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Bloomberg A bipartisan group of senators is planning to introduce legislation that would expand US sanctions against Gazprom PJSC’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline between Russia and Germany by taking aim at insurance companies that work with Russian vessels on completion of the project. Senator Ted Cruz, one of the lead sponsors of the legislation, said the pipeline poses “a critical …

Bloomberg China probably won’t hit its nuclear energy target this year, but that’s unlikely to derail a broader ambition to become the planet’s chief proponent of the climate-friendly fuel by the end of the decade. In an energy mix that’ll still heavily feature coal and other fossil fuels, government researchers have said that nuclear capacity could more than double to …

Bloomberg Electricite de France (EDF) and its Canadian and German partners have finalised the funding of a 2 billion euro ($2.23 billion) offshore wind project, allowing construction to start in the English Channel. EDF, Enbridge Inc and Wpd AG plan to commission the 500-megawatt wind farm in 2023, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday. The facility near the …

Bloomberg Chinese manufacturers that dominate nearly every step in the global solar power supply chain are being forced to slash prices as the coronavirus disrupts projects around the world. Costs for components like wafers and cells have fallen by as much as 20% since the start of the year. They likely haven’t bottomed out yet, either, as the outlook for …

Bloomberg Uniper SE’s controversial new German coal plant is opening at a time when the fuel has never been more unpopular. Datteln-4 has drawn international condemnation from teenage activist Greta Thunberg to Greenpeace at a time when many countries are trying to slash their emissions. The environmentalists aren’t buying the argument that the new plant is more climate friendly than …

Bloomberg Fossil fuels are no longer considered “green” by China’s central bank. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) plans to remove “clean utilisation of fossil fuel” projects from the list of programs that can be funded by green bonds, according to a draft plan. The bank has drawn the ire of environmentalists for allowing the sustainable financing tools to fund …

Bloomberg Chevron Corp is planning a 10% to 15% reduction in its global workforce this year, the biggest cut to headcount yet among global oil majors following the Covid-19 pandemic. The cuts equate to about 6,000 of its 45,000 non-gas station employees and may be a precursor to staffing reductions at Big Oil rivals such as BP Plc and Royal …

Bloomberg Who needs a loss-making, inflexible oil refinery in a world where demand for petroleum has been obliterated? We’re about to find out. When consumption of transport fuels collapsed this year because of coronavirus, much of the industry moved into survival mode, cutting processing rates and even temporarily stopping refining in some cases. While that helped prop up the industry’s …

Bloomberg US clean-energy startup, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS), raised an additional $84 million from major investors in Europe and Asia, underscoring that the appetite remains to back new technologies which could mitigate climate change. As the world looks to ramp up the use of intermittent renewable energy, it needs to add forms of flexible clean power that can be turned …

Bloomberg The economy of the world’s biggest energy exporter is heading for its deepest slump in more than 10 years due to the fallout from the coronavirus. A bigger crisis may be just around the corner. Analysts at the Kremlin-funded Skolkovo Energy Center warned this month that the nation faces years of economic stagnation as demand for its carbon-heavy exports …