Evergrande Or Nevergrande? Biden’s Big Day.

Baltic Dry Index. 4304 +29  Brent Crude 74.56

Spot Gold 1762

Coronavirus Cases 02/04/20 World 1,000,000

Deaths 53,100

Coronavirus Cases 21/09/21 World 229,835,231

Deaths 4,713,636

The only way to get rid of temptation is to yield to it... I can resist everything but temptation.

Oscar Wilde, Wannabe Bankster. 

Today we are spoiled for choice of subject.

The stock casinos are in turmoil over the impending default of the China Evergrande Group. What took them so long? Was China Evergrande, China Nevergrande and just another Ponzi Scheme fraud?

The commodity casinos also wobbled, unsure how badly a Nevergrande default might impact on China’s demand for iron ore, steel and copper

The Fedsters start day one of their two day meeting in the Washington District of Crooks, with some members, including Fed Chairman Powell, under a cloud of suspicion that they abused their Fed position for personal gain.

Inflation, especially energy inflation led by the soaring price of natural gas, now threatens more global supply chain disruption, surprisingly among the food supply chain.

The results of Canada’s big gamble of holding a General Election in the midst of a SARS pandemic are expected later today. Generalissimo Trudeau is widely expected to retain power and retain hold on to his vast colourful wardrobe of theatrical costumes.

President Biden gets to star in his big day out at the United Nations gathering of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly in New York City.

We open as usual in the casinos, now hoping desperately for a government rescue from the Nevergrande collapse. Any government will do but China’s preferred.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 falls nearly 2% as Asia-Pacific investors monitor Evergrande

Published Mon, Sep 20 2021 7:42 PM EDT

SINGAPORE — Shares in Asia-Pacific were mixed in Tuesday trade as investors continued monitoring the situation surrounding embattled developer China Evergrande Group.

Japanese stocks declined as they returned to trade following a Monday holiday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.79% in afternoon trade while the Topix index shed 1.51%.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, which was dragged down by more than 3% on Monday amid investor fears around Evergrande, sat 0.32% lower by Tuesday afternoon in the city.

Shares of China Evergrande Group fell 3.51%, while the Hang Seng Properties index climbed 1.59%, bouncing back partially from Monday’s losses.

Evergrande’s chairman tried to reassure markets on Tuesday, and said the firm will fulfill its responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing local media.

Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings credit analysts said in a report: “We believe Beijing would only be compelled to step in if there is a far-reaching contagion causing multiple major developers to fail and posing systemic risks to the economy,” according to the Monday report. “Evergrande failing alone would unlikely result in such a scenario.”

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.15%.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan traded 0.18% lower.

Markets in mainland China and South Korea are closed on Tuesday for a holiday.

Overnight stateside, the S&P 500 saw its worst day since May, dropping 1.7% to 4,357.73. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 614.41 points to 33,970.47 while the Nasdaq Composite fell 2.19% to 14,713.90.

More

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/21/asia-markets-evergrande-group-china-and-south-korea-markets-closed-currencies-oil.html

China Evergrande fears grip markets as Beijing stands back, for now

September 21, 20214:32 AM BST

Reuters) - The risks of China Evergrande Group (3333.HK) defaulting on its mountain of debt loomed large over nervous markets on Tuesday, as investors looked for signs of intervention by Beijing to stem any potential domino effect across the global economy.

Analysts played down the threat of Evergrande's troubles becoming the country's "Lehman moment," though concerns about the spillover risks of a messy collapse of what was once China's top-selling property developer have roiled financial markets.

In an effort to assuage investor anxiety, Evergrande Chairman Hui Ka Yuan said in a letter to staff the company is confident it will "walk out of its darkest moment" and deliver property projects as pledged, local media reported on Tuesday.

In the letter, coinciding with China's mid-autumn festival, the chairman of the debt-laden property developer, also said Evergrande will fulfil responsibilities to property buyers, investors, partners and financial institutions.

Investors in Evergrande, however, remained on edge.

Its shares were sold-off again on Tuesday, fell as much as 7%, having tumbled 10% in the previous day on fears its $305 billion in debt could trigger widespread losses in China's financial system in the event of a collapse.

