Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued its first pilot project license for a tidal energy project to Verdant Power, LLC for its Roosevelt Island Tidal Energy ("RITE") Project in New York’s East River (pictured at right).  As a first-of-its-kind license, this is a significant step for the burgeoning tidal energy industry in the United

A legal update from our colleagues Steve Hall, Dina Dubson and Jason Johns:

On December 7, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued an order holding that the Bonneville Power Administration violated Section 211A of the Federal Power Act by curtailing wind energy under BPA’s Environmental Redispatch policy and requiring BPA to file a

The CUB Policy Center, in partnership with the University of Oregon School of Law,  will be holding its inaugural policy conference: Smart Grid: Today’s Regulation and Tomorrow’s Technology, on Friday, October 21, 2011, at the University of Oregon White Stag Block (70 NW Couch St., Portland, OR 97209).  The luncheon keynote speaker will

This summer, the Center for Public Service at the Hatfield School of Government at Portland State University will be offering a series of short, 2-3 day classes under an umbrella called the "Summer Series on the New Energy Economy."  These are non-credit courses, specifically designed for energy industry leaders, a wide range of professionals, and

On Tuesday, June 28, 2011, the CPUC will hold an “Electric Energy Storage Workshop” as part of its R10-12-007 proceeding for AB 2514, which defines the process by which the CPUC will consider electric energy storage standards for California’s investor owned utilities. The workshop will be held at in the Golden Gate Room at CPUC’s

On June 16, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking comments on what it described as two separate but related issues, both of which apply to electric energy storage (EES). 

First, because FERC is interested in facilitating the development of robust competitive markets to provide ancillary services from

FERC Clarifies Qualifying Facility Restrictions in Sale/Resale Transactions

On May 19, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") issued an order in Idaho Wind Partners I, LLC, a docket in which wind farm owners in Idaho petitioned FERC for approval of a unique transaction that would both provide eligible Renewable Energy Credits ("RECs") to a utility

Having first reported to our readers in February that LexisNexis had nominated the Stoel Rives Renewable + Law Blog for its Top 50 Environmental Law & Climate Change Blogs for 2011 award, we are pleased to announce we made the list of winners! In publishing its Top 50 list, LexisNexis declared that our Renewable +

Seth Hilton, Jason Johns, and Morten Lund will be presenters at the following webinar on Wednesday:

FERC and Feed-in Tariffs: Opportunities and Challenges in California and Other States
Wednesday, March 2 at 11:00 a.m. CST/ 9:00 a.m. PST.

After prolonged consideration by the California Public Utilities Commission, California recently adopted a reverse auction

Congress’ experiment with establishing federal siting authority for transmission lines suffered another setback after a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision issued yesterday, February 1, 2011, vacated the Department of Energy’s (“DOE”) 2007 Transmission Congestion Study that had designated national interest electric transmission corridors in mid-Atlantic and Southwestern states. This ruling is the latest of