2018 – Global Power Law & Policy

Screen Grabs: FERC’s NOPR Removes Screens in Organized Markets Where Market Mitigation Rules

Dec 21 2018

By William Keyser, Benjamin Tejblum, and Abraham F. Johns

On December 20, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NOPR) designed to simplify the horizontal market power analysis necessary for electric power sellers to secure market-based rate authority in some wholesale power markets. Specifically, the NOPR eliminates the need to perform two indicative screens (the pivotal supplier screen and the wholesale market share screen) in capacity markets and wholesale power markets already subject to Commission-approved monitoring and mitigation rules. Notably, the Southwest Power Pool and California Independent System Operator wholesale markets are not subject to these monitoring and mitigation rules, so parties seeking market-based rate authority to sell capacity in those markets must still perform the two indicative screens. This simplification will relieve the added procedural burden of administering the indicative screens for parties seeking market-based rate authority in the other FERC-regulated markets.

The NOPR also proposes to remove the presumption that market monitoring or mitigation measures will adequately address indicative screen failures in organized wholesale power markets where the grid operator does not administer a capacity market. Rather, the NOPR proposes that in the event of an indicative screen failure in those markets, applicants submit a delivered-price test or other evidence demonstrating a lack of horizontal market power or that the applicant propose other mitigation for capacity sales in those markets.

K&L Gates attorneys will continue to monitor these developments and assist our clients navigating compliance with FERC rules and regulations.

RENEWABLE ENERGY BUYERS’ SUMMIT

Dec 20 2018

January 9-11, 2019

K&L Gates is proud to sponsor the 2019 Infocast Renewable Energy Buyers’ Summit (REBA). REBA is an invitation-only event where renewable energy buyers gather to discuss renewable energy procurement best practices with their fellow corporate buyers, as well as get valuable insights from leading renewable energy experts.

Teresa Hill will be moderating a panel on Latest Trends in PPA Terms and Structuring, and Bill Holmes will be moderating two panels, Assessing the Potential of Green Tariffs as a Renewable Sourcing Option, where attendees will assess the potential of green tariffs to provide a viable sourcing solution for renewable buyers, and Distributed Energy Solutions to Meet Corporate Goals, which will focus on on-site solar and energy storage.

Please let us know if you will be in attendance!

What’s Next for California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard?

Dec 20 2018

By Buck Endemann

In September 2018, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) approved several significant changes to California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) that will take affect on January 1, 2019. [1] The LCFS is California’s “cap and trade” regime for transportation fuels, where fuels are assigned a Carbon Intensity (CI) that varies depending on their feedstock and how they are produced or manufactured. Producers of fuels with a CI under the annual cap (for 2018, 93.55 grams of CO2 equivalent per Megajoule) earn credits while producers of higher-carbon fuels like gasoline and diesel incur deficits and are required to buy offsetting credits to meet the annual average CI value. Credits are bought and sold in the secondary market, and the current LCFS credit price of nearly $200/Metric Ton is driving the development of many facilities that are able to produce transportation fuels with low CI scores.

Winds of Change

Dec 19 2018

Federal Auction for Offshore Wind Leases in Northeast Set Record High

By David L. Wochner, Abraham F. Johns, and Michael L. O’Neill

On December 13 and 14, 2018, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) conducted an auction for three offshore wind power parcels in Massachusetts. The auction not only broke the record [1] for number of companies bidding, but also for being the highest grossing offshore wind lease sale. The promotion of federal offshore land auctions and positive statements [2] from both the Secretary of the Interior and the acting head of BOEM suggest that the Trump Administration remains committed to developing U.S. offshore wind resources.

Energy and Infrastructure

Dec 14 2018

Leveraging the Opportunity Zones Tax Incentive to Improve Returns on Development and Operations in The Oil and Gas and Power Industries

By Elizabeth C. Crouse, Mary Burke Baker, and Sandra E. Safro

A new federal tax incentive enacted in the 2017 tax reform package may provide a boost to many new facilities, repowering projects, and storage facilities. Qualified equipment could include a variety of energy and materials storage equipment, refining equipment, generating equipment, and extraction equipment.

The Qualified Opportunity Zones (“QOZ”) incentive provides attractive tax benefits for investors with capital gains to invest in property and businesses located in geographic areas that are designated as QOZ. Recently released regulations provide significant clarity and highlight how valuable the QOZ incentive can be for qualified investments. See our October 23 alert for a discussion of how the proposed regulations answer many important questions that provide the certainty investors, developers, and entrepreneurs in the energy and infrastructure industries need to proceed with QOZ investments and projects.

