Dina Dubson
Dina Dubson practices in the Energy and Telecommunications group, with an emphasis on wind, geothermal, solar, tidal and ocean power, and other forms of renewable energy. Her practice includes drafting and negotiating power purchase agreements for renewable energy developers, assisting buyers and sellers of environmental attributes, including renewable energy certificates ("RECs"), verified emission reductions ("VERs"), and carbon offsets, drafting and reviewing leases for the development of energy projects; advising renewable energy developers on transmission and interconnection issues, and assisting with the financing and permitting of renewable energy projects.
FERC Comments on Electric Storage Technologies Due August 9
Just a friendly reminder that the deadline to submit comments to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) on electric storage technologies is just around the corner. In its Request for Comments Regarding Rates, Accounting and Financial Reporting for New Electric Storage Technologies, FERC’s Office of Energy Policy and Innovation seeks comments on the following issues:
- The use of and rate treatment for storage facilities, including when it is appropriate to classify a storage facility as a transmission asset.
- The mechanisms by which a storage project that is used for multiple purposes may be compensated. Specifically, FERC seeks comment on whether a storage project may be compensated as transmission (e.g. for supporting unbundled transmission service by supplying reactive power) and also be compensated for providing ancillary services or for enhancing the value of merchant generation (e.g. by shifting output from an off-peak period to an on-peak period).
- The possibility of creating a stand-alone contract storage service and whether the storage provider would provide the service of electricity storage, enabling its customers to determine how to use their contracted share of the storage.
- Whether new accounting and reporting requirements should be created in order to facilitate cost of service or other rate policies for new storage technologies, such as chemical batteries and flywheels.
In addition to the issues outlined above and other specific questions posed by FERC in its Request for Comments, FERC invites comments on other related aspects of the storage issues not specifically addressed by FERC in the above-referenced document. Comments are due on Monday, August 9, 2010 and should reference Docket No. AD10-13-000.
Kauai's Electric Utility Faces Civil Suit and Criminal Charges For Bird Fatalities
From our colleagues Greg Corbin and Barbara Craig:
On March 24, 2010, four conservation groups filed a complaint against Kauai’s electric utility, Kauai Island Utility Co-op (“KIUC”), alleging that KIUC’s power lines, utility facilities, and street lights “take” threatened Newell’s Townsend’s shearwaters (Puffinus Auricularis Newelli) (“Newell’s shearwaters”) and/or endangered Hawaiian petrels in violation of the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The civil complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii, alleges that KIUC has failed to secure the necessary ESA incidental take permits and, despite years of promises, has failed to implement protective measures that are needed to prevent the “take” of the listed birds.
Continue Reading...Limit Liability Risk By Complying With Recommended Wind Energy Guidelines?
From our colleague Eric Martin:
After over two years of work, the federal Wind Turbine Guidelines Advisory Committee (“Committee”) recently released its final policy recommendations on how wind energy developers and operators can best assess and prevent adverse impacts to wildlife. Comprised of government, environmental, and wind industry stakeholders, the Committee recommends a five-tier approach that begins with the preliminary evaluation of potential wind energy sites and continues through post-construction studies. These consensus recommendations are designed to cover all elements of wind energy facilities—from access roads through transmission line connections. Following Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar’s review, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) will use the Committee’s recommendations as the basis for new guidelines replacing the problematic interim guidance that the USFWS had issued back in 2003.
Compliance with the voluntary guidelines could have significant legal benefits for developers and operators. Perhaps most importantly, in the event of death or injury to species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act or the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, the Committee recommends that the USFWS exercise its enforcement discretion by not prosecuting developers and operators that have complied with its recommendations. The Committee has identified the implementation of company- or project-specific Avian and Bat Protection Plans as one way to evidence compliance. This alone, however, would not shield developers and operators from liability for the “take” of species protected by the Endangered Species Act.