Other property stocks such as Sunac (1918.HK), China's No.4 property developer, and state-backed Greentown China (3900.HK) on Tuesday recouped some of their hefty losses in the previous session.

Elsewhere in Asia, broad selling pressure persisted in early trade, as investors fled riskier assets on Evergrande contagion fears. Mainland China markets are still closed for a public holiday.

The Chinese government has been largely quiet on the crisis at Evergrande, and there was no mention of the firm's troubles in major state media during a public holiday.

A major test for Evergrande comes this week, with the firm due to pay $83.5 million in interest relating to its March 2022 bond on Thursday. It has another $47.5 million payment due on Sept. 29 for March 2024 notes .

Both bonds would default if Evergrande fails to settle the interest within 30 days of the scheduled payment dates.

"I think (Evergrande's) equity will be wiped out, the debt looks like it is in trouble and the Chinese government is going to break up this company," Andrew Left, founder of U.S.-based Citron Research and one of the world’s best known short-sellers, told Reuters.

"But I don't think that this is going to be the straw that breaks the global economy's back," Left said.

Left in June 2012 published a report that said Evergrande, which has been scrambling to raise funds to pay its many lenders, suppliers and investors, was insolvent and had defrauded investors.

More

https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-evergrande-fears-consume-investors-awaiting-trading-2021-09-21/

U.S. swap spreads widen, three-month Libor rises as risk aversion spreads

September 20, 2021 9:08 PM By Gertrude Chavez-Dreyfuss

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Spreads on 10-year U.S. interest rate swaps over Treasuries hit their widest in more than six months due in part to worries about the potential fallout of Chinese property group Evergrande’s financial troubles to the global economy.

In another sign of concern brewing in money markets, analysts cited three-month Libor, which rose to 12.5 basis points, a four-week peak, according to Refinitiv data, which may reflect some stress in the banking system.

Evergrande has been scrambling to raise funds to pay its many lenders, suppliers and investors. Regulators have warned that its $305 billion in liabilities could spark broader risks to China’s financial system if its debts are not stabilized.

Spreads of interest rate swaps are typically viewed as indicators of market risk, analysts said. A higher spread suggests market participants are willing to swap their risk exposures, suggesting overall risk aversion.

The spread on 10-year U.S. swaps over benchmark Treasuries rose to 5.25 basis points, from 4 basis points late on Friday. The spread was 3.25 basis point late Monday.

U.S. 10-year swaps measure the cost of swapping fixed rate cash flows for floating rate ones over a 10-year term.

“Wider swap spreads reflect an expectation that Libor is going to move higher,” said Dan Belton, fixed-income strategist, at BMO Capital in Chicago.

“And Libor is generally seen as the fear gauge. When there is financial market stress, Libor tends to widen and swap spreads tend to follow,” he added.

Libor has been on a downtrend this year given excess cash in the banking system as a result of the Federal Reserve’s asset purchases under its quantitative easing program. But Libor has perked up over the last week and a half.

More

https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-moneymarkets/u-s-swap-spreads-widen-three-month-libor-rises-as-risk-aversion-spreads-idUSKBN2GG1MC

METALS-Copper prices hover near 1-month low on Evergrande debt crisis

September 21, 2021 5:10 AM By Reuters Staff

Sept 21 (Reuters) - Prices of copper, used widely in the power and construction industries, were trading near a one-month low on Tuesday as a debt crisis at China developer Evergrande Group spurred a sell-off across markets and stoked worries over global demand.

Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.3% to $9,063 a tonne by 0337 GMT, but was hovering near its lowest level since Aug. 20 hit in the previous session of $8,975 a tonne. The contract lost 4.8% so far this month.

Global stock markets grappled with contagion fears, sparked by troubles at China Evergrande as growing risks the property giant could default on its massive debt pile prompted investors to flee riskier assets.

Chinese markets are closed for a holiday and will reopen on Wednesday.

FUNDAMENTALS

* The global world refined copper market showed a deficit of 90,000 tonnes in June, compared with a surplus of 4,000 tonnes in the prior month, the International Copper Study Group said in its latest monthly bulletin.

* Aurubis AG, Europe’s largest copper producer, said on Monday its Stolberg copper products plant in Germany will start resuming some production on Nov. 1.

