China needs to bolster its coal supply to avoid an economic slowdown this quarter, but Beijing’s icy relations with Australia could make that difficult, according to investment bank Mizhuo.
The world’s second-largest economy is facing a power shortage owing to a combination of factors. They include: extreme weather, surging demand for Chinese exports and a national push to reduce carbon emissions, as set out by President Xi Jinping.
China is an industrial powerhouse and the planet’s biggest emitter of carbon dioxide. The country generates most of its electricity by burning coal but the inventory of major power plants reached a 10-year low in August.
“While China unambiguously needs as much coal as it can get its hands on to avert a [fourth-quarter] slowdown due to the tyranny of rolling power shortages, geo-political tensions with Australia have waylaid the most convenient source of high-calorific coal from Down Under,” said Vishnu Varathan, head of economics and strategy for Asia and Oceania treasury department at Mizuho, in a note on Monday.
Late last year, China stopped buying coal from Australia — which used to be the biggest exporter of the commodity to the country. It came as trade tensions between the two countries soared, after Australia backed a call for an international inquiry into China’s handling of the coronavirus.
As a result, China turned to Indonesia, Mongolia, Russia and other countries to try and make up for the shortfall. Last year, reports said that Indonesian coal miners signed a $1.5 billion supply deal with China.
Indonesia is well positioned to benefit from the demand spill-over, but its ability to fulfil shipments may be a bottleneck, Varathan said.
China faces risks in procuring coal quickly due to a variety of constraints including logistics and regulations. That implies a “stutter in economic activity and attendant kinks in regional supply chain may not be fully avoided,” Varathan said.
Inflationary pressure
Already, some banks have downgraded China’s growth prospects due to the power crunch.
Many observers appear to be worried about a “significant degree of energy price shock,” Varathan said.
China’s power shortage could lead to rise in prices for many export goods that could result in modest increase in consumer inflation in advanced economies, according to Kevin Xie, senior Asia economist at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.
Restrictions on electricity supply will cut economic growth and exacerbate the slowdown caused by problems in China’s residential construction sector, Xie said in a note last week.
“Energy intensive industries will be most affected by electricity rationing. The combined share of the industrial sector in affected provinces with power rationing is about 14% of Chinese GDP,” he added.
So far, policymakers in Beijing have not given any indication of whether China will resume importing Australian coal. Media reports last week said Indian firms snagged about 2 million tons of Australian coal at a discounted price that were sitting in Chinese warehouses.
Tesla (TSLA) has officially obtained a permit in California to operate an internal fleet for a ride-hailing service, but it’s not for robotaxi yet.
In fact, the automaker hasn’t even applied for an autonomous driving permit yet.
A few weeks ago, it was reported that Tesla had applied for a ride-hailing permit in California.
Even though many linked it to Tesla’s Robotaxi effort, it was specifically for the right to operate an internal fleet of vehicles with drivers to offer a ride-hailing service.
Tesla had already disclosed that it was offering such a service to its employees in the Bay Area.
Now, the CPUC has confirmed that it has approved Tesla’s application (via Reuters):
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) said it approved Tesla’s application for a transportation charter-party carrier permit (TCP), a license typically associated with chauffeur-operated services, allowing the company to own and control a fleet of vehicles and transport employees on pre-arranged trips.
After Tesla’s stock crashed 5% today, the automaker’s stock went up 1.3% in aftermarket trading on the news.
The speculation is that this is in anticipation of Tesla launching its “robotaxi service”, but a CPUC spokesperson confirmed that the permit doesn’t allow Tesla to do that and that the automaker has yet to apply for a permit that would enable such a service.
Last year, Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that Tesla would launch “unsupervised self-driving in Texas and California in Q2 2025.” That’s within the next 4 months.
However, we suspected that this would not be “unsupervised self-driving’ in customer vehicles like Tesla has been promising since 2016, but an internal fleet with teleoperation support in a geo-fenced area for ride-hailing services, much like Waymo has been doing for years.
Sure enough, Musk confirmed last month that this was the plan for Austin in June. We describe this as a “moving of the goal post” for Tesla.
With the focus on Austin in June, Tesla stopped talking about California, which was announced to happen at the same time as Texas last year.
Currently, the prediction market Polymarket puts the odds of Tesla launching robotaxis in California in 2025 at 29%:
Electrek’s Take
As I previously stated, I believe Tesla will use this permit to expand its existing ride-hailing test program in California to non-employees.
It will use that to iron out the ride-hailing system while it continues to work on its self-driving system, which is obviously the hard part to solve.
