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
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
Coal Power to Increase for First Time Since 2014, US Says - "The amount of electricity produced by coal plants is expected to tick up 22% in 2021, reversing coal’s six-year downward trend." Why this is important: For...more
Overview of the current energy mix, and the place in the market of different energy sources - Due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. total energy consumption in 2020 is on pace to decline for a second straight...more
Mountain Valley Says Natural Gas Pipeline Timing Depends on Litigation, U.S. Approvals - “'As the litigation process progresses and as we receive additional information from FERC regarding potentially releasing the...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
Is the world hurtling irreversibly toward incinerating, extinction-causing, fossil-fuel induced destruction while we’re doing nothing about it? Maybe not, if you consider overlooked and ignored sources of information....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
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
Russian, Colombian Competition Continuing to Slow U.S. Thermal Coal Exports - "'Central Appalachian and Northern Appalachian exports remain out of the money for shipment to Europe and Illinois Basin coal has significant...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's EPA Grants 31 Small Refinery Waivers from Biofuel Laws, Angering Corn Lobby - "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted 31 small refinery biofuel waivers for 2018, infuriating the ethanol and corn...more
NY Natural Gas Moratorium Due to Lack of Pipelines, but Some in Denial - "The slowing of economic development resulting from New York's political actions is a testament to what happens when energy becomes politicized." ...more
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Green New Deal Would Reshape the Economy in 10 Years. That Could Shock the Energy Sector. "The concern is that Ocasio-Cortez's plan to achieve climate goals in just 10 years will not only tee up...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
Russian Hackers Penetrated Networks of U.S. Electric Utilities - "Russian hackers gained access to the networks of U.S. electric utilities last year, which could have allowed them to cause blackouts, according to federal...more
Trump Delivers a Mixed Message on His National Security Approach - "In another shift from his predecessor, Mr. Trump's strategy does not recognize the changing climate as a threat to national security. The document instead...more
Department of Interior Rescinds OSM Enforcement Policies - On October 12, 2017, the Department of the Interior ("DOI") withdrew two prior Office of Surface Mining ("OSM") policies affecting mining operations. DOI rescinded...more
This is our second installment of Currents - our weekly energy news e-blast where we deliver the week's top energy news stories and our synopsis of why those stories are important from a legal perspective. - Appeals Court...more