Public Policy – Page 11 – Global Power Law & Policy

Next Steps for Community Solar After the Passage of Oregon’s Landmark Clean Energy Legislation

Apr 12 2016

Oregon’s landmark “Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan,” Senate Bill 1547 (SB 1547), was recently signed into law by Governor Kate Brown. Among other things, the new law increases Oregon’s renewable portfolio standard to 50 percent by 2040 and requires Oregon’s investor-owned utilities to eliminate coal-fired resources from the electricity allocated to Oregon’s ratepayers by 2030. We will be posting an analysis of the new law shortly, but in this post we wanted to focus on the part of SB 1547 that will establish a community solar program in Oregon.

U.S. Senate Currently Debating Legislation to Reauthorize the FAA, Extend Energy Tax Credits

Apr 11 2016

The U.S. Senate is currently debating legislation to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It is likely that the bill will contain a tax title including energy tax provisions. There is increasing support for an extension of the Investment Tax Credit for biomass, geothermal and fuel cells. Also under discussion are other proposals, including tax credits for biofuels, carbon capture and sequestration.

Some conservative groups are voicing opposition to any renewable energy tax provisions. However, key Senate Republicans and Democrats indicate that an agreement is close.

Timing for House action on a FAA bill and possible tax title is unclear.

We will provide an update next week.

Washington State Legislation May Facilitate Cost Recovery for Coal Plant Retirement

Apr 05 2016

With a partial veto from Governor Inslee on April 1, 2016, Washington State has enacted legislation that may help Puget Sound Energy (PSE) recover costs associated with the decommissioning and remediation of its interest in the Colstrip coal-fired plant, which is located southwest of Billings, Montana. PSE owns half of the older two units of the Colstrip plant. Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill (SB) 6248 expressly authorizes the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), after a hearing, to allow a utility to “to place amounts from one or more regulatory liabilities into a retirement account” for decommissioning and remediation costs for the older two units. Thus the WUTC now has the express authority to allow PSE to use certain tax credits to help cover decommissioning and remediation costs at the Colstrip plant instead of returning those tax credits to customers over time.

FERC Schedules Technical Conference to Explore Generator Interconnection Issues

Apr 01 2016

On March 29, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a Notice of Technical Conference announcing that it will hold a technical conference on May 13, 2016, to explore generator interconnection issues faced by interconnection customers, transmission owners and transmission operators across the United States. The issues discussed during the technical conference could have significant implications for the generator interconnection process.

Critical Habitat and the Endangered Species Act: Newly Enacted Regulations Threaten to Expand the Government’s Role and Discretion in the Permitting Process

Mar 02 2016

In the summer of 2014, we reported on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (collectively, the “Services”) proposed changes to regulations implementing the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). As we indicated then, the proposals had the potential to expand the need to consult with the Services under the ESA, thereby making it possibly more difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to obtain permits from federal agencies such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Among the proposed changes was an amendment to the definition of “destruction or adverse modification” of critical habit.

Not quite two years later, on February 11, 2016, the Services issued a final rule adopting a new definition of “destruction or adverse modification” under the ESA. The new rule takes effect on March 14, 2016. According to the Services, it should not alter the ESA consultation process and does not require the reevaluation of “previously completed biological opinions.” As we foreshadowed in summer 2014, however, the new rule could impact the amount and substantive results of future consultations with the Services.

Read the full alert on K&L Gates HUB

High Court Grants Stay of Clean Power Plan

Feb 10 2016

On February 9, 2016, in an historic and unprecedented decision, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) from implementing the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) while the rule is challenged in lower courts. The decision is a victory for twenty-nine states and state agencies, along with several industry and trade groups (the “Petitioners”), who appealed the D.C. Circuit’s January 21, 2016 decision not to stay the CPP.

The Petitioners argued to the Supreme Court that the EPA does not have the Clean Air Act authority to implement the CPP, which they assert would reorganize the entire electric power sector of the U.S. economy. The petitioners persuaded the U.S. Supreme court that there was a reasonable probability that four justices would agree to hear the case, that there was a fair prospect that the majority of the court would find that the CPP was unlawful, and that irreparable harm would have resulted from the denial of the stay.

FERC Issues Staff White Paper on Guidance Principles for Clean Power Plan Modeling; Suggests Stakeholder Engagement to Consider Reliability Issues

Feb 02 2016

On January 19, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a Staff White Paper[1] outlining four guiding principles to assist transmission planning entities – including regional transmission organizations (“RTOs”), independent system operators (“ISOs”) and electric utilities – in analyzing the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”).[2] The CPP requires each state to demonstrate that it has considered electric system reliability issues in developing its state emissions reduction plan. The EPA explained that one particularly effective way for states to make such a demonstration is by consulting with the relevant RTO, ISO, or other transmission planning entities and documenting this consultation process in their state plans.

Mining and energy collapse echoes subprime mortgage crisis

Feb 02 2016

The collapse of the global mining and energy sector has already led to severe consequences for hedge funds, private equity, and other sources of institutional investment that have lost large sums. The loss in equity in the Australian mining sector already rivals losses on mortgage-backed securities in the US subprime crisis. There are other echoes of the 2008 crisis, but the global financial markets should be better placed to weather the storm this time around. Are they?

Please see the entire article on klgates.com

“FWS Bat Intake Rule Won’t Drive Project Developers Batty” on Law360

Jan 26 2016

Ankur Tohan and James M. Lynch’s recent alert on the Northern Long-Eared Bat 4(d) Rule and its effects on energy infrastructure projects was recently published on Law360.

Please click here to view it on Law360 (subscription required) or view it on K&L Gates HUB.

Winds of Change for Alternative Energy Tax Incentives in 2016

Jan 21 2016

Congress has some unfinished business on alternative energy policy, which may provide unusual legislative opportunities in an election year. While tax credits for wind and solar power received long-term extensions in the year-end omnibus legislation enacted at the end of 2015, other types of alternative energy were left out — reports have suggested unintentionally — spurring some in Congress to seek a remedy in 2016. Additionally, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiated a rulemaking process to further define and clarify the types of property qualifying for the investment tax credit (ITC) under section 48 of the Tax Code. These developments, along with ongoing congressional interest in comprehensive energy policy legislation, could make 2016 a pivotal year for stakeholders in the alternative energy industry.

Read the full alert on K&L Gates HUB

Catagory:Public Policy