Latest news with #EnergyandElectrification
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Tariff impacts in Michigan: Canada moves forward with 25% surcharge on energy
DETROIT (FOX 2) - Half a trillion dollars in trade between the U.S. and Canada and a good chunk of that crosses the Ambassador Bridge between Detroit and Windsor daily. Big picture view Meanwhile, as the Trump Administration and Canada discuss the threat of tariffs on goods and services, Ontario is moving forward with a 25% surcharge on energy exports. Ontario's Minister of Energy and Electrification, Stephen Leece, talked with FOX 2 about the recent decisions. "The point is to demonstrate to the President that we mean business," Leece said. "To stand up for ourselves against an illegal attack on an agreement he signed with Canada and Mexico only a few short years ago. Nine million Americans woke up this morning because of the Ontario economic relationship with the U.S. We say this with regret. We don't want to do this. I'd rather be selling more power and working together." By the numbers Ontario's tariff means a 25% surcharge on every megawatt sold to its U.S. customers—notably in New York, Minnesota, and Michigan. The Michigan Public Service Commission says this may impact prices in our state's regional markets. The commission also said it's concerned about whether the tariff could hurt grid reliability in the states. They wrote in a statement: "Any action to limit or disrupt these flows would remove a layer of protection and make all of us—Canadians and Americans alike—more vulnerable to grid-scale outages." Dig deeper Chris Kobus, Oakland University's associate professor of energy, says while the tariff talk makes headlines, he believes the impact will be minimal in Michigan. "As much as we have a net use for Canada's electricity, going the other way around, they have a net use," said Kobus. "We give them quite a bit of natural gas. They start charging more for electricity. We're going to charging more for natural gas." "As soon as the Trump administration can come to you all and say, 'hey, we want to end these tariffs.' The energy tariff goes away immediately? Am I correct in saying that?" FOX 2's Brandon Hudson asked Leece. "We will drop the surcharge as soon as the tariffs are off the table," Leece responded. Local perspective FOX 2 also reached out to DTE, and they said the tariff would not impact their company or its customers.
Yahoo
10-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Ontario imposes 25% hike on electricity exports to Minnesota, two other states
Ontario's premier has announced 25% tariff on electricity exports on Monday in retaliation to the Trump Administration's trade war, in a move expected to impact Minnesotans Canada's most populous province exports energy to around 1.5 million homes in Minnesota, Michigan and New York. President Trump announced the 25% tariffs on U.S. exports to Mexico and Canada starting last week, but after imposing an initial wave of tariffs on $21 billion of U.S. goods, he delayed a larger, second round until Apr. 2 amid economic concerns of a broader trade war that has sent U.S. stocks plummeting. But Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced his province would move forward with its energy export tariffs, saying: "President Trump's tariffs are a disaster for the U.S. economy. They're making life more expensive for American families and businesses. "Until the threat of tariffs is gone for good, Ontario won't back down. We'll stand strong, use every tool in our toolkit and do whatever it takes to protect Ontario." Ford also reiterated in a press conference that if Trump continues to escalate the trade war with Canada, Ontario is willing to completely turn off the electricity supply to the U.S. He previously announced his same intentions last week. Beginning Monday, new market rules require any generator selling electricity to the U.S. to add a 25% surcharge, according to Ford's office. Ontario's government expects to generate revenue of $300,000 to $400,000 Canadian dollars per day, "which will be used to support Ontario workers, families and businesses." "For decades, Ontario has powered American homes, factories, offices and jobs, and we will not stand by as our vital electricity exports are taken for granted," said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Electrification. "In a time where prices are going up for families in America, Canada and the United States should be working together to strengthen our trade and investment relationships to ensure a prosperous future for both sides of the border." Of Ontario's 26 transmission connections with neighboring jurisdictions, one exists in Minnesota. A spokesperson for Minnesota Power tells Bring Me The News while it does have an electric grid connection with Ontario, it imports more electricity from Manitoba than it does from Ontario. "Only a very small portion of our electricity comes from Ontario, in 2024 those costs totaled about $300,000. So we would expect the impact on our customers to be negligible," spokesperson Amy Rutledge said. In 2024, Minnesota Power didn't import any electricity from Ontario in eight months of the year. Manitoba Hydro accounts for 11% of Minnesota Power's energy and Rutledge said Minnesota Power spent $108 million on energy from Manitoba last year. The Duluth-based energy company is the largest utility company in northern Minnesota. However, that doesn't necessarily mean Manitoba would be left out of the tariff conversation and any similar move from that province could have much larger impact on northern Minnesotans. The province has yet to announce anything official as of Monday. As for Xcel Energy, it doesn't import any electricity or natural gas directly from Ontario. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz reacted to the news on Twitter, saying Minnesotans will be victims of a "skyrocketing electric bill." "Minnesota cannot afford Trump's billionaire-run economy. We have to put a stop to this madness," Walz said. The new surcharge is in addition to Canada imposing an initial round of $30 billion in retaliatory tariffs. It impacts products such as orange juice, peanut butter, wine, coffee and more. LCBO, the largest buyer of alcohol in the world, has also removed all U.S. products from its Canadian shelves, costing U.S. producers $1 billion in lost revenue, according to Ford's office.