The Committee’s recommendations are available here. For more information on these recommendations and their potential effects, please contact:
Greg Corbin at (503) 294-9632 or gdcorbin@stoel.com
Barb Craig at (503) 294-9166 or bdcraig@stoel.com
Eric Martin at (503) 294-9593 or elmartin@stoel.com
USPTO Announces Pilot Program to Speed Up Green Tech Patents
An update on intellectual property issues from my colleague, John Rafter:
On December 7, 2009 the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") announced the launch of a pilot program to accelerate the examination of certain green technology patent applications.
Under the Green Technology Pilot Program, patent applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy, or greenhouse gas emissions reduction will be advanced out of turn for examination without meeting all of the current requirements of the accelerated examination program (e.g., examination support document). The catch: the USPTO will accept only the first 3,000 petitions to make special, and the petitions must be filed before December 8, 2010 (unless the program is extended). For further details click here.
Wed. 10/21/09: "Demystifying the Smart Grid"
The enthusiasm about smart grid continues to spread in the Pacific Northwest. Tomorrow, Intel’s Ronler Acres Campus (just outside of Portland) will host "Demystifying the Smart Grid," a panel and dinner event from 6 to 9 PM that will bring together industry experts and capital providers to discuss smart grid opportunities and the direction of current smart grid policy. The event is being organized by the Oregon chapter of The Indus Entrepreneurs ("TiE Oregon") in order to spur the exchange of ideas and information among entrepreneurs and innovators in the smart grid space. Stoel Rives is proud to be a Charter Member of TiE Oregon. My colleagues, Todd Bauman and Scott Olson will be in attendance. To register for the event and view the list of panelists, click here.
USPTO Rescinds Controversial Patent Regulations Package Proposed by Previous Administration
An update on intellectual property issues from my colleague, John Rafter:
Having previously moved to stay proceedings in the Tafas v. Doll case pending the induction of David Kappos as the new Director of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (“USPTO”), the USPTO announced on October 8, 2009 that it will join with plaintiff GlaxoSmithKline to file a motion dismiss the lawsuit related to regulations affecting the ability to secure patent protection for inventions.
The USPTO attempted to institute these new regulations to reduce the backlog of pending patent applications by lessening the USPTO’s prosecution burden and improving prosecution speed of patent applications. The rules attempted to shift some of the prosecution burden to patent applicants and also attempted to limit the number of patent claims and continuation applications that an applicant could file.
For technology companies, provided the case is dismissed as expected, this announcement means that the prosecution of patents at the USPTO will proceed as usual. However, the new USPTO Director Kappos still has the task of how to get the pendency of patents under control; it now takes at least 2-3 years to get a patent from filing to issue, and that time frame is getting longer. For more information, see http://www.stoel.com/showalert.aspx?Show=5928.
Obama Administration Officials Release Report on Ocean Policy
Last week, Obama Administration officials released the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force Interim Report (the “Interim Report”), which lays out a comprehensive national policy for protecting and managing the use of our oceans, coasts, and the Great Lakes. Created by President Obama via a June 12, 2009 Presidential Memorandum, the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force (the “Task Force”), is led by the Council on Environmental Quality’s Chair, Nancy Sutley and is composed of twenty-four senior-level officials from government agencies, departments, and offices. In preparing the Interim Report, the Task Force sought input from within the federal government, and from local officials, tribal representatives, scientists, legal and policy experts, and other stakeholders. The Task Force also solicited public input via a 90-day public engagement process.
The Interim Report identifies three key components to its comprehensive ocean and coastal strategy: (1) a national policy, (2) a robust governance structure, and (3) categories for action. The Interim Report’s national policy proposal is premised on the stewardship of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes as being “intrinsically and intimately linked” to human health, environmental sustainability, economic prosperity, security, foreign policy, social justice, and adaptation to climate change. With respect to the robust governance structure, the Interim Report calls for increased coordination among government agencies. To this end, the Interim Report proposes an interagency National Ocean Council to facilitate interagency coordination on ocean-related issues and implement the National Ocean Policy. The Interim Report also prioritizes nine categories for action in order to address the main challenges currently confronting our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes, including ecosystem-based management, improved observing systems and data collection, coastal and marine spatial planning, and regional ecosystem protection and restoration.
