Harrys u pull it

Mitsubishi Corp has decided to pull out of the Vinh Tan 3 power plant in Vietnam, two sources familiar with the company’s thinking on the matter told Reuters , as it shifts away from carbon intensive businesses in the face of climate change.

Mitsubishi’s move to exit the estimated $2 billion project shows how willing Japanese companies and financiers are to drop their once-strong support for coal amid pressure from shareholders and activists.

Japan’s big banks regularly topped lending league tables for coal mines and power stations. But, in a little over a year, they have committed to ending their financing for the dirtiest fossil fuel, albeit over decades.

The Japanese trading house will pull out of the 2-gigawatt Vinh Tan 3 project, located in the southern province of Binh Thuan, because of climate targets, the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity said.

Mitsubishi has committed to reducing their investment in coal power to keep in line with international climate goals, according to its environmental statement, which a company spokesman pointed to in response to questions on Vinh Tan 3. He declined to comment on that particular project.

The Japanese trading house also has a stake in the Vung Ang 2 coal station being built in the central province of Ha Tinh, which is more widely known due to the focus on that project by environmental and other groups as well as investors.

Mitsubishi is a sponsor of the project through a joint venture with Hong Kong’s CLP Holdings where they have a 49% stake. Electricity of Vietnam Group has a 29% stake with Thai Bin Duong Group holding the remainder, according to Market Forces. Operations were due to start around 2024.

Vietnam is likely to shift away from a large rollout of coal power as renewables investments start to take hold, analysts have said.

The Japanese trading house will pull out of the 2-gigawatt Vinh Tan 3 project, planned to be located in the southern province of Binh Thuan, because of climate change targets, Reuters reported, citing two anonymous sources.

Without mentioning Vinh Tan 3 specifically, Mitsubishi said in a statement that it was committed to reducing its investment in coal power in line with international climate goals.

The 2-gigawatt plant was originally scheduled to come online in 2024.

OneEnergy, a joint venture of Mitsubishi and Hong Kong’s CLP group, holds a 49 percent interest in the $2 billion project. State-owned utility Vietnam Electricity owns another 29 percent. Chinese companies are handling materials procurement, construction and equipment delivery.

This marks Mitsubishi’s first withdrawal from a coal plant project. The trading house has said it will not build any new facilities of this type after Vung Ang 2, a Nikkei report said.

Mitsubishi still has a stake in the Vung Ang 2 coal power plant being built in the central province of Ha Tinh, which is more widely known after being subject to critical scrutiny by environmental and other groups as well as investors.

AFP

LUBBOCK, Texas — A historic winter storm has killed at least 21 people, left millions of Texans without power and spun killer tornadoes into the U.S. Southeast on Tuesday.

The brutal cold has engulfed vast swaths of the United States, shuttering COVID-19 inoculation centers and hindering vaccine supplies. It is not expected to relent until the weekend.

Officials in Texas drew criticism as the state energy grid repeatedly failed, forcing rolling blackouts. Freezing weather stilled giant wind turbines that dot the West Texas landscape, making it impossible for energy companies to meet escalating demand.

University student Corbin Antu found a way to snowboard in the flat West Texas plains town of Lubbock. He clung to a tow rope as friends in a pickup truck pulled him up and down silent white streets.

“This is my first time snowboarding out in Lubbock. Trust me, it’s not disappointing,” Antu said. “There is so much powder out on the ground it feels like it’s Colorado almost.”

Deaths, no power, vaccine delays

At least 21 people have died in Texas, Louisiana, Kentucky and Missouri including four killed in a house fire in Sugar Land, Texas, where the power was out, according to police and local media.

President Joe Biden assured the governors of hard-hit states that the federal government stands ready to offer any emergency resources needed, the White House said in a statement.

Roger Hake gets an assist from his truck lights as he clears snow from his driveway before the sun comes up in Webster, near Rochester, New York, U.S. February 16, 2021. Photo : Jamie Germano/Rochester Democrat and Chronicle/USA Today Network via REUTERS

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner said at a midday news conference that 1.3 million people in his city remain without power. The city is looking for businesses that still have power to open their doors as warming centers.

“It’s critically, critically important to get the power restored as quickly as possible. It’s priority number one!” Turner said.

Officials in south Texas warned citizens to not bring grills or propane heaters indoors. Hospitals have treated people for carbon monoxide poisoning as they tried to heat icy homes using those items.

Turner said vaccination centers in Houston would remain closed on Wednesday and probably Thursday. The Texas Department of State Health Services said vaccine shipments around the state would be delayed.

“No one wants to put vaccine at risk by attempting to deliver it in dangerous conditions,” department spokesman Douglas Loveday said by email, adding “it is not safe for people to be out across much of Texas.”

