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By Brian K Sullivan and Josh Saul
The remains
of burnt homes in Colorado in January 2022. Photographer:
Chet Strange/Bloomberg
Xcel Energy is
preparing customers in the Rocky Mountain region
for
preemptive blackouts to help reduce the
risk of wildfires as strong, dry winds threaten
to knock down power lines.
The utility said it
would likely shut off power starting at about
noon today to some customers in nine counties
including Denver, according to the company’s website. A stretch
of near-record warm weather and dry conditions
has created the potential for blazes in the
area.
“It looks like a
pretty formidable event,” said Scott Kleebauer,
a forecaster with the US Weather Prediction
Center. “It is going to be a pretty windy day
across Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.”
An Xcel
representative said Tuesday that the company is
still determining the scope of the shutoffs.
Once a California
phenomenon, utilities across the US are now
increasingly opting to turn off electricity to
prevent downed power lines and other equipment
from sparking catastrophic wildfires. Power
companies serving about 24 million homes and
businesses across the fire-prone US West now
have plans to proactively cut electricity at
peak fire danger, according to a 2024 report from
Stanford University researchers.
Read the full
story on Bloomberg.com and subscribe to
the Weather
Watch newsletter for a weekly look at
the market, business and economic impacts of
extreme weather.
What
the end of the F-150 means
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By Kyle
Stock
There are a crowd
of electric pickup trucks to choose from these
days, but Ford Motor’s F-150 Lightning won’t be
among them very long. The company said on Monday
it’s canceling its electric
truck and shifting production to a hybrid
version.
While the truck was
supposed to convince Americans to climb into an
electric vehicle, it didn’t convince enough of
them.
“It didn’t make
sense to keep plowing billions into products
that we knew would not make money,” Jim Farley,
Ford’s chief executive officer, said in an
interview on Bloomberg TV. “We had to make this
choice.”
A Ford
F-150 Lightning Photographer: Kyle
Grillot/Bloomberg
The Lightning
didn’t reinvent the F-150; it looks and feels
largely like the gas model, right down to the
massive gear selector that cleverly folds down into the
center console. The major EV exceptions, like
the yawning front trunk where the sparkplugs and
cylinders used to be, were designed as
value-adds.
Ford’s electric
F-150 hasn’t seen sales fall precipitously after
an initial spike like some of its peers. Through
the first three quarters of the year, only six
electric models sold in greater volumes than the
Lightning in the US — none of them large trucks
or SUVs, according to Cox
Automotive. Still, Ford is likely to sell
fewer models of its e-truck this year than it
did in 2024.
The Lightning never
delivered on its promise to make the price
competitive with gas models. The $40,000 window
sticker trumpeted at the vehicle launch was
quickly scrubbed off and replaced with $55,000.
Even that number was seldom evident on
dealership lots.
In its first year
of sales, the average transaction price on an
F-150 Lightning – what buyers actually paid —
was $77,000 and it has only dipped slightly to
$72,000 this year, according to Edmunds.com.
Meanwhile, gas F-150s were going for $11,000 to
$17,000 less on average.
The persistent high
prices come as Ford’s EV division has struggled
to turn a profit. It lost $5.1 billion last
year, and Ford expects the division’s losses
could be even worse this year. Other companies
have also taken hits to their EV divisions or
scrapped plans to make electric models. That
includes General Motors, which recently incurred
$1.6 billion in
charges tied to its EV division. Stellantis NV
has cancelled plans for
an electric Ram pickup.
The Trump
administration’s rolling back of incentives will
only make it harder to sell electric models as
will a proposed rollback of fuel economy
standards. Farley has predicted that the
administration’s policies will cut the US EV market in
half.
But he also
insisted the company isn’t abandoning EVs and is
instead focusing on lower-cost models that can
compete with Chinese manufacturers. Ford has a
new EV platform and has pledged to launch an electric
truck priced around $30,000 sans
incentives. Rivals like GM have also said they
remain committed to electric models.
Still, Monday’s
announcement comes with a warning sign for a
speedy electric vehicle transition: Ford plans
to convert a factory under construction that was
set to churn out electric trucks into one that
builds gas-powered models.
Read more about
how the global EV industry is
faltering.
The Bernina
Express train in Filisur, Switzerland. Source:
Eurail
By Laura Millan and Olivia Rudgard
In a world where
almost anything can be ordered online, making
sure your gift stands out this holiday season
can be a challenge. One way to do that is by
looking for
something that treads lightly on the
planet.
Some options
include buying secondhand or gifting a fun
experience. Alternatively, a well-chosen present
could be a great way to spark an interest for
green travel or cooking. Bloomberg Green
put together an
extensive gift guide for the climate
conscious.
Whether you’re
looking for a low-carbon vacation (consider
Europe’s Interrail Pass), an ethical eater
(consider a Michelin Green-starred dinner of
invasive feral hog confit), or a gamer, we’ve
got you covered.
Take a read to see
all
our recommendations!
In one of the most
earthquake-prone regions on Earth, where the
Tibetan Plateau meets the Himalayas, China is
building a colossal hydropower system, pushing
engineering and geopolitics to the limit.
Watch the
video and read the full
story on Bloomberg.com.
US money managers
are working
on private arrangements to stem a wave of
defections by sustainability-focused clients in
Europe’s €6 trillion ($7 trillion) pensions
market.
The industrial sector
is the third-biggest source of carbon
pollution in the US. While focus is
often on steel
and cement, dozens of industries, from
ethanol to toilet paper and breakfast cereal,
share a ready-made
climate solution: electrification.
The Arctic got its
annual physical. It’s
not good. The last 10 years
have been the Arctic’s hottest 10 on
record. Warm Atlantic waters have pushed into
the central Arctic Ocean, hastening the loss of
sea ice.
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