* Two trains operated by Russian aluminium giant Rusal collided in Guinea’s capital Conakry on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring several others, according to witness accounts and footage on social media.

* LME aluminium was almost flat at $2,864 a tonne, nickel eased 0.1% to $19,035 a tonne, zinc advanced 0.3% to $3,024 a tonne and lead increased 0.2% to $2,161 a tonne.

https://www.reuters.com/article/global-metals/metals-copper-prices-hover-near-1-month-low-on-evergrande-debt-crisis-idUSL1N2QN06P

Biden looks to turn page on 20 years of war in UN address

By AAMER MADHANI and JOSH BOAK September 20, 2021

NEW YORK (AP) — President Joe Biden began his first visit to the U.N. General Assembly ready to make the case to world leaders that after closing the book on 20 years of war, the U.S. aims to rally allies and adversaries to work together on a slew of crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and trade and economics.

The president faced a healthy measure of skepticism when he arrived in New York on Monday to start a week of high-level diplomacy. The opening months of his presidency have included a series of difficult moments with friendly nations that were expecting greater cooperation from Biden following four years of Donald Trump’s “America first” approach to foreign policy.

To that end, soon after arriving in New York Monday evening, the president’s first stop was to meet with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to offer endorsements for the body’s relevance and multilateral coordination.

Biden, in brief remarks at the start of the meeting, said the assembly’s commitment to achieving “prosperity, peace and security for everyone” was as important as ever with the coronavirus pandemic and climate change casting large shadows around the globe.

More

https://apnews.com/article/united-nations-general-assembly-donald-trump-joe-biden-europe-united-nations-9915463af38a47a4545f9dccff826c28

Finally, on Fed Day one, did some at the Fed front run the Fed? They wouldn’t do that, would they?

Fed Chief Powell, other officials owned securities central bank bought during Covid pandemic

Published Fri, Sep 17 2021 10:40 AM EDT Updated Sat, Sep 18 2021 9:39 AM EDT

(Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect new information. Fed Chair Powell owned the municipal bonds in question in a joint account over which he had control. Due to incorrect information provided by the Federal Reserve, CNBC reported initially that Powell owned the munis in a family trust over which he had no control.)

Amid an outcry about Federal Reserve officials owning and trading individual securities, an in-depth look by CNBC at officials’ financial disclosures found three who last year held assets of the same type the Fed itself was buying, including Chairman Jerome Powell.

None of these holdings or transactions appeared to violate the Fed’s code of conduct. But they raise further questions about the Fed’s conflict of interest policies and the oversight of central bank officials.

• Powell held between $1.25 million and $2.5 million of municipal bonds. They were just a small portion of his total reported assets. While the bonds were purchased before 2019, they were held while the Fed last year bought more than $5 billion in munis, including one from the state of Illinois purchased by his family trust in 2016.
• Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren held between $151,000 and $800,000 worth of real estate investment trusts that owned mortgage-backed securities. He made as many as 37 separate trades in the four REITS while the Fed purchased almost $700 billion in MBS.
• Richmond Fed President Thomas Barkin held $1.35 million to $3 million in individual corporate bonds purchased before 2020. They include bonds of Pepsi, Home Depot and Eli Lilly. The Fed last year opened a corporate bond-buying facility and purchased $46.5 billion of corporate bonds.

Among those questions: Should the Fed have banned officials from holding, buying and selling the same assets the Fed itself was buying last year when it dramatically widened the types of assets it would purchase in response to the pandemic?

The Fed’s own code of conduct says officials “should be careful to avoid any dealings or other conduct that might convey even an appearance of conflict between their personal interests, the interests of the system, and the public interest.”

In response to CNBC questions asked in the process of our research, a Fed spokesperson released a statement Thursday saying Powell ordered a review last week of the Fed’s ethics rules surrounding “permissible financial holdings and activities by senior Fed officials.”

More

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/09/17/fed-officials-owned-securities-it-was-buying-during-pandemic-raising-more-questions-about-conflicts.html

When I was young I thought that money was the most important thing in life; now that I am old I know that it is.

Fed Chairman Powell, with apologies to Oscar Wilde.

