WEBVTT - LNG CEO: Asia, Europe Demand Propel U.S. Gas Projects 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:05.320 Welcome to the Bloomberg Penl Podcast. I'm Paul swing you 0:00:05.360 --> 0:00:07.760 along with my co host Lisa Brahmas. Each day we 0:00:07.880 --> 0:00:10.440 bring you the most noteworthy and useful interviews for you 0:00:10.520 --> 0:00:12.600 and your money, whether at the grocery store or the 0:00:12.640 --> 0:00:15.960 trading floor. Find a Bloomberg Penl podcast on Apple podcast 0:00:16.120 --> 0:00:18.040 or wherever you listen to podcasts, as well as at 0:00:18.079 --> 0:00:22.079 Bloomberg dot com. We are broadcasting live from the Bloomberg 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:25.120 New Energy Finance Summit in New York City. One big 0:00:25.239 --> 0:00:29.440 question is about natural gas, especially as it increasingly replaces 0:00:29.600 --> 0:00:33.159 coal fueled power plants, and we are so lucky to 0:00:33.200 --> 0:00:35.640 have with us. Greg vs He is chief executive officer 0:00:35.640 --> 0:00:39.120 and managing director of llen G Limited based in Houston, 0:00:39.240 --> 0:00:41.720 joining us here New York. Greg, thank you so much 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:44.519 for being here. Let's just start with the idea of 0:00:44.760 --> 0:00:49.000 llen G, a major natural gas supplier working on a 0:00:49.000 --> 0:00:51.319 whole bunch of projects right now, trying to build out 0:00:51.320 --> 0:00:55.280 the infrastructure at a time when natural gas prices have 0:00:55.360 --> 0:00:57.360 kind of declined. Give us a sense of the layout 0:00:57.360 --> 0:01:00.120 of land from your perspective. Sure will, and thanks Lisa all. 0:01:00.120 --> 0:01:03.240 It's great to be here. Uh, you know, it's it's 0:01:03.320 --> 0:01:06.360 interesting across the globe how competitive And I never thought 0:01:06.440 --> 0:01:08.520 in thirty nine years of the U S Energy industry 0:01:08.560 --> 0:01:12.080 that I'd be saying how competitive US gas is for export. 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.280 And what people across the globe are seeing is this 0:01:15.400 --> 0:01:18.120 huge resource that we continue to make more and more of. 0:01:18.800 --> 0:01:21.000 It's at a price at Henry Hub, which is a 0:01:21.040 --> 0:01:25.000 stable price. Now I'm used to huge volatility in this price. 0:01:25.480 --> 0:01:27.360 They look out and see it very stable, and it's 0:01:27.360 --> 0:01:31.360 a very favorable political and business environment. So it's very 0:01:31.440 --> 0:01:33.520 much pointing to the US to be a place to come. 0:01:33.640 --> 0:01:36.640 All right, who's coming here? Is it? China? Uh? If 0:01:36.640 --> 0:01:38.880 you look out, the big the big growth areas are 0:01:38.880 --> 0:01:42.000 going to be Europe and China. Um, I shouldn't say 0:01:42.000 --> 0:01:44.560 Europe and China, Europe and Asia. Obviously China the biggest 0:01:44.560 --> 0:01:47.840 component of Asia. But yes, Europe and China the two 0:01:47.920 --> 0:01:51.440 that are really hitting it hardest right now. Europe. It's interesting. 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:54.920 We had a kind of a industry meeting in Berlin 0:01:55.000 --> 0:01:57.600 a couple of weeks back, and the German Minister of 0:01:57.720 --> 0:02:01.240 Energy made the point of saying, we used to say 0:02:01.360 --> 0:02:06.279 we're all about being electrified, now we're saying natural gas 0:02:06.360 --> 0:02:08.480 is the best next step for us to take. That's 0:02:08.520 --> 0:02:11.480 a huge change for them, and they're gearing up. They're 0:02:11.480 --> 0:02:14.160 looking at re gas facilities. The whole region is putting 0:02:14.160 --> 0:02:17.040 in re gas facilities. They're very focused on l and 0:02:17.080 --> 0:02:19.320 G and Gulf Coast. L en G is going US. 0:02:19.360 --> 0:02:21.600 Gulf Coast ellency is going to be the most affordable 0:02:21.600 --> 0:02:23.800 and competitive for them. So great, let's let's talk about 0:02:23.800 --> 0:02:26.480 the Gulf Coast. Is the infrastructure there and the Gulf 0:02:26.480 --> 0:02:28.799 Coast right now to really take advantage of this robust 0:02:28.800 --> 0:02:30.920 demand you've been talking about. It really is more so 0:02:31.080 --> 0:02:33.640 in Louisiana. I think that you know because of where 0:02:33.680 --> 0:02:35.919 Henry Hub is, it was originally designed to be the 0:02:35.960 --> 0:02:38.840 place where all the gas comes on shore. Well that 0:02:38.919 --> 0:02:41.200 model is completely reversed now all the gas is up 0:02:41.240 --> 0:02:43.920 north and it's coming to the south, but the hub 0:02:44.000 --> 0:02:45.760 is still that indicate that everyone will look at, and 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.840 all the end of the infrastructure has been built around that. 