Energy

  Bloomberg Talks between South Africa’s beleaguered power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd and its biggest labor unions on wages have reached a stalemate, the latest crisis for the utility that’s struggling to boost electricity supply. The unions “responded with dismay” after negotiations failed to reach a conclusion during the final round. That’s when Eskom highlighted that it was unprofitable ...

  Bloomberg Trafigura Group posted record first-half profit, even after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine forced the commodities giant to pare back its activities as trading risk soared. Wild swings in prices and arbitrage opportunities helped to deliver net profit of $2.7 billion in the six months through March, Trafigura said in a report. At the same time, the war sharply ...

  Bloomberg European Union (EU) lawmakers sparred over how to design the bloc’s ambitious climate policies, underscoring the challenge of implementing binding climate-neutrality goals amid a war and unprecedented energy price spikes. Some European Parliament members, predominantly in the Socialist, Liberal and Green political groups, are seeking to further toughen proposals by the European Commission, while others, led by Christian ...

  Bloomberg The US is ordering refiners to boost the use of biofuels such as corn-based ethanol, as the Biden administration tries to strike a balance between competing political and economic pressures while gasoline prices soar. The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is requiring refiners to mix 20.63 billion gallons of renewable fuels into gasoline and diesel this year — ...

  Bloomberg Nikola Corp’s founder and former chair Trevor Milton voted against a proposal by the clean-energy trucking startup that would have authorised new shares to potentially raise capital, throwing the outcome into doubt, according to people familiar with the matter. Milton’s vote led to the decision to immediately adjourn Nikola’s annual shareholder meeting to June 30 so the company ...

Bloomberg Australia’s new government, elected with a promise to accelerate a shift away from fossil fuels, is holding talks with oil and gas giants to ease an energy squeeze that’s delivered a first major test. Officials are in discussions with companies on “how we can alleviate the immediate real pressure on businesses and households,” after gas prices surged and following ...

  Bloomberg New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced plans to build 22 renewable energy projects, much of them solar-power facilities, as the state aspires to achieve a zero-emission grid by 2040. The projects should generate enough power to serve 620,000 New York homes for at least 20 years, spur $2.7 billion in private investments and create more than 3,000 jobs ...

  Bloomberg South Africa made some progress toward adding new generation to its underpowered electricity grid, signing power purchase agreements for 150 megawatts of capacity from private projects by developer Scatec ASA that were selected a year ago. The government’s emergency power program, also known as the risk mitigation program, has experienced multiple delays as the nation heads for a ...

  Bloomberg Democratic Republic of Congo could see about 10 new mines for metals key to powering the green-energy transition within four years, according to the director of the country’s mining registry. About 500 of the nation’s mining permits are in advanced development and will soon lead to new projects for lithium and cobalt — battery metals driving the electric ...

  Bloomberg China’s legion of electric carmakers appear to be shaking off the worst of the nation’s lockdown-induced supply chain snarls and parts shortages, with at least four selling over 10,000 vehicles last month. The May bounce back in deliveries is an encouraging sign for the world’s biggest electric-vehicle market. The improved month-on-month shipments came despite residents of Shanghai — ...