Renewables – Page 7 – Global Power Law & Policy

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.

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.

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.

US Offshore Wind Market Handbook Helps Investors Navigate Technical and Regulatory Issues

Nov 14 2018

K&L Gates LLP, and Atkins, a member of the SNC-Lavalin Group recently released an Offshore Wind Market Handbook to help guide investors through technical- and regulatory issues in the emerging US offshore wind market.

“Many large companies and institutional investors who have been successful with offshore wind projects in Europe are now poised to invest in the US,” said Andrew Thompson, Director, Offshore Wind at Atkins. “However, technical and regulatory issues unique to this market can be a barrier to developers for offshore wind energy projects. Our handbook provides practical information that addresses key matters.”

Regulatory issues include a discussion of the interplay between US federal jurisdiction and the various coastal states that have enacted laws and regulations encouraging offshore wind projects. Technical issues include turbine and foundation options and solutions, performance assurance strategies and a discussion of innovations in design and equipment that are particularly suited to US coastal waters.

“Essentially, technical and regulatory legal issues are intertwined such that project success requires a closely coordinated cross-discipline team,” said David Hattery, co-leader of K&L Gates’ power practice. “Together, K&L Gates and Atkins demonstrate a pool of knowledge and a depth of experience to draw on that gives us uniquely valuable insight into the legal and technical challenges facing the US offshore wind industry.”

The K&L Gates renewable energy practice combines European project experience with US regulatory and project development expertise. Atkins is a leading provider of full range technical and operational expertise in the energy industry, including engineering design and owner’s engineer services in the global offshore wind market. Together, K&L Gates and Atkins demonstrate market leadership on key issues and can help investors build a leading position in the US offshore wind market.

To read the full press release, click here.

Invigorated Federal Interest in Fusion Energy Presents Opportunities and Questions for Growing Private Fusion Energy Sector

Oct 15 2018

By Tim L. Peckinpaugh, Michael L. O’Neill, R. Paul Stimers

Significant investment is flowing into private companies seeking long-sought-after breakthroughs to develop practical power generation solutions based on nuclear fusion reactions. [1] Fusion reactions have become relatively commonplace in the laboratory setting, but no one has developed a nuclear fusion reactor yet that produces more energy than the device uses to operate and maintain the reaction. Numerous private companies, in the United States and around the world, are attacking this challenge with a variety of approaches, with the goal of making the technology sustainable, practical, and commercial. These companies are receiving significant investment from backers who believe a solution is within reach.

K&L Gates’ Quick Guide to the Polish Auction System for Renewables

Sep 21 2018

K&L Gates is pleased to introduce our Quick Guide to the Polish Auction System for Renewables. Find the full version of the guide here.

Wind energy is breaking new ground in Poland. After a few years of stagnation, there is well-grounded optimism for the dynamic development of onshore and offshore RES.

A 1000 MW wind auction is expected in November 2018, with more to come in 2019. Bidders will compete in offering the lowest price over a 15-year period, plus indexation, and the auction winners will receive an estimated 12–15 billion PLN, i.e., ca. 4 billion EUR over this period.

The government is working on a separate piece of legislation concerning public support for the first offshore wind farms on the Polish Baltic Sea. However, concessions for offshore wind are already awarded and the industry is gearing up for the construction phrase. Offshore wind will likely feature here sooner rather than later.

Never before experienced growth is also anticipated in the solar market, with an auction for around 750 MW of new capacity in 2018. This exceeds by a few times the capacity of all solar installations existing so far in Poland.

The auctions are bound to bring the country closer to meeting the 15% target of renewables’ share in electricity generation. The Polish renewable generation will finally get a much needed boost after the delays experienced on the EU 2020 path.

It is therefore our pleasure to present this quick guide on the auction system for renewables – a compendium of knowledge prepared by the Polish Wind Energy Association and one of the association’s members

– K&L Gates law firm.

We hope that you will find the guide interesting.

K&L Gates Advises innogy on Acquisition of More Than 2,000 MW Onshore Wind Projects

Aug 03 2018

3 August 2018

A team of lawyers from K&L Gates advised German-based energy company innogy SE and its Chicago- based US subsidiary Innogy Renewables US on the acquisition of EverPower Wind Holdings from UK private equity investor Terra Firma Capital Partners. The companies signed the purchase agreement at the end of 2017, but the project has now successfully completed with approval from the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Through the acquisition, innogy became the owner of more than 20 projects totaling in excess of 2,000 MW currently in various stages of development across eight states (Maine, Maryland, Montana, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington, and Wyoming), giving innogy a strong foundation for expansion into the U.S., one of the company’s key strategic growth areas. innogy’s first U.S. onshore wind project at Scioto Ridge in Ohio is targeted to start full construction in early 2019.

The K&L Gates team advising innogy Renewables US was led by partner Andrea Lucan, assisted by partners David Benson, Sang-yul Lee, Karrie Diaz, Will Keyser, William Holmes, David Hattery, Elizabeth Crouse, Steven Hill, Charles Purcell, James Lynch, and Alyssa Moir, and supported by associates Mark Hammes, Nolan Thomas, Virginia Chiao, Ben Tejblum, Erica Bakies, and Tad MacFarlan.

The cross-office, cross-practice team included lawyers from K&L Gates’ power, labor, employment and workplace safety, employee benefits, tax, environment, land and natural resources, international trade, and corporate/M&A practice groups from the firm’s offices in Orange County, Seattle, Chicago, Washington, D.C., Portland, Los Angeles, and Harrisburg.

Powering America: The Role of Energy Storage in the Nation’s Electricity System

Jul 18 2018

By Kathleen Nicholas and Tim Peckinpaugh

Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee convened its eleventh hearing in its “Powering America” series. The series goal is to examine all aspects of the U.S. electricity sector, and today the focus was on energy storage. Members on both sides of the political divide agreed utilization of battery and other storage systems presents an opportunity to better optimize the country’s electricity system, and help bolster vulnerable places like Puerto Rico and rural areas.

The witnesses today were:

Dr. Keith E. Casey, Vice President, Market and Infrastructure Development, California ISO (Opening Statement)
Mr. Mark Frigo, Vice President and Head of Energy Storage, E.ON North America (Opening Statement)
Mr. Kiran Kumaraswamy, Market Applications Director, Fluence (Opening Statement)
Dr. Zachary Kuznar, Director, CHP Microgrid and Energy Storage Development, Duke Energy Corporation (Opening Statement)
Mr. Kushal Patel, Partner, Energy and Environmental Economics, Incorporated (Opening Statement)

A variety of topics were broached during the hearing, including ways the federal government can be helpful to the storage industry and how large-scale storage can be applied to the grid in ways that increase resiliency and reliability, and are beneficial to ratepayers.

You can view an archived video of the webcast here.

Catagory:Renewables