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:51.680 So there's pipes that were granted, they were intended to 0:02:51.680 --> 0:02:54.400 take gas from south to north. Now they're all turning 0:02:54.400 --> 0:02:57.240 around and bringing gas from north to south. But it 0:02:57.280 --> 0:03:00.200 can bring huge amounts of that gas at competitive it's 0:03:00.280 --> 0:03:02.720 to the Gulf coast, and you have a very friendly 0:03:02.840 --> 0:03:06.480 environment in southwest Louisiana where we are. They are really excited. 0:03:06.520 --> 0:03:09.000 They want to be like leading the US and leading 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.800 the world in lergy exports, and they are ready for 0:03:11.840 --> 0:03:15.320 all that infrastructure development. How quickly does the US give 0:03:15.360 --> 0:03:18.920 out permits for you to do these projects. It's a 0:03:18.919 --> 0:03:23.360 great discussion, Lisa Um. It's not a quick process, but 0:03:23.480 --> 0:03:25.560 it wasn't designed to be because it's the first and 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:27.680 foremost to make sure it's the right thing for the 0:03:27.720 --> 0:03:30.359 country to do and to do it safely. As the 0:03:30.400 --> 0:03:33.040 process gotten faster, it has gotten faster. Yes, I think 0:03:33.120 --> 0:03:35.480 what we experienced and you're we're fully permitted. We've been 0:03:35.480 --> 0:03:37.200 through all the FIRC in the deal. We were ready 0:03:37.240 --> 0:03:40.320 to go with our Magnolia project. That was probably a 0:03:40.320 --> 0:03:43.600 two and a half year, three year exercise. It's a 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:45.920 little faster than that, but not materially, and I think 0:03:45.920 --> 0:03:48.480 as as business people and citizens, we should be a 0:03:48.520 --> 0:03:50.640 little bit okay with that that it's a good process 0:03:50.680 --> 0:03:54.840 that works. How competitive is US natural gas on the 0:03:54.880 --> 0:03:57.160 world market and what needs to change maybe to make 0:03:57.160 --> 0:04:00.120 it more competitive? You know, it's been very competitive of 0:04:00.680 --> 0:04:02.840 the market that we all looked at was Europe, and 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:05.200 about a year and a half ago it turned where 0:04:05.200 --> 0:04:07.800 it was much more competitive. It was very competitive versus 0:04:07.840 --> 0:04:10.480 europe gas. And you've had a little downturn this winner 0:04:10.520 --> 0:04:14.920 both in Asia and Europe, so it's kind of borderline, um, 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.279 but it's still very competitive on the world stage. What 0:04:17.400 --> 0:04:19.920 you have to look for, you know, what we call 0:04:20.000 --> 0:04:22.120 freight on free on board, where it's picked up at 0:04:22.160 --> 0:04:25.520 the tailgate of a US plan, is a very competitive price. 0:04:25.600 --> 0:04:27.560 Then it's how far do you have to pay transportation 0:04:27.560 --> 0:04:29.720 to travel? All right? So we are at the New 0:04:29.839 --> 0:04:33.240 Energy Finance Summit and natural gas is definitely a growing 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:35.520 source of energy, but it's not a new energy and 0:04:35.560 --> 0:04:38.560 I'm just wondering, especially as it competes with renewable sources 0:04:38.600 --> 0:04:42.360 of energy, how does it compete environmentally? So it's it's 0:04:42.360 --> 0:04:44.760 a great question. I think there's two things. It's very 0:04:44.800 --> 0:04:48.240 necessary for renewables because you have the intermittency of renewables. 