Tesla is asking the parties involved in Elon Musk’s CEO compensation case to interpret shareholders’ ratification last week.
Following Tesla shareholders voting again for Musk’s 2018 CEO compensation plan last week, the automaker’s lawyers now have to explain to the Delaware judge how this impacts the case that rescinded the compensation.
Tesla admitted that its use of ratification was novel in this case, but it does claim that it “significantly impacts” the case in a new letter to Judge McCormick:
“The approval of ratification by Tesla’s stockholders significantly impacts the claims and issues in this action, including the court’s final judgment.”
The automaker is asking all parties involved to explain their interpretation of the impact of shareholders’ ratification.
Tesla’s own argument is that including the judge’s decision in its proxy statement informs shareholders of all the governance problems highlighted by the judge, and if they decide to move forward with the compensation regardless, which they did, the judge should approve.
A lawyer representing the shareholder in the case told Reuters that they will argue the ratification has “no legal effect”:
Greg Varallo, a shareholder attorney in the case against the pay package, said the ratification had “no legal effect” on the case and that he would explain his argument in a brief due Friday.
Legal scholars familiar with Delaware business law have all agreed that this would be a brand new use of the ratification clause, but it’s not impossible that Judge McCormick would accept Tesla’s interpretation.
The full arguments from each side should be in front of the judge by Friday.
The next hearing for the case is set for July 8, when the judge should decide on the shareholder’s attorneys. The shareholders are asking for around $5 billion in Tesla stocks, while the automaker is countering at $13.8 million.
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China just connected its largest single-capacity solar farm built on a former coal mining area, which is in the Gobi Desert, to the grid.
The Mengxi Blue Ocean Photovoltaic Power Station, located in Otog Front Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, came online on November 5. With a massive installed capacity of 3 gigawatts (GW) and over 5.9 million solar panels, the plant will generate around 5.7 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually – enough to power 2 million households.
This huge project will save about 1.71 million tons of standard coal each year and cut carbon dioxide emissions by roughly 4.7 million tons, which is equivalent to planting 62,700 hectares (around 155,000 acres) of trees.
Built on coal mining subsidence land, Mengxi Blue Ocean is part of China’s national West-East Electricity Transfer Project, which brings investment and development to western China west while supplying the growing need for electricity in the eastern provinces.
The solar farm includes the country’s first large-scale outdoor solar testing base in the Gobi Desert climate, demonstrating the potential for large solar installations in challenging environments.
The power station makes use of new rare earth alloy grounding materials, cutting costs by 40%. It also replaces traditional concrete foundations with steel to minimize impact on the local grassland ecosystem.
Chuang Xihong, deputy director of the Engineering Construction Department of Guodian Power Group, CHN Energy’s parent company, explained that Mengxi Blue Ocean is an agrivoltaic project as well [via PV Tech]:
Fine forage and sand-fixing plants are planted under the PV modules, providing grazing for Australian White Sheep and chickens. A composite ecological development model will be established where PV power generation and breeding will go hand in hand.
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Operations at Three Mile Island are poised to restart in four years, the latest sign that the nuclear power industry is undergoing a major turnaround after a wave of plant closures.
The Unit 1 reactor at Three Mile Island, which entered service in 1974, was permanently shut down in 2019 due to economic pressure as nuclear power struggled to compete against natural gas. But the tech sector’s growing power needs are breathing new life into the industry.
Constellation Energy plants to restart Unit 1 in 2028 through an agreement with Microsoft to help power the tech company’s data centers. The plant will be renamed the Crane Clean Energy Center — after Chris Crane, the late CEO of the plant’s former owner, Exelon — and its restart is subject to approval by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The Department of Energy said Unit 1 operated safely and efficiently before being shut down five years ago. However, it lies within walking distance of the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. The Unit 2 reactor suffered a partial meltdown in 1979 and has not operated since the accident. It is being decommissioned by its owner, Energy Solutions.
Constellation’s chief generation officer, Bryan Hanson said Unit 1 is in good condition and the restoration will mostly involve typical maintenance work.
Here is a look at the plant’s main control room, the turbine deck that houses the main power generator, and the facility’s iconic cooling towers. For more on the restart click here.
Main control room
The control panel in the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Constellation’s chief generation officer, Bryan Hanson, inside the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Telephones in the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the main control room of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Turbine deck
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Electrical panels on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Part of the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
A desk on the turbine deck of the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers
A detail of two cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Power lines and a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Detail of a cooling tower at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
Cooling towers at the Three Mile Island nuclear power plant in Middletown, Pennsylvania, Oct. 30, 2024.
Danielle DeVries | CNBC
— CNBC’s Danielle DeVries contributed to this report.