 

Global Inflation Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians,  inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

America’s Next Hot Import Might Be Record Energy Prices

Natural-gas, coal and electricity prices are all running abnormally high, far too early

Sept. 20, 2021 7:03 am ET

Today’s high energy prices could be a preview of coming attractions—a real horror movie if this winter is cold.

Benchmark U.S. natural-gas prices edged above $5 per million British thermal units this month, near their highest since 2014, but they are fairly tame compared with levels in Europe and Asia. The inventory situation seems less dire at home too as underground natural-gas storage grows. The problem is that seasonal stockpiling isn’t happening quickly enough, with inventories 7.1% below their five-year average and less margin for error.

It isn’t as though the U.S. hasn’t seen natural-gas prices this high before. They occasionally touched double digits before the shale boom, but that was during the winter, when every molecule was employed to keep the lights and heat on at home. Today the rest of the world might be in dire need of that gas, as well as America’s coal, just when a crunch arrives.

The U.S. is shipping out an order of magnitude more than it did even a few years ago. During the first half of the year, the U.S. has exported roughly 10% of its natural-gas production and continues to export at near full capacity. Before opening its first export terminal in the Lower 48 states in 2016, the U.S. exported less than 1% of its natural gas.

Coal exports are running high too. The U.S. exported 52.5% more coal in the second quarter than it did a year earlier, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Europe and Asia are in worse shape, with Europe’s natural-gas inventories at a record low for September. Both regions are seeing benchmark prices soaring above $20 per MMBtu as they compete to attract liquefied natural gas cargoes.

More

https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-next-hot-import-might-be-record-energy-prices-11632135781?mod=mhp

Energy firms plead for 'bad bank' as whole prices climb 70 per cent since last month

Monday 20 September 2021 7:39 am

The UK’s energy suppliers have urged for the creation of a so-called “bad bank” to absorb unprofitable customers from failing companies.

Firms have requested billions of pounds in emergency funding to weather a crisis caused by record wholesale energy costs.

Business secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, held crisis talks with regulator Ofgem on Sunday and will meet with energy suppliers on Monday, according to the Financial Times.

There are concerns many smaller challenger companies could go bust in the coming weeks because of surging prices. 

Wholesale prices for gas have surged 250 per cent since January, with a 70 per cent increase since August alone, according to industry organisation OGUK.

The business secretary is reportedly looking at the proposals for a “Northern-Rock style bad bank” and has accepted significant intervention may be required, above existing contingency plans. 

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Boris Johnson tried to reassure consumers that the price hikes were “short-term” and faced by countries around the world.

Speaking from New York’s JFK airport, Boris Johnson said the situation would “get better as the market starts to sort itself out, as the world economy gets back on its feet.”

“We’ve got to try and fix it as fast as we can, make sure we have the supplies we want, make sure we don’t allow the companies we rely on to go under. We’ll have to do everything we can,” he added.

Business minister Kwarteng said “well-rehearsed plans” were in place to ensure consumers were not cut off, following the collapse of four energy firms. 

Consumers would be protected from sudden price hikes through the Government’s energy price cap and supplies could be maintained, Kwarteng said.

Gas prices have soared because of multiple factors including depleted stocks after a cold winter, high demand for liquefied natural gas from Asia and a reduction in supplies from Russia.

https://www.cityam.com/energy-firms-plead-for-bad-bank-as-whole-prices-climb-70-per-cent/

Unease about economic outlook grows as rising prices fuel stagflation concerns

Monday 20 September 2021 7:32 am

The last few weeks has seen equity markets struggle to make gains of any significant size, and all the while concerns have been rising about a number of different factors.

The lack of a clear narrative, whether it be positive or negative, has seen markets churn in both directions since July, with any number of factors raising concerns about the global economic outlook, according to Michael Hewson, Chief Market Analyst at CMC Markets UK.

Concerns about the regulatory environment in China, soaring energy prices, debates about whether inflation is transitory or persistent, how much the global economy is slowing, and whether central banks can look at tapering their bond buying programs, without sending ripples through the market, is increasingly keeping investors nervous, and that uncertainty appears to be growing, Hewson said this morning.