0:04:48.560 --> 0:04:50.840 Natural gas is a quick startup and can do that. 0:04:51.400 --> 0:04:53.520 I think the US has shown the world a great 0:04:53.560 --> 0:04:56.880 example that natural gas is an excellent bridge fuel. And 0:04:56.920 --> 0:04:59.240 how long that bridge fuel is we don't know, but 0:04:59.400 --> 0:05:03.039 the market brought permissions down in the US by switching 0:05:03.080 --> 0:05:05.600 from coal to natural gas. The rest of the world 0:05:05.640 --> 0:05:08.680 has seen that and they want to replicate that. So 0:05:08.680 --> 0:05:11.200 still that just real quickly that where's the price of 0:05:11.240 --> 0:05:12.719 gas and what kind of how do you view it 0:05:12.839 --> 0:05:15.520 right now? Well, it's interesting at the price of us 0:05:15.560 --> 0:05:20.119 Henry hub Is is probably two eighty to three dollars um. 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:23.360 When I started in the industry in it was two dollars, 0:05:23.760 --> 0:05:26.520 So that that tells you that's a very competitive price. 0:05:26.960 --> 0:05:30.240 I think it's interesting that the volatility that we see 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.000 over the Winner hasn't been there this year. In fact, 0:05:33.000 --> 0:05:34.919 the price got to its lowest point on If you 0:05:34.920 --> 0:05:36.919 remember that coldest day of the year when people in 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:39.479 Chicago couldn't go out of their apartments, it's it's the 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:42.520 day of the price was the lowest is Winner? Okay? Interesting? 0:05:42.560 --> 0:05:45.120 Greg vc, CEO and Managing director of l n G 0:05:45.400 --> 0:05:47.960 A Limited based in Houston, Texas, but joining us here 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.760 at the Bloomberg dew Energy Finance Conference in New York. 0:06:04.680 --> 0:06:07.839 We are broadcasting live from the Bloomberg New Energy Finance 0:06:07.880 --> 0:06:11.400 Summit at the Grand Height Hotel in Midtown, Manhattan. And 0:06:11.400 --> 0:06:15.360 when I think New energy. I think solar, I think wind. 0:06:15.400 --> 0:06:20.120 I think there's big wind farms onshore, offshore generating electricity. 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:22.440 So that's why I am very excited for our next guest, 0:06:22.880 --> 0:06:26.159 John Lavelle. John is the president and chief executive officer 0:06:26.240 --> 0:06:29.400 of Offshore Wind for Ge Renewable Energy. He joins us 0:06:29.400 --> 0:06:31.680 here in New York. John, Welcome. Thanks. You know, when 0:06:31.720 --> 0:06:34.320 I think about some of these big offshore wind farms, 0:06:34.320 --> 0:06:36.400 you know, it's just you know, you could really think 0:06:36.440 --> 0:06:38.560 about the scale of this business. So if you could 0:06:38.600 --> 0:06:41.359 just start us off in this size up what the 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:45.479 global wind business is and kind of the growth story though. Yeah, 0:06:45.520 --> 0:06:49.120 if you think about it today, there's about seventy gigawatts 0:06:49.480 --> 0:06:54.039 of offshore wind installed globally, uh, and conservative estimates would 0:06:54.080 --> 0:06:57.919 have that go into ninety gigawatts by That would be 0:06:58.000 --> 0:07:02.479 comparable to the entire installed base of the Okay for example. Uh. 0:07:02.600 --> 0:07:07.320 But I think beyond that, China, Taiwan, create Asia, the 0:07:07.360 --> 0:07:11.120 northeast of the US are coming strong, and I think 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:13.880 that number could grow by another fifty percent, So I 0:07:13.920 --> 0:07:19.520 think you could end up with fifty gig watts globally. Okay, 0:07:19.520 --> 0:07:23.120 So demand and use of wind power definitely increasing, and 0:07:23.120 --> 0:07:26.600 there has been a consolidation as far as market share 0:07:26.600 --> 0:07:29.440 goes with General Electric invest as some of the other 0:07:29.840 --> 0:07:34.880 big turbine producers. Profitability, however, has been a challenge. Can 0:07:34.880 --> 0:07:37.880 you talk a little bit about why UH profitability fell 0:07:37.920 --> 0:07:39.480 at the end of last year and kind of what 0:07:39.560 --> 0:07:42.240 we'll what we'll pick it back up going forward. Well, 0:07:42.400 --> 0:07:44.960 you know, from an offshore wind perspective, you know, we're 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.280 just getting in the game, you know, so Gees not 0:07:47.640 --> 0:07:51.080 UH has not historically been in offshore wind. We got 0:07:51.120 --> 0:07:54.680 into offshore wind when we acquired Alstom. So our game 0:07:54.760 --> 0:08:00.320 today is to invest, to generate, to develop the technology 0:08:01.080 --> 0:08:04.360 to compete in the future. So we're we've invested, we're 0:08:04.400 --> 0:08:08.760 investing now two developed the Holly at X, which is 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:12.400 the largest offshore wind turbine in the world by far um. 