News & Analysis as of

Energy Policy Infrastructure California

Troutman Pepper Locke

Ninth Circuit Upholds FERC’s Denial of RTO Incentive Adder for California Utilities Due to Mandatory CAISO Participation

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On July 11, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) issued an opinion in Pacific Gas & Electric Company v. FERC, addressing a challenge by Pacific Gas & Electric Company (“PG&E”), Southern...more

Allen Matkins

Renewable Energy Update 5.29.25

Allen Matkins on

The California Independent System Operator Board of Governors has approved the ISO’s 2024-2025 transmission plan, recommending 31 infrastructure projects to help meet projected load growth and changing grid conditions....more

Troutman Pepper Locke

California’s AB 550: A Blueprint for Balancing Development and Species Conservation

Troutman Pepper Locke on

California’s drive toward a net-zero carbon economy by 2045 is sparking innovative solutions to harmonize environmental conservation with infrastructure development. Assembly Bill (AB) 550, sponsored by Assembly Member...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

FERC Enforces “Rule of Reason,” Requiring CAISO to Embed Business Practice Manual Provision in Tariff

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On April 29, 2025, FERC partially granted rehearing in the case of Cometa Energia, S.A. de C.V. (“Saavi”) against the California Independent System Operator Corporation (“CAISO”), finding a provision of CAISO’s Business...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

California Dreaming Is Becoming a Reality: Solar Canals May Mean Having More Water As Well As More Solar Energy

On March 25, 2025, the University of Southern California’s (USC’s) Public Exchange and independent advisor Solar Aquagrid announced the California Solar Canal Initiative, a seven-university project to assess the...more

Snell & Wilmer

Governor Newsom Issues Executive Order to Expedite the Rebuilding and Undergrounding of Utilities and Telecommunication...

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Quick Take On March 27, 2025, Governor Gavin Newsom issued Executive Order N-24-25 (the Order), suspending certain permitting requirements to help accelerate the rebuilding efforts of Altadena, Malibu, and Pacific Palisades...more

Downey Brand LLP

CAISO Responds to Load Growth, Proposes $4.6 Billion of New Transmission Facilities To Boost Reliability

Downey Brand LLP on

In its 2024–2025 Draft Transmission Plan (Draft Plan) released on March 31, the California Independent System Operator (CAISO) proposed the development of 31 new transmission projects with an estimated cost of $4.8 billion....more

Paul Hastings LLP

Permitting Reform Ramps Up in California With Introduction of ‘Housing Package’

Paul Hastings LLP on

For years, California has often been held up as the poster child for enervating environmental regulation. A primary target of this criticism has been the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), the landmark legislation...more

Allen Matkins

Renewable Energy Update 2.14.25

Allen Matkins on

A new bill has been introduced in California’s state legislature that would add an assessment of funding opportunities for offshore wind port infrastructure to the governor’s Five-Year Infrastructure Plan. Introduced on...more

Allen Matkins

Renewable Energy Update 2.6.25

Allen Matkins on

The California Public Utilities Commission on January 30 streamlined its transmission permitting requirements as part of a broader effort to meet the state’s clean energy goals. Among the changes, the CPUC now requires...more

Kilpatrick

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass Issues Executive Order to Waive All-Electric Building Requirement for Rebuilding After Los Angeles...

Kilpatrick on

On January 13, 2025, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued Emergency Executive Order No. 1, entitled “Return and Rebuild,” in response to the recent devastating wildfires that destroyed homes and businesses across the city. The...more

Allen Matkins

Renewable Energy Update 1.30.25

Allen Matkins on

President Donald Trump’s ban on new offshore wind leases won’t halt giant wind farms already planned off California’s coast, but industry officials say the policy shift is a blow to a renewable energy industry still working...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 10.18.24

Allen Matkins on

California officials have been working on a plan to preserve the state’s leading edge environmental and climate policies, in the event that former President Donald J. Trump returns to the White House and follows through on...more

Allen Matkins

California Environmental Law & Policy Update 9.13.24

Allen Matkins on

Federal officials announced on Wednesday that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved a three-year-old rule — known as the Warehouse Indirect Source Rule (Rule) — targeting air pollution linked to Southern...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Court Vacates FERC “Soft” Cap Refund Order Issued After 2020 California Heat Wave

Troutman Pepper Locke on

On July 9, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) vacated orders issued by the FERC that required six wholesale power sellers (the “Sellers”) to issue refunds to...more

Nossaman LLP

Solar + Water Canals = Win-Win?

Nossaman LLP on

On April 4, 2024, Governor Newsom and the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Bureau) announced that the Bureau awarded California $15 million for the Delta-Mendota Canal floating solar project. The project, which is funded through...more

K&L Gates LLP

It's a Gas! Federal and State Developments Continue to Light Up the Natural Gas Debate

K&L Gates LLP on

In April 2023, we reported on the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit’s decision in California Restaurant Association (CRA) v. City of Berkeley striking down a Berkeley ordinance that prohibited natural gas piping in...more

Verrill

Can Building Codes Ban Natural Gas After 9th Circuit Court Declines Rehearing?

Verrill on

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals’ refusal to rehear a pivotal gas appliance regulation decision has thrown a wrench into local efforts to reduce fossil fuel use....more

Mitchell, Williams, Selig, Gates & Woodyard,...

Energy Policy and Conservation Act/Berkeley, California, Building Code: Federal Appellate Court Confirms Preemption in Rehearing...

The United States Court of Appeals Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) addressed in a January 2nd Order and Amended Opinion (“Order”) a challenge to a Berkeley, California, building code provision that prohibited the installation...more

Mayer Brown

Offshore Wind: New California Law Aims to Simplify and Expedite Offshore Wind Energy Development

Mayer Brown on

California recently enacted two laws—the Offshore Wind Expediting Act (SB 286) and the California Offshore Wind Advancement Act (AB 3)—to accelerate the development of offshore wind energy that could have significant...more

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

California Sues Big Oil for Denying, Downplaying Impact of Fossil Fuels on Climate Change

On September 16, 2023, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against five of the world’s largest oil and gas companies for allegedly denying or downplaying the harm caused by fossil fuels on climate change....more

Gray Reed

California Brings Legislative Muscle To Its Attack on Oil Drilling

Gray Reed on

California has passed Senate Bill 1137, which will prohibit drilling of new oil and gas wells and reworking of existing wells in certain areas. Here is SB 1137 in legislativese (analysis comes first, then the text)...more

Nossaman LLP

CEQA Reform: Making Sense of California’s Budget Trailer Bill

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On June 12, 2023, each house of the California State Legislature released the proposed language of the Budget Act of 2023. The Legislature’s proposal excludes the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and permit...more

Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt PC

Potential Impact of Ninth Circuit Decision Holding that EPCA Preempts Prohibition of Natural ‎Gas Infrastructure

In April, the Ninth Circuit held that a city’s ban on new natural gas hookups for new ‎construction was preempted by federal law. This may impact proposed or existing bans in Oregon ‎including in Eugene and Bend, and in...more

(ACOEL) | American College of Environmental...

The Berkeley Ban Is Not the Only Answer

As Seth Jaffe posted last week, the 9th Circuit recently struck down the City of Berkeley’s first-in-the-nation electrification ordinance that prohibited the installation of gas infrastructure in new buildings, finding the...more

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