Global Power Law & Policy – Page 11 – Legal and policy developments affecting the global power industry.

Washington State Legislature Considers First of Its Kind State-Level Natural Gas Ban

Feb 04 2021

By: David Benson, Buck Endemann, Elizabeth Thomas, Sandra Safro, and Benjamin Mayer

Fossil-based natural gas may be headed for a reckoning, at least in Washington State. Not long ago, natural gas was seen by many as the key “bridge fuel” necessary to transition our society away from oil and coal. Natural gas has its upsides; most significantly, it burns more efficiently and emits fewer pollutants than coal.¹ Yet burning natural gas still emits greenhouse gases (GHG), including methane, a potent climate pollutant. According to EPA, methane accounts for approximately 10% of the GHG emissions in the United States.² That is a problem for states like Washington that have called for zero carbon emissions in the power sector by 2045 and have also enacted laws aimed at reducing GHG emissions throughout other sectors.

Hydrogen Rising: Leveraging the Existing U.S. Natural Gas Pipeline System for Hydrogen Transportation

Jan 27 2021

David Wochner and Sandi Safro discuss the potential to use the mature, robust existing U.S. natural gas pipeline system to transport hydrogen, including current hurdles and possible paths forward.

D.C. Circuit Vacates Trump’s ACE Rule and Deals Biden’s EPA New Hand for Regulating Power Plant Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Jan 26 2021

U.S. Public Policy and Law Alert

By: David J. Raphael, Sandra E. Safro, Cliff L. Rothenstein, Dean Brower

On 19 January 2021, the eve of inauguration for the Biden Administration, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) struck down the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE Rule). Issued under the Trump Administration’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the ACE Rule repealed and replaced the formerly enacted Clean Power Plan (CPP) and sought to establish a more narrowly defined framework for the regulation of power plant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. As a premise for the ACE Rule, the Trump EPA argued that Section 111 of the Clean Air Act (CAA), codified at 42 U.S.C. § 7411, contains clear and unambiguous language limiting the EPA’s emission reduction measures to improvements “at” and “to” existing GHG emissions sources. However, the D.C. Circuit held that the CAA does not require the EPA to confine its GHG regulation in this way and, in fact, that the Trump EPA’s interpretation under the ACE Rule constituted a “fundamental misconstruction” of the statute. The D.C. Circuit also found that the ACE Rule’s extended compliance deadline requirements were arbitrary and capricious insofar as they relaxed the schedules for federal action and state compliance under Section 7411(d). The D.C. Circuit’s decision clears the way for the Biden EPA to establish a new regulatory framework for power plant GHG emissions.

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The Energizer – Volume 82

Jan 22 2021

By: Buck B. Endemann, Daniel S. Cohen, Molly K. Barker, Olivia B. Mora, Natalie J. Reid, Matthew P. Clark

A biweekly update on clean technology applications, distributed energy resources, and other innovative technologies in the renewable energy and clean transport sector.

There is a lot of buzz around cleantech, distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and other technological innovations in the renewable energy and clean transport industries. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumer and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy and clean transportation industries forward.

IN THIS ISSUE:

Kaua‘i Island Utility Cooperative to Develop Solar + Pumped Storage Hydrogen Project
New York Announces the Largest U.S. Award for Offshore Wind Contracts
Hydro-Québec Invests in New Electrolysis Plant
StoreDot to Provide Samples of Fast-Charging EV Battery

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Distinguished Speaker Series with FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee

Jan 19 2021

Tuesday
26 January 2021
3:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. ET

Please join K&L Gates for an open conversation with FERC Commissioner Neil Chatterjee, as we discuss energy market trends, infrastructure development, renewables, and the energy transition.

Commissioner Neil Chatterjee was nominated to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission by President Donald J. Trump in May 2017 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in August 2017. He served as Chairman from August 2017 to December 2017. He was again named Chairman on October 24, 2018, and served in that role through November 5, 2020.

Since joining the Commission, Chatterjee has championed strategic initiatives reflecting his firm commitment to ensuring that FERC regulations and actions reflect changes in today’s energy landscape. Additionally, Chatterjee has made energy infrastructure a top priority.

Prior to his tenure at the Commission, Chatterjee served as an advisor to Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), where he played an integral role in the passage of major energy, highway and agriculture legislation. Chatterjee previously worked as a principal in government relations for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association and as an aide to House Republican Conference Chairwoman Deborah Pryce (R-OH). He began his career in Washington, D.C., as a staff member on the House Committee on Ways and Means.

A native of Lexington, Kentucky, Chatterjee is a graduate of St. Lawrence University and the University of Cincinnati, College of Law. Chatterjee resides with his wife and three children in Virginia.

The program will be moderated by K&L Gates’ Policy & Regulatory Practice Area Leader, David Wochner, and Power Practice Group Coordinator, Elizabeth Crouse.

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Hydrogen Rising: Opportunities for Hydrogen in the Biden Administration

Jan 13 2021

Laurie Purpuro and David Wochner discuss with host Sandi Safro potential opportunities for development of a U.S. hydrogen economy under a Biden Administration.

The Service’s CO-Balancing Act: Final Carbon Capture Credit Regulations Target Broad Taxpayer Implementation and Administrability

Jan 08 2021

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse, Aaron C. Meyer, and Mary Burke Baker

Amid the headline-grabbing events of 6 January 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury released final regulations under Code Section 45Q. Code Section 45Q provides for a U.S. federal income tax credit at varying rates to taxpayers that participate in various aspects of the process of sequestering carbon oxide and disposing of it in secure geologic storage, use it as a tertiary injectant in a qualified enhanced oil or natural gas recovery project, or utilize it in certain processes.

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The Sun Also Rises: Congress Votes to Stimulate the Renewable Energy, Efficiency, Carbon Capture, and Storage Industries

Dec 23 2020

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse, Mary Burke Baker, Laurie B. Purpuro, Elias B. Hinckley, and David P. Hattery

On 21 December 2020, the shortest day of the year in North America, the U.S. Congress passed a historic stimulus package. Among its more than 5000 pages, the bill includes important, if not quite historic, clean energy-related provisions ranging from new and extended tax incentives to government programs for research and development. Assuming the legislation becomes law, a new day for U.S. carbon capture, offshore wind, and many more renewable energy technologies may dawn.

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The Energizer – Volume 80

Dec 21 2020

A biweekly update on clean technology applications, distributed energy resources, and other innovative technologies in the renewable energy and clean transport sector.

There is a lot of buzz around clean technology, distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and other technological innovations in renewable energy and clean transport industries. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumers and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy industry forward.

IN THIS ISSUE:

FERC Rolls Back ISO New England Tariff Incentivizing New Generation and Storage Projects
Coalition of Labor and Climate Groups Voice Support for the “American Nuclear Infrastructure Act”
Sidewalks out of Turbine Blades: Sustainability of Renewables’ Afterlife

READ VOLUME 80

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Hydrogen Rising: Incentives and Tax Issues Impacting the Australian Hydrogen Sector

Dec 16 2020

Clive Cachia and Betsy-Ann Howe discuss with host David Wochner government incentives programs for and tax considerations impacting foreign investment in the hydrogen industry Down Under.