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:16.160 It'll stand nearly nine feet off the ocean floor, the 0:08:16.200 --> 0:08:19.960 blades will be well over a football field long each 0:08:20.600 --> 0:08:23.520 and it will drive the economics low for our customers 0:08:23.960 --> 0:08:26.600 and if we can help our customers compete and grow, 0:08:27.560 --> 0:08:30.280 we'll be successful to in the future. So our our 0:08:30.400 --> 0:08:33.840 our point is we're gonna we're investing and offshore because 0:08:33.880 --> 0:08:38.080 we see the market growing. We see that GE can 0:08:38.120 --> 0:08:41.360 add value with technology development. We know how to do that. 0:08:41.480 --> 0:08:44.520 We have a global scale. We've been in the energy 0:08:44.559 --> 0:08:48.720 industry for a hundred years. Of all the electricity that's 0:08:48.720 --> 0:08:52.480 produced comes from some form of G technology. So I 0:08:52.520 --> 0:08:55.360 think we can help the industry grow by playing So 0:08:56.080 --> 0:09:01.520 how competitive is wind energy relative to maybe traditional energy 0:09:01.559 --> 0:09:04.520 sources and maybe even Yeah, it's a great question because 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:06.840 you you know, in the end, you have to compete 0:09:07.040 --> 0:09:10.319 right against everything and uh and as you as we 0:09:10.360 --> 0:09:13.640 look at these technologies. Uh, in all the business I've 0:09:13.720 --> 0:09:16.480 run and worked in every facet of the energy industry, 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:18.720 so I've watched the costs come down with volume. So 0:09:18.760 --> 0:09:20.920 it's a it's a volume curve as cost comes out. 0:09:21.080 --> 0:09:24.319 More volume you have, the more productive you have, the 0:09:24.360 --> 0:09:26.600 more scale you have, the more your costs will compete. 0:09:26.880 --> 0:09:30.000 We're seeing bids now in the UK. UK auctions will 0:09:30.040 --> 0:09:32.560 come up in June. You'll see those prices. We've seen 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:36.520 the auctions in Germany. Uh, you saw the auction in Massachusetts. 0:09:36.960 --> 0:09:41.560 You've got offshore wind now competing with with on shore 0:09:41.840 --> 0:09:45.640 levels that have had a you know, almost two decades 0:09:45.679 --> 0:09:48.520 of a head start, right, So you see the costs 0:09:48.600 --> 0:09:50.840 come down. You want to get to the point where 0:09:50.840 --> 0:09:54.800 it's unsubsidized so that you can compete without subsidies, with 0:09:54.960 --> 0:09:59.920 zero subsidies. UH. And what helps you get there. It's scale, 0:10:00.160 --> 0:10:05.400 it's size, so that you get you you minimize your infrastructure. 0:10:05.440 --> 0:10:09.000 Every we we had a six megawatt machine, now we 0:10:09.080 --> 0:10:11.600 go to a twelve. That means you have to build 0:10:11.600 --> 0:10:14.080 half the pedestals out in the ocean, you have to 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:18.559 build half the cabling. It's easier to service. So as 0:10:18.600 --> 0:10:22.640 you take cost out and you get volume, volume and 0:10:22.720 --> 0:10:26.959 size and standardization will help the industry. So John Leavel, 0:10:27.120 --> 0:10:30.160 president and CEO of for the offshore wind unit of 0:10:30.200 --> 0:10:33.680 GE Renewable Energy with us here right now, I'm wondering, 0:10:34.559 --> 0:10:37.920 how about storage. That's been one of the challenges, certainly 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:41.160 for solar. What about winds? Yeah, a great question. In 0:10:41.200 --> 0:10:45.400 our renewable energy portfolio. UH. In g E, we have 0:10:46.160 --> 0:10:49.720 on shore and offshore wind. We've got hydro. We got 0:10:49.720 --> 0:10:53.720 a hydro business. We have an LM Blade Manufacturing, we 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:57.120 acquired them in two thousand seventeen, the largest maker of blades. 