The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
Volume 9, Issue 7 Welcome to our seventh issue of Currents 2025. In this issue, we look at the changing tides for coal, the new NEPA procedures, West Virginians desire for lower cost energy, southwestern Virginia's newest...more
Welcome to our first Issue of Currents 2025, our energy e-newsletter. While our energy practice is constantly changing and evolving, we too have expanded our focus for 2025 with some new editors involved with this...more
Solar Powered Generation Sees Significant Growth while Some Solar Energy is Increasingly Blocked from Production - Our Currents focus article this month is on developments in the growth of solar electric power generation...more
Two recent studies show that, by the end of 2023, United States carbon emissions will decrease, despite an expansion in the overall economy of about 2.5 percent. That is, according to the United States Energy Information...more
Pennsylvania and RGGI – Decision and Resolution - On November 1, 2023, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, in a five-judge panel decision, issued a long-awaited ruling denying the authority of the executive branch,...more
The Cost of "Electrification" “Electrification” has become a ubiquitous term these days, although depending on who you ask, it might have different meanings. However defined, a critical component of electrification as a...more
Ford Building Massive Electric Vehicle and Battery Plants with $11.4 Billion Investment "Automaker says production hubs will bring 11,000 jobs to Tennessee and Kentucky." Why this is important: Ford Motor Company and...more
Appeals Court Rules Louisiana Oil-and-Gas Lawsuits Must be Heard in Federal Court - "The state and six coastal parishes have filed 42 lawsuits against 200 fossil fuel companies since 2013 over coastal erosion and wetland...more
U.S. Congress Launches Probe Into Multibillion-Dollar 'Clean Coal' Tax Credit - "The U.S. Congress is investigating a multibillion-dollar subsidy for chemically treated coal that is meant to reduce smokestack pollution,...more
Exxon, Chevron CEOs Discussed Merger Last Year - "Chevron’s Mike Wirth and Exxon’s Darren Woods spoke as the Covid-19 outbreak hurt oil and gas demand, adding financial strain to both companies, Dow Jones said." Why...more
West Virginia Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Horizontal Drilling Taxation Case Involving Antero - "At issue is a consumer sales tax assessment of around $1 million the West Virginia State Tax Department has levied on...more
Corona-Induced CO2 Emission Reductions are Not Yet Detectable in the Atmosphere - "Based on current data measured in the energy, industry, and mobility sectors, restrictions of social life during the corona pandemic can be...more
Spain Shuts Down Half of Its Coal Power Stations - "The move away from coal is driven predominantly by fundamental economics, although these are amplified by emissions trading schemes and other measures." Why this is...more
Trump Administration Approves Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for Land Leasing, Oil Drilling - "The Trump administration continues to roll back environmental protections and opening doors for the fossil fuel industry in...more
Exxon Mobil: Doubling Down While Facing Peak Oil Demand - "With most competitors pivoting away from upstream growth, Exxon continues to press ahead with investments despite very challenging current price environment for...more
Coal Earnings Set to Plunge 50% in North America, Moody's Says - "Earnings for North American coal miners may plunge by more than half this year as the coronavirus pandemic makes a weak market even worse, according to...more
Energy-Related CO2 Emissions ‘Flatlined’ Last Year, IEA Says, Raising Hopes About Climate - "Global emissions remained at approximately 33 gigatonnes in 2019 despite the world economy growing by 2.9%, the IEA said." ...more
Energy Blockchain’s Most Obvious Use Case is Not What You Think - "Instead, a select group of blockchain companies is finding success with a focus on certificates of origin, helping demonstrate the provenance of renewable...more
Energy Infrastructure Attacks are ‘Probable’: Oil Traders Fear Supply Disruptions in the Middle East - "A dramatic escalation of geopolitical tensions will most likely result in an unplanned oil supply shortage in the...more
Court Ruling Vindicates ExxonMobil in New York ‘Climate Change’ Fraud Case - “'The Office of the Attorney General failed to prove, by a preponderance of the evidence, that ExxonMobil made any material misstatements or...more
Big Oil’s Climate Change Reckoning Finally Arrives in Court - "New York’s $1.6 billion lawsuit arose from a national effort to hold Big Oil responsible for global warming." Why this is important: The most important...more
Trump Aides Try to Quash Tax Hike Rumors Amid Infrastructure Talks "The White House is reassuring conservative leaders that it has no plans to hike the gas tax to help fund a massive infrastructure package that President...more
More, Deeper Wells Planned for Existing Marcellus Site in Washington Township - "CNX has applied to the state Department of Environmental Protection for a permit to drill four new wells to tap natural gas from Utica shale...more
New York Sues Exxon Mobil, Saying It Deceived Shareholders on Climate Change - "The litigation, which follows more than three years of investigation, represents the most significant legal effort yet to establish that a...more
Trump Official Tells Coal Group He's 'an Advocate for the Coal Industry' "'The good news is I'm with the federal government and I'm here to help,' Doug Matheney, a special adviser in the Energy Department's Office of...more