60 trillion industry. Currently, several provincial leaders had previous careers in the financial industry, including Wu Qing, vice mayor of Shanghai and formerly the chairman of the Shanghai Stock Exchange. China’s sprawling financial industry is coming under closer scrutiny as Xi and his key allies have asserted greater direct control over financial policy. For years, Xi has said the financial industry should better serve the real economy, including making money available to businesses that need it. To further consolidate control, according to analysts, the top anti-graft body has carried out a sweeping anti-corruption campaign in the financial industry, which has ensnared more than a dozen senior executives from state-owned financial institutions.

☆ Microsoft to buy power from nuclear fusion company Helion
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, May 10 (Reuters) - Private U.S. nuclear fusion company Helion Energy will provide Microsoft (MSFT.O) with electricity in about five years, the companies said on Wednesday, in the first such deal for the power source that fuels the sun but has been elusive on Earth. Government labs and more than 30 companies are racing to generate power from fusion, which could one day help the world slash emissions linked to climate change. Helion's plant is expected to be online by 2028 and will target power generation of 50 megawatts or greater after a one-year ramp up period, it said. Polaris, Helion's seventh generation machine, should come online next year and demonstrate electricity generation, using a mix of laser and magnet technologies to achieve fusion, Kirtley said. In 2021, Helion was the first private company to achieve 100 million degrees Celsius and the optimum temperature is about twice that, Kirtley said.

☆ US approves temporary nuclear waste storage in New Mexico
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Timothy Gardner | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) said the license authorizes private company Holtec to store 500 canisters holding nearly 8,700 metric tonnes of spent nuclear fuel from nuclear power plants for 40 years. Opponents of nuclear power say the government does not yet have a permanent fix for the waste that can be toxic for hundreds of thousands of years. It bans storage of the waste, until the state agrees to handle it and until the federal government figures out permanent storage. The Biden administration prefers a consent-based siting of nuclear waste facilities in which local communities are involved in the site selection process. The NRC issued a license in 2021 to Interim Storage Partners LLC for a proposed storage site in Andrews, Texas, but the company has not started construction.

May 8 (Reuters) - Vanguard Group, the largest provider of mutual funds, has secured regulatory approval to continue to own big stakes in U.S. power utilities, overcoming Republican concerns over its environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies. Regulators had previously allowed Vanguard to exceed that antitrust limit on the basis that this would not interfere with the utilities' operations. Vanguard countered that its funds do not exert control over the decisions of the utilities. Vanguard reiterated in a statement on Monday that it leaves "management decisions to companies and policy decisions to policymakers." A representative for Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, one of the leaders of the group challenging the FERC extension, said he would comment in coming days.

OMAHA, Nebraska, May 6 (Reuters) - Warren Buffett said on Saturday that Berkshire Hathaway Inc (BRKa.N) is not planning to acquire Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY.N) but remains happy with its large investment in the oil company. Speaking at Berkshire's annual shareholder meeting, Buffett rejected speculation that Berkshire would buy Occidental after having accumulated a 23.6% stake. "We will not be making any offer for Occidental," Buffett said. "Hollub is an extraordinary manager at Occidental," Buffett said. Last August, Berkshire won U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permission to buy up to 50% of Occidental's common stock.

☆ Amazon is the 500-pound gorilla in a room full of puppies when it comes to corporate buying of wind and solar power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-06 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

In 2022, Amazon bought 10.9 gigawatts of clean power, making it the largest corporate buyer of renewable power in the world, according to data from the market research company BloombergNEF. It's also more than four times the amount of clean energy that the second-largest purchaser of clean power, Facebook parent company Meta , bought in 2022. Since 2019, Amazon has scaled from having one gigawatt of renewable energy to more than 20 gigawatts of publicly announced renewable power. Amazon is focused on building new wind and solar projects, Daitch told CNBC. But that's really more of a bridging solution and not our core strategy, which is around enabling new wind and solar projects," Daitch said.

☆ Oliver Stone says you should be more worried about the climate crisis than the risks of using nuclear power
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Oscar-wining director Oliver Stone released a documentary calling for more use of nuclear power. And nuclear power kills far fewer people than fossil fuels — the main cause of the climate crisis — in terms of air pollution and accidents. These events distorted the safety risks of nuclear energy, Stone argues, noting that beyond the 1986 Chernobyl disaster, few people have died from nuclear accidents. Stone told Insider he didn't know that Ralph Nader, who famously campaigned against nuclear power plants, described the documentary as a "propaganda boomerang." "I'd rather not," Stone told Insider.

☆ Westinghouse announces a new small nuclear reactor — a notable step in the industry's efforts to remake itself
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Catherine Clifford | In Catclifford | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Westinghouse is offering a smaller-scale nuclear reactor in an effort to expand access to nuclear power as demand for clean energy soars. The company announced the launch of a small version of its flagship AP1000 nuclear reactor on Thursday. Small nuclear reactors are also being eyed by industrial producers as carbon-free sources of heat, Merrifield told CNBC. But an AP300 nuclear reactor will produce roughly the same amount of electricity as what a typical coal plant produces, so replacing one coal plant with a small nuclear reactor would be simpler. "We have absolute confidence, because the NRC has already licensed every bit of this technology," Durham told CNBC.

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