0:10:58.120 --> 0:11:01.400 We have a grid business. G IS Grid all the 0:11:01.440 --> 0:11:04.880 transmission and distribution and very, very important to have that 0:11:04.920 --> 0:11:08.160 grid business marry up with the wind because you have 0:11:08.280 --> 0:11:11.920 to be able to stabilize the grid as you convert 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:16.839 from baselow nuclear and coal to cyclical renewables. And then 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:18.800 you get the storage. Should we also have a hybrid 0:11:18.800 --> 0:11:21.920 and storage business that we've just put in place, And 0:11:22.120 --> 0:11:25.000 so I think, uh, the value of us being able 0:11:25.040 --> 0:11:28.640 to bring green electrons if you will, two people that 0:11:28.800 --> 0:11:32.520 want it, not just households, but two companies that have said, well, 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:37.680 by green having a storage so you can store the 0:11:37.200 --> 0:11:41.800 the wind energy. How I just think I'm through battery story, 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.320 through battery battery storage. Yeah. Yeah. You can decide where 0:11:45.320 --> 0:11:46.920 you want to put it. Where you want to store it. 0:11:46.960 --> 0:11:48.160 Do you want to store it at the site. Do 0:11:48.160 --> 0:11:51.160 you want to store at a local distribution, uh network 0:11:51.200 --> 0:11:53.480 out in your neighborhood? You know? Where do you store it? So? What? 0:11:53.679 --> 0:11:55.600 So what are some of the constraints, Like I don't 0:11:55.640 --> 0:11:58.080 want a big wind thing in my backyard. Maybe? How 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:01.839 about for offshore? What are the constraints whoever owns who 0:12:01.840 --> 0:12:04.880 has the rights to that water? Say, I don't want 0:12:04.880 --> 0:12:09.400 to decide where to put these things. Keeping it simple, Paul, 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:12.640 I think normally it's the government the land, all right, 0:12:12.679 --> 0:12:16.040 and we'll allocate the land through some process, whether it's 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:21.160 in the US, Taiwan, Japan, China, uh, you know, UK, whatever, 0:12:21.200 --> 0:12:25.080 they allocate the land. Uh. Then in all the cases 0:12:25.920 --> 0:12:28.320 they have to go through some permit process typical to 0:12:28.520 --> 0:12:31.719 a zoning board in the local town. You'll say this 0:12:31.800 --> 0:12:33.880 is gonna be built. You have so many so much 0:12:33.920 --> 0:12:37.720 time to raise your questions or your concerns that have 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:41.160 to come. And it's a lot. It's the birds, right, 0:12:41.200 --> 0:12:44.520 So there's concerned for the birds. Uh, there's concerned for 0:12:44.640 --> 0:12:47.320 the site in the visual impact it may have for 0:12:47.400 --> 0:12:51.880 local residents. So putting these things deeper and deeper into 0:12:51.920 --> 0:12:56.960 the ocean, it becomes uh um, you know a question 0:12:57.080 --> 0:13:00.200 for that helps right farther you're out. But then gott 0:13:00.200 --> 0:13:02.439 to bring the power back. You have to bring the 0:13:02.440 --> 0:13:04.520 power back. So some of the some of the projects 0:13:04.520 --> 0:13:06.120 like are going on in the UK now are so 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:09.440 far off they're gonna use high voltage DC interesting to 0:13:09.559 --> 0:13:11.680 bring them back. John Lavell, thank you so much for 0:13:11.720 --> 0:13:16.120 being with you. John Lavell, President, chief executive Officer of 0:13:16.200 --> 0:13:19.520 the Offshore Wind Unit at GE Renewable Energy, joining us 0:13:19.559 --> 0:13:38.920 here at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Conference. We're a 0:13:38.960 --> 0:13:42.280 broadcasting life from the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit at 0:13:42.280 --> 0:13:45.960 the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Niptown, Manhattan. Right now, we're 0:13:46.000 --> 0:13:49.680 gonna turn our attention to the America power markets. A 0:13:49.679 --> 0:13:52.880 lot of change going on there as renewable sources compete 0:13:52.880 --> 0:13:55.080 with some of the more traditional sources of energy in 0:13:55.120 --> 0:13:57.560 