On June 9, 2021, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper issued Executive Order 218 (NC EO), which targets 2.8 GW of offshore wind (OSW) by 2030 and 8 GW by 2040 and anticipates the creation of 600,000 related jobs and an annual...more
6/14/2021
/ BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Executive Orders ,
Job Creation ,
Offshore Wind ,
Power Grid ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
On June 8, 2021, the Department of the Interior (DOI) announced that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) intends to issue a request for information (RFI) to assess interest in potential offshore wind development in...more
6/11/2021
/ BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Department of the Interior ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Gulf of Mexico ,
Infrastructure ,
Offshore Wind ,
Renewable Energy ,
Request For Information ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Wind Power
In a letter dated June 4, 2021, the governors of Connecticut, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island and Virginia commended the Biden administration for its recently announced...more
6/8/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
BOEM ,
Clean Energy ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Infrastructure ,
Offshore Wind ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government ,
Transmission Grid ,
Wind Power
On June 5, 2021, in their daily communiqué from the G7 UK 2021 meetings, the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors made a number of statements regarding climate change....more
On April 23, 2021, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) issued a Market Notice that estimated the cumulative aggregate short pay amount due to Storm Uri at $2,992,497,089.61....more
In the aftermath of Winter Storm Uri and the market turmoil that ensued, legislation that contemplates using securitization to potentially fund related economic damages and other dislocation has been proposed in both Texas...more
On April 21, 2021, the European Commission adopted a comprehensive package of measures to help improve the flow of money toward sustainable activities across the European Union....more
On April 7, 2021, the proposed New York “legislative solution” for legacy USD LIBOR contracts became Article 18-C of the New York General Obligations Law. Article 18-C is primarily aimed at USD LIBOR contracts, securities or...more
On March 29, 2021, the Biden administration issued a fact sheet (Fact Sheet) announcing a “set of bold actions that will catalyze offshore wind energy, strengthen the domestic supply chain, and create good-paying, union...more
4/2/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
BOEM ,
Economic Development ,
Electric Generation Suppliers ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Infrastructure ,
Job Creation ,
Offshore Wind ,
Ports ,
R&D ,
Renewable Energy ,
Wind Power
On March 8, 2021, Commissioner Shelly Botkin resigned immediately from the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), leaving the PUCT with only one sitting commissioner. Somewhat unusually, under Texas’ Public Utility...more
3/15/2021
/ Electricity Costs ,
Energy Policy ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Power Outages ,
Price Gouging ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Public Utility ,
Resignation ,
Severe Weather ,
State and Local Government
On March 1, 2021, Potomac Economics, the Independent Market Monitor (IMM) for the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT), filed a report with the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) that certain payments were...more
3/9/2021
/ Ancillary Agreements ,
Clawbacks ,
Electricity Costs ,
Energy Policy ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Infrastructure ,
Price Gouging ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Public Utility ,
Severe Weather ,
State and Local Government
In the now obviously challenged Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power market, a strange dance recently occurred. On February 21, 2021, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which oversees ERCOT, issued...more
In the now obviously challenged Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) power market, a strange dance recently occurred. On February 21, 2021, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT), which oversees ERCOT, issued...more
On February 24, 2021, Acting Chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Allison Herren Lee, announced that the agency will be focusing on public companies’ climate change disclosures as part of an effort to...more
Over 1,000 firms have made either indicative or concrete pledges to align their greenhouse gas emissions with the Paris Agreement—which means reducing emissions to zero by 2050....more
2/1/2021
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Infrastructure ,
Oil & Gas ,
Paris Agreement ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Urban Planning & Development
On January 20, 2021, President Joseph Biden signed a series of executive orders to begin to set forth his administration’s policy agenda. Among the executive orders he signed was the executive order “Protecting Public Health...more
Under the Federal Power Act (FPA), the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) licenses and regulates over 1,600 hydroelectric project dams, diversions, and related hydropower facilities....more
1/22/2021
/ Adequate Assurances ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Reform ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Hydropower ,
Infrastructure ,
Notice of Inquiry ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy
On December 9, 2020, the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) released its Climate Transition Finance Handbook (Handbook) and related Q&As to guide issuers in connection with the issuance of...more
The implications of the 2020 election for structured finance are coming into focus. Informed by our discussions in Washington, we can anticipate the likely direction of federal policy over the next two years that will impact...more
12/9/2020
/ Biden Administration ,
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Financial Regulatory Reform ,
GSE ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Inter-Bank Offered Rates (IBORs) ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Securitization ,
Structured Finance ,
UK Brexit ,
Volcker Rule
On Friday, October 9, 2020, the US Internal Revenue Service released Revenue Procedure 2020-44 (the “Revenue Procedure”), providing retroactive but limited relief for amending specific types of legacy contracts to add...more
In what we understand to be the first state law to do so, California’s Assembly Bill 913 (AB913), which was enrolled on September 4, 2020, amends Section 850 of the Public Utilities Code to allow electrical corporations to...more
Almost 12 years after the commencement of the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case, we now know the answer to one of that case’s most interesting questions—namely, whether so-called “flip clauses” are protected settlement payments...more
On May 27, 2020, the US Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) published updated best practices guidance, including a summary factsheet, complete best practices guidance and a graphical timeline.
...more
5/31/2020
/ Alternative Reference Rates Committee (ARRC) ,
Benchmarks ,
Best Practices ,
Consumer Loan Companies ,
Derivatives ,
Financial Markets ,
Floating Interest Rates ,
Interest Rates ,
Libor ,
Market Participants ,
Midsize and Large Business Loans ,
Secured Overnight Funding Rate (SOFR) ,
Securitization ,
Transitional Arrangements
On Friday, May 22, 2020, in the closely watched Millennium Health case, Judge Gardephe issued a Memorandum Opinion and Order granting the defendants’ motion to dismiss, including the six causes of action in the plaintiff’s...more
On May 12, 2020, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (the “New York Fed”) announced the issuance of updated Terms and Conditions1 and a Frequently Asked Questions document (the “FAQs”)2 regarding the 2020 Term Asset-Backed...more