Recently, the Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC) opened an inquiry and issued a request for comment from energy storage developers by June 9 to support a forthcoming procurement for up to 200 MW of transmission-level...more
5/16/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Public Utilities Commission ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Renewable Energy ,
Request for Proposals ,
State and Local Government ,
Utilities Sector
As we have noted previously, a number of states have enacted legislation and/or brought claims against fossil fuel producers seeking payment for damages resulting from climate change. Legislative efforts include New York...more
5/12/2025
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Preemption ,
State and Local Government ,
Trump Administration
On April 8, the White House issued an Executive Order aimed at “Protecting American Energy from State Overreach.” While the direct effects from this Executive Order are hard to assess, the Trump Administration clearly intends...more
On November 21, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed into law sweeping clean energy legislation (St. 2024 c. 239, An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers, referred to here...more
1/15/2025
/ Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
Infrastructure ,
New Legislation ,
Popular ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
State and Local Government
In this Issue: Permitting Reform, the Supreme Court, EV’s, and Climate Week 2024 -
After nearly a decade as New York State’s environmental chief, I recently joined Foley Hoag to help the firm’s clients emerge as global...more
9/19/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Utilities Sector
Governor Janet Mills and Maine’s congressional delegation announced today that the U.S. Department of Energy has awarded a $147 million grant to develop the largest long-duration energy storage project in the world to date....more
The Supreme Court has released its opinion in Ohio v. EPA, a case involving whether the federal government’s “good neighbor” ozone regulations were properly promulgated. This decision impacts the authority of the U.S....more
It’s a busy time for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the “Commission” or “FERC”). In March 2024, FERC issued Order No. 2023-A upholding its major generator interconnection reform order, Order No. 2023. FERC followed...more
On Thursday, April 18, 2024, in a departure from normal procedure, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued two Sunshine Act Meeting Notices, publishing agendas for both the April 25, 2024...more
4/22/2024
/ Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
MISO ,
Natural Gas ,
Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Companies ,
Public Utility ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Transmission Lines ,
Utilities Sector
In 2022, Pennsylvania became the 12th member of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”). Pennsylvania joined RGGI pursuant to a 2019 executive order and a subsequent rulemaking promulgated by the state’s Department of...more
3/26/2024
/ Carbon Pricing ,
Climate Change ,
Department of Environmental Quality ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Pennsylvania ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State and Local Government
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) recently announced the finalization of a Wind Energy Area (“WEA”) in the Gulf of Maine. According to BOEM’s press release, the Final WEA “has the potential to support...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) will host its February Open Meeting on Thursday, February 15, 2024. The Sunshine Act Meeting Notice (“Notice”) issued February 8, 2024, indicates that FERC intends to take...more
2/12/2024
/ Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
FERC ,
Natural Gas ,
NERC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Power Companies ,
Public Utility ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Transmission Lines ,
Utilities Sector
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) will host its January Open Meeting on Thursday, January 18, 2024. The Sunshine Act Meeting Notice (“Notice”) issued January 11, 2024, indicates that FERC intends to take...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) will host its December Open Meeting on Tuesday, December 19, 2023 (originally scheduled for Thursday, December 21, 2023). The Sunshine Act Meeting Notice (“Notice”) issued...more
On Tuesday, Mainers voted down a referendum that would have transformed ownership of the state’s investor-owned electric utilities, Central Maine Power and Versant Power, creating a nonprofit entity and directing that entity...more
Earlier today, the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (“DEEP”) issued an RFP for up to 2 GW of offshore wind. The RFP solicits bids to enter into long-term power purchase agreements for energy,...more
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published a notice inviting public comment on a Draft Wind Energy Area (WEA) in the Gulf of Maine, representing a critical next step in BOEM’s commercial leasing process. BOEM...more
Rhode Island Energy recently issued an Request for Proposals (RFP) for up to 1.2 GW of offshore wind. The RFP solicits bids to enter into long-term power purchase agreements for energy, renewable energy certificates (RECs),...more
At its October Open Meeting, FERC accepted ISO-NE’s proposal to permit energy storage resources to operate as transmission resources, issued a final rule mandating the adoption of reliability standards for Inverter-Based...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) will host its October open meeting later this week on Thursday, October 19, 2023. FERC’s Sunshine Notice agenda indicates FERC intends to act on several items of note to the...more
The NYISO unveiled the framework of its proposed compliance filing for FERC Order No. 2023 (184 FERC ¶ 61,054) to market participants last week at the first meeting of its newly established Interconnection Issues Task Force...more
The Biden-Harris Administration announced several major policy actions for offshore wind in the last week, including a new effort to strengthen regional collaboration and address high priority domestic supply chain gaps and a...more
Early this afternoon, Governor Janet Mills signed into law LD 1895, legislation directing the state to procure up to 3 GW of offshore wind by 2040. The final version of the procurement bill emerged after several weeks of...more
The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded $46 million to eight U.S. companies working to advance the development of commercial fusion energy technology (including our client Commonwealth Fusion Systems), furthering the...more
The Massachusetts Attorney General recently issued a written opinion denying approval of a zoning bylaw amendment passed by the Town of Wendell, which would have prohibited stand-alone battery energy storage facilities in all...more