this country. To help us walk through that story, as 0:13:57.640 --> 0:14:01.440 Paul Browning, Paul is the President chief executive officer of 0:14:01.440 --> 0:14:07.040 Mitsubichi Hitachi Power Systems America's Paul, welcome U to the show. Paul, 0:14:07.080 --> 0:14:08.960 give us a sense a kind of where we are 0:14:09.000 --> 0:14:11.319 in the US in terms of power generation to what 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:16.480 extent are renewables really becoming a competitive player in the marketplace? Well, thanks, 0:14:16.520 --> 0:14:19.280 Paul and Lisa. Um. Yeah, so there's really a lot 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:21.920 of change happening in the power sector right now. We 0:14:22.040 --> 0:14:25.920 are seeing the cost of electricity from renewables and battery 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:29.280 storage dropping rapidly. At the same time, we're actually also 0:14:29.320 --> 0:14:32.160 seeing the cost of electricity from natural gas power generation 0:14:32.520 --> 0:14:36.040 dropping rapidly as well. Um, And so there's a there's 0:14:36.080 --> 0:14:40.280 a you know, a real uh competitive dynamic. They're happening 0:14:40.320 --> 0:14:44.680 between renewables with storage and natural gas competitive endemic or 0:14:44.760 --> 0:14:47.440 race to the bottom, either one go on. And of 0:14:47.480 --> 0:14:49.600 course it depends. You know, the cost of renewables. You 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:51.360 know that the cost of solar here in New York 0:14:51.360 --> 0:14:54.400 City is very different than in the desert in Arizona. Um, 0:14:54.480 --> 0:14:57.040 the cost of natural gas and different parts of the 0:14:57.040 --> 0:14:59.400 country is different. So you know a lot at the times. 0:14:59.400 --> 0:15:01.440 The answer to you know, which one of these is 0:15:01.480 --> 0:15:04.120 going to be less expensive is you know, it depends. 0:15:04.400 --> 0:15:07.760 So but in this race, a lot of governments have 0:15:08.000 --> 0:15:12.520 subsidized the renewables to try to reduce the carbon emissions. 0:15:12.560 --> 0:15:16.400 How much is that necessary to get the renewable market 0:15:16.760 --> 0:15:19.560 up to speed to truly be competitive in a free 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:23.400 market type of environment. You know right now renewable plus 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.640 battery storage needs a subsidy in order to compete with 0:15:26.960 --> 0:15:32.400 natural gas in almost every market. Significant subsidy, well investment 0:15:32.440 --> 0:15:34.960 tax credit that exists today is the kind of subsidy 0:15:35.000 --> 0:15:37.840 it needs to be competitive in in in some markets. 0:15:38.400 --> 0:15:40.760 Um and so uh and and you know the thing 0:15:40.800 --> 0:15:43.640 that I always talk to people about is is um. 0:15:43.680 --> 0:15:46.120 You know, natural gas is not standing still. Um. You know, 0:15:46.240 --> 0:15:49.040 our turbans are less expensive today on a dollar per 0:15:49.120 --> 0:15:51.160 killer lot basis than they were in the past. They're 0:15:51.200 --> 0:15:53.840 more freel efficient, and the price of natural gases dropping 0:15:53.920 --> 0:15:57.320 due to new drilling technologies, so, you know, while and 0:15:57.440 --> 0:15:59.920 the good thing for consumers is they're getting lower carbon, 0:16:00.040 --> 0:16:03.480 lower cost electricity, you know, as we all compete with 0:16:03.480 --> 0:16:06.320 one another in a you know, in a marketplace where 0:16:06.360 --> 0:16:10.040 competition and technology is determining who wins. So it is 0:16:10.680 --> 0:16:15.000 big coal in terms of the context of energy or electricity. 