Last Friday’s move lower in equity markets saw the FTSE100 close below 7,000 for the first time since July, while the S&P500 closed below its 50-day MA for the first time since mid-June.

“This was coincidentally a triple witching day as well, as was last Friday. Back then the S&P 500 was able to rebound immediately, and consequently achieve new record highs,” Hewson said this morning.

“One other characteristic of last week’s sell-off was a sharp rise in volume with all three major indexes of the DAX, FTSE100 and S&P 500 recording their highest daily volumes since March,” he added.

Part of this is likely down to various options expiries, as well as volume flows in the DAX, as it undergoes a big reorientation to 40 constituents, up from 30, starting today.

Growing sense of unease

Nonetheless, there is a growing sense of unease about the economic outlook as a growing number of companies look ahead to the prospect of rising costs, and the possible effects on their profit margins, at a time when central banks are coming under pressure to pull back on the generosity of their current stimulus measures.

“With that in mind the narrative from this week’s Federal Reserve rate meeting is likely to be key in determining whether last week’s sell off is an enduring one, or merely temporary,” Hewson explained.

“Recent economic data out of the US has been mixed to say the least, but on the labour market there does seem to be cause for optimism,” he continued.

“Unfortunately for the US central bank, that appears to be the least of its problems given the outlook for inflation expectations, which are rising and could well squeeze spending patterns into year end and which have already hammered consumer confidence, along with concern about how economies will cope with the delta variant of Covid-19 as the weather gets colder.”

Hewson pointed out that these stagflation concerns are now starting “to be voiced” in ever increasing frequency, with both the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England likely to have to form a view on them when they meet later this week.

More

https://www.cityam.com/unease-about-economic-outlook-grows-as-rising-prices-fuel-stagflation-concerns/

UK meat industry warns some firms have just five days' CO2 supply

September 20, 202110:03 AM BST

LONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Some of Britain's meat processors will run out of carbon dioxide within five days, forcing them to halt production, the head of the industry's lobby group warned on Monday.

A jump in gas prices has forced several domestic energy suppliers out of business and has shut fertiliser plants that also produce carbon dioxide (CO2), used to stun animals before slaughter and prolong the shelf-life of food. read more

The shortage of CO2, also used to put the fizz in beer, cider and soft drinks, has compounded an acute shortage of truck drivers in the UK, which has been blamed on the impact of COVID-19 and Brexit.

"My members are saying anything between five, 10 and 15 days supply," Nick Allen of the British Meat Processors Association told Sky News.

With no CO2 a meat processor cannot operate, he said.

"The animals have to stay on farm, they'll cause farmers on the farm huge animal welfare problems and British pork and British poultry will disappear off the shelves," Allen said.

"We're two weeks away from seeing some real impacts on the shelves. On the poultry side we're hearing they're even tighter supplies so we might see poultry disappearing even sooner."

----The British Retail Consortium (BRC), which represents retailers including the major supermarket groups, said the CO2 crisis added to existing pressures on production and distribution.

More

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-meat-industry-warns-some-firms-have-just-five-days-co2-supply-2021-09-20/

I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying.

Treasury Secretary Yellen, with apologies to Oscar Wilde.

Covid-19 Corner

This section will continue until it becomes unneeded.

COVID has killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 flu

By CARLA K. JOHNSON September 20, 2021

COVID-19 has now killed about as many Americans as the 1918-19 Spanish flu pandemic did — approximately 675,000.

The U.S. population a century ago was just one-third of what it is today, meaning the flu cut a much bigger, more lethal swath through the country. But the COVID-19 crisis is by any measure a colossal tragedy in its own right, especially given the incredible advances in scientific knowledge since then and the failure to take maximum advantage of the vaccines available this time.

“Big pockets of American society — and, worse, their leaders — have thrown this away,” medical historian Dr. Howard Markel of the University of Michigan said of the opportunity to vaccinate everyone eligible by now.

Like the Spanish flu, the coronavirus may never entirely disappear from our midst. Instead, scientists hope it becomes a mild seasonal bug as human immunity strengthens through vaccination and repeated infection. That could take time.

“We hope it will be like getting a cold, but there’s no guarantee,” said Emory University biologist Rustom Antia, who suggests an optimistic scenario in which this could happen over a few years.

