Energy

Replacing coal plants with renewables is cheaper 80% of time

Bloomberg About 80% of US coal plants are now more expensive to keep running than to swap out for new wind and solar capacity, according to a report from Energy Innovation, a non-partisan climate and energy think tank. While renewables cost more than fossil energy for much of the last century, prices for new wind and solar have dropped so ...

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Carbon hits record 50 euros for first time on tighter pollution rules

Bloomberg The cost of pollution in the European Union exceeded 50 euros ($60) per metric ton for the first time in the market underpinning the region’s energy transition. Carbon’s run of records in the past year has mirrored the EU’s resolve to ramp up its climate ambition. The bloc’s cap and trade system is a key tool to enact its ...

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Biggest US coal miner taps James Grech as its CEO

Bloomberg Peabody Energy Corp, the biggest US coal producer, named James Grech to be its next chief executive officer as the industry faces a long-term decline in demand for the fuel. Grech, the CEO of the Utah-based coal company Wolverine Fuels, will take over at Peabody from June 1, according to a statement. Peabody said in March that its current ...

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BP lures investors with share buybacks post tough year

Bloomberg BP Plc set out to win back shareholders after a difficult year, saying it will begin share buybacks after “exceptional” natural gas trading buoyed earnings. The gesture is aimed at investors who have shown little love for the company since it cut its dividend by half last year. After lagging its European peers for much of 2020, BP re-jigged ...

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Japan’s Kansai, Marubeni cancel last coal power plant project

Bloomberg A joint venture in Japan has scrapped plans for a coal-fired power plant, leaving the country with no new construction on the horizon as companies drop the dirty fuel amid tighter emissions rules and strong growth outlook for renewables. Kansai Electric Power Co and Marubeni Corp won’t move forward with a 1.3 gigawatt coal power project in Akita prefecture ...

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Exxon, Chevron preach prudence even as cash waterfall returns

Bloomberg Exxon Mobil Corp and Chevron Corp added momentum to a nascent recovery in the US oil industry as they reported bumper cash flow, a dramatic improvement after a torrid 2020. The energy giants generated enough cash to cover dividends, debt payments and project spending in the first quarter, the first time they’ve managed to do that in more than ...

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China’s Xi vows focus on emission cuts, end energy-inefficient projects

Bloomberg China will make cutting emissions a focus of its ecological strategy in the next five years, President Xi Jinping said, vowing to call off projects which consume a lot of energy and can’t meet environmental standards. “The carbon neutral and emission-peaking goals are solemn promises China has made to the world,” Xi said at a study session of the ...

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SK’s EV battery material unit’s Seoul IPO fetches $2 billion

Bloomberg South Korean energy supplier SK Innovation Co and SK IE Technology Co have raised 2.25 trillion won ($2 billion) in the battery material unit’s initial public offering, the country’s biggest in four years. SK IE Technology has priced the offering at 105,000 won per share, the top of a marketed range, according to an exchange statement. The portion for ...

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Copper hits highest since 2011 on global recovery

Bloomberg Copper climbed to the highest in almost a decade as the global recovery from the pandemic extended a rally in metals markets. Aluminum is surging and iron ore jumped to a fresh high as commodities advance toward the highs of the last supercycle. Metals are benefiting as the world’s largest economies announce programs to build back greener from the ...

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Total suspends its Mozambique LNG on temporary basis

Bloomberg French energy giant Total SE suspended its $20 billion liquefied natural gas project in Mozambique indefinitely due to an escalation of violence in the area, including a March attack by IS-linked extremists. The decision is a blow to Total, which bought an operating stake in the project for $3.9 billion in 2019, hoping to start exporting the super-chilled fuel ...

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