K&L Gates’ Energy Storage Handbook

Dec 13 2018

Version 3.0 Now Available!

As a courtesy to our clients and friends, the K&L Gates Power Practice has updated the popular resource for you – the Energy Storage Handbook.

Designed as a basic primer on what energy storage is, how it is regulated and what sorts of issues are encountered when such projects are financed and developed, the Handbook is intended to highlight the most common regulatory and developmental issues faced by our clients and the industries we serve.

New in Version 3.0

To view Version 3.0 of the Energy Storage Handbook, please click here.

2nd Annual Energy Storage Conference

Dec 06 2018

Market Trends, Opportunities, and Developments for Global Storage Projects

Energy Storage Handbook Now Available Online!

We thank you for joining us at the 2nd Annual Energy Storage Conference. A special thank you to our co-sponsors, the Energy Storage Association and the Edison Electric Institute. We hope you enjoyed the day’s discussions.

If you were unable to join us this year, we encourage you to check out the newest edition (Version 3.0) of our K&L Gates Energy Storage Handbook, available here.

We look forward to having you join us again in the future.

K&L Gates Blockchain Energizer – Volume 39

Dec 06 2018

There is a lot of buzz around blockchain technology and its potential to revolutionize a wide range of industries from finance and health care to real estate and supply chain management. Many institutions and companies are forming partnerships to explore how blockchain ledgers and smart contracts can be deployed to manage and share data, create transactional efficiencies, and reduce costs.

Across the energy industry, market participants have formed consortiums, and launched pilot programs testing blockchain-based use cases that could transform energy markets. State regulators, too, are engaging the industry on blockchain’s potential. Every other week, the K&L Gates’ Blockchain Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of blockchain technology in the energy space. To subscribe to the Blockchain Energizer newsletter, please click here.

IN THIS ISSUE

KEPCO Plans to Develop an “Open Energy Community” via a Blockchain-based “Future Micro Grid.”
Shell and Other Oil Companies Test Blockchain-based Crude Oil Trading on Vakt.
Energy Web Foundation Collaborates With Wirepas and Siemens.

To view more information on theses topics in Volume 39 of the Blockchain Energizer, click here.

Making Room for Electric Storage: RTOs/ISOs Propose Changes to Their Market Rules to Comply with FERC Order 841

Dec 04 2018

By Abraham F. Johns, William M. Keyser, and Toks A. Arowojolu

On December 3, 2018, the Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) filed proposed market rule changes to provide energy storage resources with greater opportunities to participate in the wholesale markets as required by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Order No. 841. These widely anticipated FERC filings will likely provide the framework for how energy storage resources will be developed and used in the coming years.

In February 2018, FERC released Order No. 841, which requires each regional grid operator to revise its tariff to establish a participation model that allows energy storage resources to participate in the organized wholesale markets and sell the relevant products offered by each market. K&L Gates covered the details of this Order in a blog post and in the Energy Storage Handbook.

FERC set a deadline for each RTO/ISO to submit a compliance filing including tariff revisions by December 3, 2018. We have provided links to the compliance filings for each RTO/ISO below. The deadline for public comments on the filings is December 24, 2018 by 5 p.m. Each RTO/ISO has until December 3, 2019 to implement the changes. Considering the holiday season, some commenters may request an extension on this comment deadline. We will continue to monitor the development of these proceedings.

Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) ER19-465-000
Independent System Operator New England (ISO-NE) ER19-470-000
New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) ER19-467-000
PJM Interconnection (PJM) ER19-469-000
California Independent System Operator (CAISO) ER19-468-000
Southwest Power Pool (SPP) ER19-460-000

RENEWABLE ENERGY: Leveraging the Opportunity Zones Tax Incentive to Improve Returns on Renewables, Storage Plus, and Standalone Storage

Nov 16 2018

By Elizabeth C. Crouse and Mary Burke Baker

Federal and state tax credits for renewable energy facilities are winding down, but a new federal tax incentive enacted in tax reform may provide a boost to many new installations, repowering projects, and storage facilities. The Qualified Opportunity Zones (“QOZ”) incentive provides attractive tax benefits for investors with capital gains that, unlike other federal incentive programs such as the New Markets Tax Credit and Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit, can be combined with the Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”) and Production Tax Credit (“PTC”) for facilities located in geographic areas that are designated as QOZ. Further, QOZ benefits will remain in place for a significant period after the ITC and PTC have become less valuable or expired. Recently released regulations provide significant clarity and highlight how valuable the QOZ incentive can be for qualified investments. See our October 23 alert for a discussion of how the regulations make the QOZ incentive even more interesting.

To view the full alert on K&L Gates HUB, click here.

Archive:2018