In neighboring New Mexico, a state spokesman said by email there were delays in some Pfizer vaccine shipments, which were expected to be brief.

The deep freeze grounded operations at the Houston Ship channel and curbed output in the nation’s largest oil field: the Permian in West Texas. Several oil refineries remained offline.

Freeze will linger

Storms dumped snow and ice from Ohio to the Rio Grande through the long Presidents Day holiday weekend, and treacherous weather was expected to grip much of the United States through Friday. Forecasters predicted up to 4 inches of snow and freezing rain from the southern Plains into the Northeast.

“We’re calling it Storm System No. 2, with very similar placement to the previous storm,” said meteorologist Lara Pagano of the National Weather Service’s Weather Prediction Center in College Park, Maryland.

Shoppers crowd a display of bottled water at a United Supermarkets location not long after the city announced it had 2-3 hours of water left at normal consumption, due to loss of electric power caused by the winter storm in Abilene, Texas, U.S. February 15, 2021. Picture taken February 15, 2021. Photo: Ronald W. Erdrich/Reporter-News/USA Today Network via REUTERS. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT

An Arctic air mass descended over much of the country, pushing temperatures to historic lows on Tuesday, Pagano said. In Lincoln, Nebraska, a reading of minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 35 degrees Celsius) on Tuesday shattered a record set in 1978 of minus 18F (minus 27C).

In typically toasty Dallas-Fort Worth, minus 1F (minus 17C) broke a record set in 1903 of 12F (minus 11C).

“It’s just dangerous,” Pagano said.

With more than 4.4 million power outages in Texas alone, authorities shut down inoculation sites and scrambled to use 8,400 vaccines that require subzero refrigeration before they spoiled after a backup generator failed, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo said. Doses were rushed to area hospitals and Rice University to be injected into the arms of people already at those locations and who did not have to travel on slick roads.

In the Southeast, a low-pressure system that developed along the Arctic front created fuel for storms that unleashed at least four tornadoes, said meteorologist Jeremy Grams of the weather service’s Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma. One ripped through the Florida Panhandle and two through southwestern Georgia on Monday.

The fourth, most severe twister left three dead and homes flattened after it swept overnight through North Carolina’s coastal Brunswick County in the state’s southeastern corner between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, the local sheriff’s office said early on Tuesday.

After a brief lull on Tuesday, rough weather including potential twisters was expected to return on Wednesday into Thursday, Grams said.

“Those very same areas could be impacted – that will include tornadoes and damaging winds,” he said.

* Manchester City opened up a commanding five-point lead at the top of the Premier League as Ilkay Gundogan scored twice in a 4-1 victory at Liverpool for whom keeper Alisson endured a Sunday (Feb 7) afternoon to forget.

* Chelsea took another step in their recovery under new coach Thomas Tuchel when they beat bottom side Sheffield United 2-1 in the Premier League on Sunday thanks to a strike by Mason Mount and a penalty by Jorginho, with Germany’s Timo Werner involved in both goals.

* Harry Kane scored on his return from injury to help Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion on Sunday (Feb 7) and end a three-match losing run in the Premier League.

* Wolverhampton Wanderers and Leicester City shared the spoils in a 0-0 Premier League draw on Sunday (Feb 7) as both teams showed plenty of attacking intent but lacked an end product.

* Barcelona winger Francisco Trincao scored his first goal for the club to snatch a 3-2 win away to Real Betis on Sunday as Ronald Koeman’s side pulled off a second comeback victory in the space of four days.

* Paris St Germain claimed a clinical 2-0 win at bitter rivals Olympique de Marseille on Sunday to keep pace with fellow Ligue 1 title contenders Lille and Olympique Lyonnais.

* Jonathan David scored twice as Lille beat Nantes 2-0 away to claim their sixth consecutive victory and restore a two-point lead at the top of the Ligue 1 standings on Sunday.

* Liverpool’s Champions League last-16 away tie against RB Leipzig will be staged in Budapest as coronavirus restrictions bar the English champions travelling to Germany, UEFA announced on Sunday (Feb 7).

* World number three Naomi Osaka started her Australian Open in style on Monday (Feb 8) with an easy straight-sets victory over Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as the delayed Grand Slam finally got under way. The Japanese star faced a potentially tricky first-round contest against the world number 39, but made light work of the Russian 6-1, 6-2 in 68 minutes.

* Italian teenager Jannik Sinner battled past compatriot Stefano Travaglia 7-6(4) 6-4 to win the Great Ocean Road Open on Sunday and build some momentum heading into the Australian Open.

* Briton Dan Evans captured his first ATP Tour title with a commanding 6-2 6-3 win against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Murray River Open final on Sunday. Eighth seed Evans broke serve five times in the Australian Open warm-up event and needed just 77 minutes to defeat Auger-Aliassime, who has now lost all seven finals he has played in.