The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
The methodology outlines a three-step approach for obtaining credits: retirement of coal-fired power plants, generation of replacement renewable electricity, and assurance of a just transition....more
Grants a two-year exemption from the EPA's updated Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) rule for certain stationary sources, citing the lack of commercially viable emissions-control technology needed to meet the rule’s...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a set of rules aimed at cutting air, water, and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired plants. The rules would require existing coal-fired and new gas-fired...more
What is the Hydrogen Hubbub? Hydrogen is seen by many as the fuel of the future, a substance that can provide heat through combustion, or electrical power from fuel cells, emitting only water in the process. Its potential...more
One side effect of the collapse of cryptocurrency giant FTX has been to shine the spotlight on the movement that has been gaining significant traction over the last few years – that of ESG in our business affairs or the...more
A Bad Day for Big Oil - "ExxonMobil, Chevron lose key shareholder votes and Dutch court orders Shell to cut emissions faster." Why this is important: Issues related to climate change embroiled three oil companies this...more
On March 5, 2021, the federal government released draft Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System Regulations (Draft Regulations), providing some clarity as to how federal offsets will be created, tracked and ultimately used to...more
Welcome to Currents, our weekly publication providing insights to the latest energy news and U.S. EIA statistics. Currents is different from other e-newsletters in that it not only provides current energy articles, but it...more
New Law Pushes Appalachian Power Toward More Renewable Energy - "Appalachian — which for years has relied heavily on coal and more recently natural gas to serve about 500,000 western Virginia customers — will acquire 210...more
Feds Sued for Easing Regulations on Coal Ash - “'Many power plants could easily adopt affordable technologies that dramatically reduce toxic discharges, but with this rule, the EPA is telling their polluter friends not to...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
U.S. Banks Prepare to Seize Energy Assets as Shale Boom Goes Bust - "Major U.S. lenders are preparing to become operators of oil and gas fields across the country for the first time in a generation to avoid losses on loans...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
On January 17, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Juliana v. United States that a coalition of young people lacked standing to require the federal government to develop a plan to “phase...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
On June 19, 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a final rule repealing the Obama-era “Clean Power Plan” (CPP) and replacing it with the “Affordable Clean Energy” (ACE) Rule. While both rules regulate...more
Here’s my take on the Affordable Clean Energy Plan. Who cares? On the merits, it does almost nothing. It requires only that states impose heat rate improvement requirements on coal-fired power plants. It’s not going to...more
Outlined in an Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") proposal published on August 31, 2018, the Affordable Clean Energy ("ACE") rule would replace the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan ("CPP"). A 60-day public comment...more
The Trump Administration announced a long-awaited proposal to roll back the Obama-era Clean Power Plan late last month. (Chicago Tribune). The action had been promised by the President and his appointees at EPA, who pursued...more
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a proposed rule to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing coal-fired power plants, a replacement for the Clean Power Plan (CPP) finalized by the Obama...more
State Files Motion to Dismiss Federal Lawsuit by EQT - "Lawyers representing the Secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit by the natural gas company EQT over a...more
Ohio Supreme Court Joins Texas and Oklahoma in Holding the State Does Not Recognize a Separate Implied Covenant to Explore Further - "We conclude that Ohio does not recognize an 'implied covenant to explore further'...more
The Trump Administration released the Fall edition of the semi-annual Unified Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions and the Regulatory Plan (“Plan”). Federal agencies twice a year produce in combination a...more
The U.S. Department of Energy’s recently-proposed grid resiliency rule offers new hope for nearly-extinct coal plants and endangered nuclear power plants operating in competitive organized wholesale power markets and, if...more
An Obscure Statute Is Helping Trump Save U.S. Coal, Nuclear - "Rick Perry is using an authority granted to him as U.S. energy secretary to call on the independent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to change its rules...more