That said, I wouldn’t be completely shocked if Tesla launched a “robotaxi” in California this year. It just won’t be what Tesla has been promising for years: customer vehicles built since 2016 would be capable of self-driving at a robotaxi-level (4-5 SAE levels).
Instead, it will be an internal fleet with teleoperation support in a geo-fenced area, much like Waymo has been offering in California, Arizona, and Texas for years.
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GE Vernova is going to supply more than 100 US-made wind turbines to renewables developer RWE for 308 megawatts (MW) of wind projects in west Texas.
RWE is repowering its 127 MW Forest Creek wind farm near Big Spring, Texas, and will kick off construction of the 181 MW Honey Mesquite project in fall 2025. These two projects will deliver 308 MW of clean energy with 109 of GE Vernova’s 2.82 MW wind turbines.
Construction is now officially underway at Forest Creek, bringing some big upgrades that’ll extend the wind farm’s life, which was commissioned in 2006, by another 30 years. The original wind towers, turbines, and other gear are all being decommissioned, and 45 new GE Vernova turbines are each getting fresh foundations. Forest Creek is set to be back online by the end of 2025. RWE is teaming up with Wanzek Construction (part of MasTec Renewables) to recycle or repurpose the old blades, rotors, and nacelles.
Repowering is becoming big business – GE Vernova’s onshore wind business announced in January that it received orders in 2024 to repower over 1 gigawatt (GW) of wind turbines in the US.
RWE’s new wind farm, Honey Mesquite, in Glasscock County will begin construction later this year and is expected to come online in late 2026.
Together, the two projects will create hundreds of construction jobs and bring in millions in new economic activity to the region. RWE, the US’s third-largest renewables company, says it’s invested $9 billion in Texas since 2007 when Forest Creek first began operations.
Scott Stalica, executive director of North American commercial operations at GE Vernova, said, “These projects are another example of how wind power can support the country’s growing energy needs while creating US jobs and bolstering energy security.”
Texas generates more wind power than any other US state. In 2023, Texas led the US in utility-scale wind-powered electricity generation, producing nearly three-tenths of the country’s total, according to the EIA.
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The world’s first electric muscle car, as Dodge calls it, is now arriving at dealerships in a new “Bludicrous” color. Dodge also launched a new virtual experience that lets you create the Charger you’ve been dreaming of right on your phone. To sweeten the deal, Dodge is offering hefty discounts of up to $12,500 on the new Charger Daytona EV.
Dodge launches Charger EV Virtual and big discounts
After the first electric Chargers began arriving at dealerships in January, Dodge introduced a fun, interactive new way for you to create a custom Charger from home.
Since the electric Charger is “loaded with new tech and performance features,” Dodge wants to give you the chance to experience it before you visit the dealership.
The new Dodge Charger Virtual Experience allows you to learn more about the electric muscle car’s performance, technology, design, and more. You can access it by scanning a QR code (shown below).
You can create your own Dodge Charger Daytona R/T or the 670 horsepower Scat Pack model, choosing from the different colors, interior themes, and package options available. The interactive experience even lets you open and close doors, fold the second-row seats, activate exterior and interior lights, and more.
The Dodge Charger EV has eight exterior color options, including the new “Bludicrous” blue, which costs an extra $795.
You can choose from After Dark, Destroyer Grey, Diamond Black, Peel Out, Redeye, Triple Nickel, and White Knuckle. Dodge said the new color will also be offered on the upcoming four-door Charger and gas-powered SIXPACK models later this year.
With up to 670 horsepower and 627 lb-ft of torque, the Scat Pack model has “SRT-like performance,” including a 0 to 60 mph sprint in 3.3 seconds. It starts at $73,190.
The Dodge Charger Daytona R/T starts at $59,995 with up to 496 horsepower. If you’re looking for a deal, Dodge launched a $7,500 National Consumer Cash rebate on all 2024 Charger Daytonas.
| Dodge Charger Daytona EV trim | Horsepower | 0 to 60 mph time | Starting price |
| Dodge Charger Daytona R/T | 496 hp | 4.7 seconds | $59,995 |
| Dodge Charger Daytona Scat Pack | 670 hp | 3.3 seconds | $73,190 |
Combined with a $3,000 National Dodge Performance Days Combo Bonus Cash and a $2,000 conquest cash offer, you can save up to $12,500. Other offers include 0% interest for 72 months and a $3,000 Bonus Cash Allowance or monthly leases as low as $519.
Ready to test out the electric muscle car in real life? We’re here to help you get started. You can use our link to find offers on 2024 and 2025 Dodge Charger EV models at a deal near you.
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