Yahoo
27-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
BWXT Awarded Historic Manufacturing Contracts to Support Pickering Life Extension and Darlington New Build Projects
CAMBRIDGE, Ontario, January 27, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) announced today contracts with a total value of more than C$1 billion for two major nuclear energy projects that will enable Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) life extension of the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, and the deployment of a new small modular reactor (SMR) at the Darlington site. Under the first contract, BWXT will manufacture 48 steam generators at its Cambridge facility for the Pickering life extension program. The project will create more than 250 highly skilled trades positions, including welders, fitters and machinists, as well as add more engineers and supporting staff. The duration of the project will be more than seven years, with a significant portion booked in fourth quarter 2024. BWXT is performing the work for its customer CanAtom, a joint venture between AtkinsRéalis and Aecon. BWXT also announced a contract to manufacture the reactor pressure vessel (RPV) for customer GE Hitachi Nuclear Energy's BWRX-300 SMR. The largest component within the technology, the RPV contains the reactor core, coolant and support structures. BWXT is the first manufacturer in North America to begin this type of work for an SMR technology and will play a key role in the deployment of SMRs across Canada and the world. This order was booked in second quarter 2024. The Province's Minister of Energy and Electrification Stephen Lecce joined BWXT at its Cambridge, Ontario, facility for the announcement. "Ontario needs more nuclear energy to meet growing electricity demand, and it's our province's highly skilled workers that will make it all possible," said Stephen Lecce, Minister of Energy and Electrification. "I am so pleased to work with companies like BWXT that are investing in Ontario and in our workers, as we continue to cement Ontario's position as a global leader in new nuclear technologies." "The BWXT team stands ready to help our customers and Ontario create a future that provides abundant, emissions-free electricity, while increasing sustainable, good-paying jobs for Canada," said John MacQuarrie, president, BWXT Commercial Operations. "We've been taking strategic steps to further meet the current and anticipated demand for nuclear power. These significant projects leverage BWXT's extensive capabilities and specialized expertise in the delivery of large components for the domestic and global nuclear industry." "The contract to fabricate the reactor pressure vessel for the first BWRX-300 is another key milestone in the deployment of this technology," said Lisa McBride, Canada Country Leader, GEH. "We are excited to be working with BWXT to move this project forward, while bringing benefits to manufacturing workers in Ontario." The Pickering Life Extension Program is in its initial phases and will enable the Pickering "B" fleet of reactors to operate for an additional 30 years. The work is anticipated to be completed in the mid-2030s. Pickering features four operating CANDU® reactors and accounts for approximately 10% of Ontario's electricity needs. "By refurbishing existing assets at Pickering Nuclear, and building SMRs at the Darlington New Nuclear Project, OPG is helping Ontario meet rapidly growing demand for low-carbon, reliable baseload nuclear energy," said Nicolle Butcher, OPG President CEO. "Ontario's robust nuclear supply chain, including trusted partners like BWXT, will help ensure these large nuclear projects have the components necessary to complete these projects on time, on budget, safely and with quality." "CANDU technology, as Canada's only domestically developed, large scale nuclear technology, is a source of national pride," said Joe St. Julian, President, Nuclear, AtkinsRéalis. "We are pleased to continue working with BWXT as a major player in the CANDU supply chain and a proud Canadians for CANDU supporter. The CANDU reactors at OPG are indispensable to providing Ontario with energy security and reliable, clean power to millions of people. Their refurbishment and continued operation helps to support many Ontario jobs." "The Pickering Refurbishment Project will help ensure the supply of clean, safe, reliable, and affordable electricity for future generations while stimulating the economy and further expanding Ontario's strong nuclear supply chain. We look forward to safely delivering this critical project and advancing our work with BWXT alongside our client OPG and partner AtkinsRéalis," said Aaron Johnson, Senior Vice President, Nuclear, Aecon Group Inc. The BWRX-300 scheduled for the OPG Darlington New Nuclear Project is on track to be the first on-grid SMR among G7 nations. The design is a 300-MWe water-cooled, natural circulation SMR with passive safety systems that leverages the design and licensing basis of GEH's U.S. NRC-certified ESBWR. Already one of the largest commercial nuclear equipment manufacturing facilities in North America, the BWXT Cambridge facility is undergoing preparatory work for its C$80 million expansion to further support current and anticipated demand for nuclear projects in Ontario and around the world. Forward-Looking Statements BWXT cautions that this release contains forward-looking statements, including statements relating to the performance, timing, impact and value, to the extent contract value can be viewed as an indicator of future revenues, of the manufacturing contract for the Pickering life extension project and the reactor pressure vessel manufacturing contract. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, modification or termination of the contracts and delays. If one or more of these or other risks materialize, actual results may vary materially from those expressed. For a more complete discussion of these and other risk factors, please see BWXT's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 and subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. BWXT cautions not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release and undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, except to the extent required by applicable law. About BWXT At BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT), we are People Strong, Innovation Driven. A U.S.-based company, BWXT is a Fortune 1000 and Defense News Top 100 manufacturing and engineering innovator that provides safe and effective nuclear solutions for global security, clean energy, environmental restoration, nuclear medicine and space exploration. With approximately 8,700 employees, BWXT has 15 major operating sites in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. In addition, BWXT joint ventures provide management and operations at a dozen U.S. Department of Energy and NASA facilities. For more information, visit Follow us on LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Instagram. View source version on Contacts Media Contact John DobkenSenior Manager, Media & Public Relations202.428.6913 jcdobken@ Investor Contact Chase JacobsonVice President, Investor Relations980.365.4300 investors@