For now, the pandemic still has the United States and other parts of the world firmly in its jaws.

While the delta-fueled surge in infections may have peaked, U.S. deaths are running at over 1,900 a day on average, the highest level since early March, and the country’s overall toll topped 675,000 Monday, according to the count kept by Johns Hopkins University, though the real number is believed to be higher.

Winter may bring a new surge, with the University of Washington’s influential model projecting an additional 100,000 or so Americans will die of COVID-19 by Jan. 1, which would bring the overall U.S. toll to 776,000.

The 1918-19 influenza pandemic killed 50 million victims globally at a time when the world had one-quarter the population it does now.

More

https://apnews.com/article/science-health-pandemics-united-states-coronavirus-pandemic-c15d5c6dd7ece88d0832993f11279fbb

New York Fears UN Week Covid Spike; Italy Boosters: Virus Update

Bloomberg News

20 September 2021, 00:01 BST Updated on 20 September 2021, 11:15 BST

The Pandemic in the Next 6 Months

We're tracking the latest on the coronavirus outbreak and the global response. Sign up here for our daily newsletter on what you need to know.

World leaders gather at a scaled-back United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, with global vaccine distribution taking center stage. President Joe Biden will propose a new course for worldwide vaccine allocation amid anger in some countries that the U.S. is rolling out boosters while millions have yet to get a first jab. Meanwhile, fears about a possible spike in cases from the meeting are making New Yorkers less enthusiastic about hosting the gathering.

More

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-19/fauci-sees-more-u-s-boosters-un-debates-vaccines-virus-update

Next, some vaccine links kindly sent along from a LIR reader in Canada. The links come from a most informative update from Stanford Hospital in California.

World Health Organization - Landscape of COVID-19 candidate vaccines. https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-candidate-vaccines

NY Times Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-tracker.html

Regulatory Focus COVID-19 vaccine tracker. https://www.raps.org/news-and-articles/news-articles/2020/3/covid-19-vaccine-tracker

Some other useful Covid links.

Johns Hopkins Coronavirus resource centre

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Rt Covid-19

https://rt.live/

Centers for Disease Control Coronavirus

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html

The Spectator Covid-19 data tracker (UK)

https://data.spectator.co.uk/city/national

 

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section. Updates as they get reported.

New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton plans to run entirely on renewable energy after green light given to solar farm

Analysis from the Royal Wolverhampton NHS trust reckons the move could save £15m to £20m over the next 20 years - money which will be put back into frontline healthcare.

Sunday 19 September 2021 03:58, UK

An NHS hospital in the Midlands is planning to become the first in England to be fully powered by renewable energy.

Proposals for a giant solar farm have been approved in Wolverhampton. The site will be cabled directly to New Cross Hospital.

Hospital bosses believe the scheme will save the trust millions of pounds in energy bills in the coming years and plan to spend the money on frontline services instead.

Construction of the solar farm is due to begin this autumn, with completion as early as spring next year.

Planning images show solar panels stretched across a former landfill site the size of 21 football pitches.

The idea to turn the former tip into a solar farm began at the council in Wolverhampton.

"It's toxic land, we can't build on here, we'd never be able to do anything and we had some issues with fly tipping" says councillor Steve Evans.

"But one of the projects we've looked at is a solar farm so it's something we very much wanted to do to supply clean energy. Sadly we just couldn't get the funding streams."

After making contact with the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust he discovered they were able to access funding. Working together, they drew up plans for the site.

It will link to Wolverhampton's largest hospital via an underground cable, known as a private wire, stretching the half mile distance between the two sites.

Stew Watson, from the trust, describes the plan as "win-win" for the hospital.

"The huge benefit to the hospital is we will be able to power all of our electronic needs for the site from the solar farm.

"So we will move away from the grid - we will always have the grid as a back-up because of obviously the services we provide in healthcare - but we will look to harness the energy of the sun each year and use that to power the full hospital.

More

https://news.sky.com/story/new-cross-hospital-in-wolverhampton-plans-to-run-entirely-on-renewable-energy-after-green-light-given-to-solar-farm-12410407

The old believe everything, the middle-aged suspect everything, the young know everything.

Oscar Wilde.