FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

Market Chatter: Japan Seeks Liability Shield Before Backing US Nuclear Project

By

Japan is holding off on financing a proposed $40 billion US small modular reactor initiative until Washington addresses legal concerns over accident liability, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing four people familiar with the discussions.

Japanese negotiators are seeking legally binding assurances that state-backed lenders would not bear financial responsibility for any nuclear accident. A person close to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said he assured Japan the projects would carry no such liability, but the report said US officials have yet to formalize those commitments in a binding agreement.

The report said completing the legal framework could take months or even years because of regulatory negotiations. Japan Bank for International Cooperation could reportedly finance the project alongside Citi and Morgan Stanley, with guarantees from Nippon Export and Investment Insurance.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and US Department of Commerce did not immediately reply to' request for comment.

(Market Chatter news is derived from conversations with market professionals globally. This information is believed to be from reliable sources but may include rumor and speculation. Accuracy is not guaranteed.)

Related Articles

Commodities

Kinder Morgan Posts Higher Q2 Natural Gas Volumes, Lower Refined Products Deliveries

Kinder Morgan (KMI) reported Q2 earnings Wednesday, showing total delivery volumes of 2.044 million barrels per day, down from 2.213 million b/d a year earlier.The company delivered 1.623 million b/d of refined products for the quarter ended June 30, compared with 1.710 million b/d a year earlier.Crude and condensate delivery volumes declined to 421,000 b/d from 503,000 b/d in Q2 2025.Natural gas transport volumes increased to 47,886 billion British thermal units per day from 44,818 BBtu/d a year earlier.Natural gas sales volumes rose to 3,908 BBtu/d for the quarter, compared with 2,832 BBtu/d, while natural gas gathering volumes climbed to 4,637 BBtu/d from 3,692 BBtu/d a year earlier.Natural gas liquids transport increased to 52,000 b/d for Q2 2026, up from 39,000 b/d for the same quarter last year.Gasoline volumes declined to 970,000 b/d, down from 1.016 million b/d a year earlier.Diesel fuel volumes decreased to 357,000 b/d from 369,000 b/d in the year-ago quarter.Jet fuel volumes fell to 296,000 b/d from 325,000 b/d a year earlier.The CO2 segment produced 28,040 barrels of oil per day during the quarter, up from 25,520 b/d a year earlier. SACROC production increased to 21,110 b/d from 18,420 b/d.Net natural gas liquids sales volumes increased to 9,800 b/d from 9,030 b/d, while net CO2 sales volumes rose to 0.306 billion cubic feet per day from 0.291 Bcf/d.Kinder Morgan said its project backlog totaled $9.6 billion at the end of Q2.Natural gas projects accounted for about 92% of the backlog, while over 60% supports power generation and local distribution company demand.

$KMI
Commodities

Waaree Renewable Q1 Highlights New Solar, Battery EPC Wins, Expanding Project Pipeline

India-based Waaree Renewable Technologies reported Q1 2027 earnings Wednesday, highlighting new project wins and a growing execution pipeline.The company secured a 450-megawatt-peak ground-mounted solar engineering, procurement and construction contract and a 1,520 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system Engineering, procurement and Construction order during the quarter, strengthening its renewable energy pipeline.The company continued executing several large utility-scale projects, including 2,012 MW-peak in Rajasthan, 1,000 MW-peak in Maharashtra and 980 MW-peak in Andhra Pradesh.Waaree has 2,425 MW-peak of solar EPC projects under execution after completing 5.89 gigawatt-peak of solar projects. It has also commissioned 59.26 MW-peak of rooftop solar projects and 2.29 MW-peak of floating solar capacity, the company said.The company is also executing transmission and distribution projects spanning 400-kilovolt networks in Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, along with a 765-kV project in Maharashtra, expanding its presence beyond solar EPC.

Commodities

ScottishPower Unveils $2 Billion Whitelee Wind Farm Repower Plan

ScottishPower plans to invest 1.5 billion British pounds ($2 billion) to repower and expand its Whitelee onshore wind farm in Scotland, doubling its generating capacity to 1 gigawatt, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.The project would increase the capacity of what ScottishPower called the UK's flagship onshore wind farm from the current 539 megawatts, allowing it to generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 650,000 homes, around 300,000 more than at present.The proposal, submitted to the Scottish Government's Energy Consents Unit, is expected to create hundreds of jobs and generate around 500 million British pounds in supply chain opportunities, the company said. Over the decade-long development and construction period, the project is forecast to contribute 330 million British pounds in gross value added to the Scottish economy.The repowering plan would replace Whitelee's existing fleet with 124 larger, more efficient turbines, each about 250 meters tall, reducing the number of turbines from the current 215 while increasing overall generating capacity.ScottishPower said it would expand the site's community benefit fund and explore community ownership opportunities. Whitelee has contributed about 20 million British pounds to East Renfrewshire, East Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire councils since opening, with annual community benefits expected to rise to at least 5 million British pounds under the new plans.The company said the investment forms part of its 24 billion-British pound program through 2028, adding that 76% of more than 1 billion British pounds spent on its supply chain in the first half of 2026 went to UK-based companies. The project will also include continued investment in operating and maintaining the site over its expected 40-year lifespan.Whitelee, commissioned in 2008, opened with 140 turbines before two expansion phases increased the total to 215. The repowering would be carried out in three phases to maintain public access to the site, which includes a visitor center that has welcomed more than 1 million visitors, the company said.A planning application is expected to be submitted in December 2027, with the repowered wind farm targeted to begin operating by 2035.