There is a 30-day window for submitting written comments on the Interim Report. The Task Force is also holding several regional public meetings to brief the public and accept comments on the Interim Report, and to obtain input on developing a framework for coastal and marine spatial planning. The Task Force has until December 9, 2009 to submit its proposed coastal and marine spatial planning framework to President Obama. The final Task Force report will also be issued later this year.
Animal Rights Group Seeks Injunction to Halt Wind Project on ESA Grounds
From our colleague Ryan Steen:
On July 10, 2009, the Animal Welfare Institute and others (”Plaintiffs”) filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the Beech Ridge wind project in Greenbrier County, West Virginia (the “Project”). The Plaintiffs seek the injunction to prevent unavoidable harms that they allege the Project will cause to the Indiana bat, a species listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The Plaintiffs’ injunction request follows closely on the heels of the complaint the Plaintiffs filed in the Federal District Court for the District of Maryland (Civ. No. 09-1519), which alleges that the Project will unlawfully “take” Indiana bats in violation of Section 9 of the ESA. In their complaint and request for an injunction, the Plaintiffs assert that the Project cannot lawfully move forward without an incidental take permit (“ITP”) issued under Section 10 of the ESA. Judge Titus recently ordered that the hearing on the Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction will be addressed in conjunction with the trial on the merits of the case, currently scheduled for October 2009.
Continue Reading...SCE Solicits Feedback on Solar PV Program; CPUC to Host Feed-in Tariff Panel
SCE Solar PV Program:
Back in June, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) issued a decision authorizing Southern California Edison (“SCE”) to execute contracts for up to 250 MW of generation from solar PV facilities owned and operated by independent power producers through a competitive solicitation process. The CPUC decision required SCE to file an advice letter outlining the criteria for selection of bids and containing a draft standard power purchase agreement (“PPA”).
SCE recently filed the requisite advice letter requesting approval of its proposed competitive solicitation process and criteria and a draft standard PPA. Anyone may file protests or responses to SCE’s advice letter. Protests are due on August 10, 2009. For more information, as well as a link to SCE’s draft standard PPA, go to the CPUC website.
CPUC Panel on Feed-in Tariffs:
The CPUC announced that it will host an interactive panel discussion on feed-in tariffs for renewable energy on August 27, 2009. The panel will feature international experts from Germany, Spain, the United States, and elsewhere with experience in the global solar power market. The panelists will offer their insights on the global solar market, the role of feed-in tariffs and other mechanisms for advancing renewable energy development, and California’s role in facilitating wholesale renewable distributed generation.
The panel will be held from 1-2:30 PM at the CPUC Auditorium, 505 Van Ness Ave., San Francisco, CA.
United States and China to Cooperate on Climate Change and Energy
From our colleague, Jerry Chiang:
The United States and China signed a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) on July 28, 2009, detailing the partnership between the two countries on climate change, energy, and the environment. The MOU commits both countries to reaching a successful international agreement that will address climate and energy issues. It also provides for cooperation in confronting climate change and developing, promoting, and implementing energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart grid technologies, electric vehicles, and other energy technologies.
The United States and China will have ongoing conversations on what each nation is doing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to further international climate negotiations in preparation for the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen this December.
Steven Chu, Secretary of Energy, remarked at the signing ceremony, “Both of our countries understand the importance of clean energy for our economies and for our security. Both of us understand the imperative of fighting climate change. What the U.S. and China do in the coming decades will help shape the fate of the world . . . . Today’s agreement should send a clear signal that the United States and China are ready to work together on clean energy and climate change.”
Read the complete remarks at the signing ceremony here: http://www.state.gov/secretary/rm/2009a/july/126575.htm. For a funding opportunity on the U.S.-China climate and energy partnership, go here: http://www.stoel.com/showalert.aspx?Show=5653.