0:16:15.080 --> 0:16:17.480 Is big coal just done? Is its day over well 0:16:17.520 --> 0:16:20.000 in the United States right now, it's just it's cheaper 0:16:20.040 --> 0:16:23.040 to produce electricity from natural gas and renewables than it 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:25.560 is from coal, And of course it's also much more 0:16:25.600 --> 0:16:29.080 carbon efficient, and that combination of cost and carbon efficiency 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:31.800 is just very, very difficult to beat. So I really 0:16:31.800 --> 0:16:34.400 don't see any new coal power plants being built. And 0:16:34.440 --> 0:16:35.960 as a matter of fact, what we're seeing is a 0:16:35.960 --> 0:16:38.080 lot of you know, coal that was built in the 0:16:38.120 --> 0:16:40.800 sixties and seventies is now being retired and it's being 0:16:40.800 --> 0:16:43.520 replaced by a combination of natural gas and renewables. So 0:16:43.560 --> 0:16:47.200 talking about bringing down the cost, how does artificial intelligence 0:16:47.200 --> 0:16:50.120 play into this, especially as it takes over the human 0:16:50.160 --> 0:16:53.760 component of running some of these plants. Yeah, so, actually, 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:56.400 you know AI, what we're really not there's only about 0:16:56.440 --> 0:16:59.440 thirty five people who work in a combined cycle natural 0:16:59.440 --> 0:17:01.600 gas power plant, and actually less than that in a 0:17:01.640 --> 0:17:04.399 renewable power plant. We're actually not going after the people 0:17:04.520 --> 0:17:07.760 with our AI. What we're really going after our lost 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:12.480 production and unplanned downtime, which are very big expenses for 0:17:12.480 --> 0:17:16.560 our customers. So we're trying to eliminate unplanned maintenance because 0:17:16.600 --> 0:17:19.679 the AI is able to identify a problem before it 0:17:19.720 --> 0:17:22.959 becomes a problem, and we turn unplanned maintenance into planned 0:17:23.000 --> 0:17:26.240 maintenance and and do it in a very cost effective way. 0:17:26.600 --> 0:17:29.320 Paul Sweeney, this is such an interesting point because people 0:17:29.320 --> 0:17:32.400 look at artificial intelligence is the bogeyman at the boogeyman 0:17:32.520 --> 0:17:34.560 for why people are losing their jobs. But this is 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:38.320 an example of how to increase productivity and profitability without 0:17:38.320 --> 0:17:42.119 actually cutting jobs. Yeah, exactly. It's interesting. But just technology 0:17:42.160 --> 0:17:44.560 in general, is how much is that impacting the traditional 0:17:44.640 --> 0:17:46.639 power business in the in the U S. When I 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:49.320 think of these power plants, I think these monster things. Again. 0:17:49.320 --> 0:17:51.200 I live New Jersey, so I see these monster plants 0:17:51.240 --> 0:17:53.719 all over the place. We have lots of power plants 0:17:53.720 --> 0:17:56.320 and lots of plants and new but house technology impacting 0:17:56.400 --> 0:18:00.000 just that creation electricity. Yeah. So as as I said 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:02.280 before that you know that the biggest impact is the 0:18:02.359 --> 0:18:06.880 cost of renewables, storage and natural gas power generation are 0:18:06.920 --> 0:18:10.760 all dropping dramatically and so and those happen to be 0:18:10.800 --> 0:18:13.159 the most carbon efficient choices that we have right now. 0:18:13.200 --> 0:18:15.960 You know that combination of natural gas and renewables is 0:18:15.960 --> 0:18:20.400 about eight lower CEO two emissions than a retiring coal 0:18:20.440 --> 0:18:23.240 fired power plant. So we're actually in the US people 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:25.000 a lot of people don't realize this. In the US 0:18:25.040 --> 0:18:29.120 power sector, carbon emissions are down thirty three since two 0:18:29.119 --> 0:18:32.840 thousand five. UM. We sponsor Carnegie Mellon University that they 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:36.520 have a website that the Switch from It's it's the 0:18:36.560 --> 0:18:39.639 switch from coal to a combination of gas and renewals 0:18:39.800 --> 0:18:42.479 and you can go to www dot Emissions index dot 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:46.399 org and once a quarter we update that number. One word, 0:18:46.480 --> 0:18:49.760 Paul Browning, if you've been in this market for decades, 0:18:49.800 --> 0:18:52.159 if you had to invest in one renewable energy source, 0:18:52.280 --> 0:18:54.840 what would it be. I just started a renewable power 0:18:54.880 --> 0:19:00.159 technology company yesterday there announced it's it's a it's a 0:19:00.240 --> 0:19:04.840 distributed power generation for PV solar and battery storage. There 0:19:04.880 --> 0:19:07.560 you go, solar and battery storage. Paul Browning, thank you 0:19:07.600 --> 