Energy Regulatory

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By Taiga Takahashi

In previous commentary, we have noted the importance of a well-developed administrative record in project approval in risk management, controlling the potential for delay, and in project-related litigation. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California recently affirmed this general principle in rejecting a broad-based challenge by an environmental group and a labor union (the “Plaintiffs”) in Desert Protective Council v. U.S. Department of the Interior, No. 12cv1281-GPC(PCL) (S.D. Cal. Feb. 27, 2013).…

By Jared W. Johnson

As we detailed in prior commentary, almost two years ago, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill (SB) 2 1X (2011), which increased California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) to 33% by 2020.  Among the features of SB 2 1X was the expansion of the RPS to cover publicly owned utilities or POUs. 

Section 399.30 of the legislation authorized the California Energy Commission (CEC) to develop regulations specifying procedures for enforcement of the 33% RPS standard…

By Anne B. Beaumont 

On January 18, 2013, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced the approval of Arizona’s Restoration Design Energy Project (RDEP), a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) initiative to identify public lands in Arizona that may be suitable for renewable energy development.

The RDEP Record of Decision (ROD)[1] establishes 192,100 acres of renewable energy development areas (REDAs) on BLM lands across Arizona. These REDAs are available for solar or wind energy development and are close to…

By Taiga Takahashi

In previous commentary, we discussed the opening of Department of Defense lands to renewable energy development, as well as some of the difficulties that may be encountered in developing on or near military lands. Notwithstanding technical and national security considerations, renewable energy development on or near Department of Defense lands appears to be steaming full speed ahead.

The Department of the Navy recently entered into its second memorandum of agreement this year to develop…

By Michael J. Gergen and Jared W. Johnson

On November 15, 2012, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a Policy Statement to provide new guidance for applicants seeking rate incentives for new transmission infrastructure projects.  FERC’s transmission rate incentives policy stems from a package of amendments to the Federal Power Act (“FPA”) enacted by Congress in 2005, specifically Section 219 of the FPA, which was added to provide incentive-based rate treatments for investments in transmission infrastructure that would…

By Claudia O’Brien and Daniel Brunton

On October 24, 2012, a large group of environmental activists filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeking new regulations to subject the oil-and-gas extraction industry to the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act (EPCRA).  The petitioners include 17 environmental advocacy groups, including the Environmental Integrity Project—which is led by a former EPA official—the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Sierra Club. 

A successful petition would have an immediate effect on…

By Energy Regulatory & Markets Practice

On July 21, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued Order No. 1000. As previously discussed in our Clean Energy Law Report and in a previous Client Alert, Order No. 1000 introduced several significant reforms FERC’s transmission and cost allocation processes. One key aspect of Order No. 1000 is that it requires each public utility transmission provider to develop procedures for considering transmission needs driven by public policy requirements established by…

By Joshua T. Bledsoe, Tim B. Henderson, and Jared W. Johnson

Seeking to quell uncertainty surrounding the definition of resource shuffling ahead of the first cap-and-trade auction on November 14, 2012, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) passed a Resolution on October 18, 2012, requiring the Executive Officer to redefine resource shuffling and provide concrete examples.  CARB’s Resolution requires CARB Staff to issue proposed regulatory amendments by mid-2013 and release regulatory guidance consistent with the Resolution before the…

By Marc T. Campopiano and Tim B. Henderson

On August 9, 2012, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a revised Sixth Edition of the Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook (RPS Guidebook) to clarify changes to the RPS Guidebook Fifth Edition, which was recently adopted on May 9, 2012, as described in our prior blog discussion.  Highlights of the changes include the following:

  • The CEC clarified additional RPS requirements for generating facilities with a first point of interconnection to the

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By Joshua T. Bledsoe, Tim B. Henderson, and Jared W. Johnson

With the first auction in California’s cap and trade program fast-approaching on November 14, 2012, the California Air Resources Board (“ARB”) recently suspended a much-discussed aspect of the program that requires first deliverers of electricity to attest that they have not engaged in “resource shuffling.”  Resource shuffling involves a seller of energy into California modifying its portfolio of sales so that lower or no-emission electricity is…