Climate Change and the Supreme Court Part II: Certiorari Granted in...
It doesn't take much insight to conclude that today's granting by the Supreme Court of the petition for certiorari in Connecticut v. American Electric Power could be the start of a whole new era in...
View ArticleOral Argument is April 19 in American Electric Power v. Connecticut and in...
Where I grew up (outside of Boston) April 19 is of singular moment. On that day, over 200 years ago, the British marched from Boston to destroy the military stores in Concord. But Paul Revere and...
View ArticleClash of the (Electric Vehicle Charging Station) Titans: ECOtality v. NRG
What do you get when the beneficiary of “the largest public/private federal transportation electrification grant provided by the U.S. Department of Energy” concludes that “one of the country’s largest...
View ArticleSunrise, Sunset - The Parable of the Two Solar Companies
"A Rare Solar Success Story" trumpets the American version of The Wall Street Journal today in an article about LDK Solar, a Chinese solar wafer manufacturer. We agree with "Solar" and "Story" but the...
View ArticleFifth Circuit Knocks Out Climate Change Liability Lawsuit Again
Res judicata is one of those phrases learned in law school that seemed of limited utility. How often is someone going to bring the same claim twice? Callow law students know little of the world. The...
View ArticleTop 6 at 6: Highlights of the Top Climate Change Stories in the First Half of...
Another six months have passed and it is time for our semi-annual look at climate change and its intersection with the law. Here are some highlights of the last six months:1. The Administration’s...
View ArticleThe Top 6 at 12: Highlights of the Top Climate Change Legal Stories in the...
2013 has drawn to a close; here is our take on the top six climate change legal stories in the last six months. 1. Climate Change Assessments - Blockbuster legislation may have been evaded once more...
View ArticleWind Project "Take" Permits Extended to 30 Years - Eagles Nonplussed
Tomorrow bald and golden eagles will sleep less soundly. On January 8 the Fish and Wildlife Service’s new rulerevising the regulations for permits for the taking of golden eagles and bald eagles goes...
View ArticleContrary Legal Winds at Cape Wind - Opponents of Offshore Wind Sue Asserting...
Would you care to hazard a guess at how long it takes to bring online an offshore wind farm in the United States? At the moment, it is 12+ years and counting. A recent court filing arguing...
View ArticleReport on Carbon Capture and Storage from the House
Would an 80% premium steer you away from an energy source that was low-carbon, naturally abundant in the United States, not subject to the vicissitudes of weather, incapable of nuclear meltdown and...
View ArticleExecutory Forward SREC Contracts - What Exactly Does This Mean?
What happens to the payment for a solar renewable energy credit (SREC) when the payor closes its doors? Maryland citizens are finding out the hard way. The promises made to some of them are turning...
View ArticleThe Keystone XL Pipeline Veto: Much Ado ...
When one talks of pipelines in recent days one hears nearly an incessant buzz about Keystone XL, as if that is where the real action is. But it isn't, notwithstanding the histrionics over President...
View ArticleCommunity Solar - A New Path in Illinois
This week, the Chicago Tribune reports that the Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) filed a petition with the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) to require...
View ArticleA View from the FERC - Part III - Time to Keep the Lights On
Last week, FERC held the eastern regional technical conference on “Environmental Regulations and Electric Reliability, Wholesale Electricity Markets, and Energy Infrastructure.” The purpose was for...
View ArticleThe Clean Power Plan: A View from FERC, Part IV - Economic v. Environmental...
It’s been a long winter in my neck of the woods and not because Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow. Pipes froze. Twice. Furnace was out overnight. Broke three shovels. So I had a particular interest...
View ArticleFlorida’s Solar Conundrum
Despite ranking third in the nation for rooftop solar potential, the "Sunshine State" is 13th in cumulative solar capacity installed (dreary New Jersey is 3rd). This is the result of a state without a...
View ArticleIn re Murray Energy - the First Clean Power Plan Donnybrook
This morning found us at the E. Barrett Prettyman Courthouse in Washington, hoping to take in the oral argument before the DC Circuit in the first (of what is certain to be many) challenge to the Clean...
View ArticleNERC's Polite Review of the Clean Power Plan: A "Challenge"
When the draft of EPA's Clean Power Plan was promulgated in the Federal Register last June, one of the critical questions raised by those in the electricity space was: what about reliability? If you...
View ArticleThere's Gold in Them Thar Coal Plants - You Just Have to Know How to Look For It
Last Tuesday night saw a few of us enjoying the charms of Virginia Beach as we recovered from a long day of coal plant demolition. (Lawyers in hard hats. Run from that.) Well, not exactly.We were...
View Article"Capacious" Term Dooms MATS Rule - Does It Say Anything About the Clean Power...
The Energy Information Agency predicted the retirement of up to 60 gigawatts of coal-fired electricity generation by 2020. A significant contributor to that evolution was the Mercury and Air Toxics...
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