0:19:10.080 so much for being with us. Paul Browning as President, 0:19:10.160 --> 0:19:14.480 chief executive officer of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems America's joining 0:19:14.560 --> 0:19:17.960 us here at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Conference. So 0:19:18.119 --> 0:19:21.520 interesting to sort of see the price dynamic as everybody 0:19:21.600 --> 0:19:24.360 tries to bring costs down, including gas, so it makes 0:19:24.359 --> 0:19:40.200 it a kind of shifting competitive landscape. Some big news 0:19:40.280 --> 0:19:43.800 in the healthcare industry four the United States President Trump's administration, 0:19:43.800 --> 0:19:47.080 the Department of Justice coming out and now trying to 0:19:47.240 --> 0:19:52.680 claim that the entirety of the Obamacare Act is unconstitutional. 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:55.639 Joining us now is Max Nisson, biotech, fharma and healthcare 0:19:55.640 --> 0:19:59.200 columnist for Bloomberg Opinion. Joining us from our Bloomberg Interactive 0:19:59.200 --> 0:20:02.440 Broker Studios. Max, what exactly just happened and how big 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:04.399 of a reversal is it by the do o J. 0:20:05.080 --> 0:20:07.600 It's a pretty substantial one. So the d o J 0:20:07.840 --> 0:20:11.159 had had previously supported the lawsuit in partial form, and 0:20:11.359 --> 0:20:14.040 that itself was pretty unusual. You know, the d o 0:20:14.119 --> 0:20:17.040 J generally tends to defend the law of the land 0:20:17.080 --> 0:20:20.040 as opposed to um, you know, supporting case Concer. But 0:20:20.280 --> 0:20:23.720 they had only they had elected to keep big chunks 0:20:23.760 --> 0:20:26.720 of the A C A. So this move would basically 0:20:26.720 --> 0:20:32.040 means that they're supporting a dramatically more disruptive potential result 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:34.760 in which really the entire and the entirety of the 0:20:34.760 --> 0:20:36.760 A C A would go away. That's everything from the 0:20:36.800 --> 0:20:40.880 Medicaid expansion to the changes to the individual market protections 0:20:40.920 --> 0:20:43.440 for people with pre existing conditions, and you know, little 0:20:43.560 --> 0:20:46.280 things like calorie counts on menus and the FDAs ability 0:20:46.320 --> 0:20:50.280 to approved by similars. It would be just a giant mess. So, Max, 0:20:50.359 --> 0:20:53.080 what do you think changed for the Trump administration to 0:20:53.119 --> 0:20:56.720 take this more aggressi approach here? I'm actually still trying 0:20:56.720 --> 0:20:59.480 to puzzle that out because from a purely kind of 0:20:59.480 --> 0:21:04.000 political and policy standpoint, it's it's pretty puzzling. You know, 0:21:04.040 --> 0:21:07.679 the ten mid terms kind of told us that Americans 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:11.000 are gravitating towards liking the A C A more than 0:21:11.040 --> 0:21:15.000 they did over the initial years of his implementation, and um, 0:21:15.040 --> 0:21:17.080 you know, the move to to kind of more aggressively 0:21:17.160 --> 0:21:19.760 try to take it away, uh not only kind of 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:22.200 goes against what the lesson that the administras should probably 0:21:22.200 --> 0:21:25.720 should have learned. But against even its own budget, which 0:21:25.800 --> 0:21:29.119 you know still you know, has massive cuts to Medicaid 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:31.439 and UH repeals parts of the a c A. But 0:21:31.520 --> 0:21:33.680 doesn't you know, do what this case does and just 0:21:33.760 --> 0:21:36.720 kind of you know, potentially rip away coverage from from 0:21:36.760 --> 0:21:40.840 tens of millions of Americans overnight. Yeah, I'm wondering from 0:21:40.840 --> 0:21:43.240 a market perspective, are their companies that you would expect 0:21:43.240 --> 0:21:47.160 would either benefit or UH lose out should the Department 0:21:47.160 --> 0:21:51.439 of Justice be successful in this attempt. So the you know, 0:21:51.640 --> 0:21:55.480 insures that are focused on on medicaid and the individual 0:21:55.520 --> 0:21:58.560 market would definitely suffer. You know, they would get some 0:21:58.560 --> 0:22:01.240 some market power back in the form of reduced regulation, 0:22:01.720 --> 0:22:03.960