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The Internal Revenue Service issued a private letter ruling this week to an individual owner of solar panels installed in an off-site net-metered community solar garden.  In the Ruling, the Service confirmed the individual’s eligibility to claim the residential income tax credit for 30 percent of qualified solar electric property expenditures pursuant to Section 25D of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Ruling is significant in several respects:

  1. it confirms that an individual who owns only some of the solar panels and other property comprising a community solar garden may claim the credit,
  2. it appears not to require direct tracking of the electricity produced by the taxpayer’s solar panels and, instead, permits allocation of the aggregate amount of electricity produced by the array based on the number of panels owned by the taxpayer, and
  3. it does not require the taxpayer to contractually agree with the utility that the taxpayer owns the electricity produced by the taxpayer’s panels until drawn from the grid at his residence.
    Continue Reading IRS Opens Door for Community Solar Investors to Qualify for Federal Tax Credits

As we discussed in this post from May 2014, the American Bird Conservancy (“ABC”) in 2014 filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (“USFWS”) 2013 revisions to its eagle permit rule, alleging violations of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). ABC’s challenge related to the revised eagle permit rule that was issued in December 2013 and that extended the maximum term for programmatic Eagle Take Permits under the Eagle Act to 30 years (the “Final 30-Year Rule”), subject to a recurring five-year review process throughout the permit life. Under the previous rule, the maximum term for programmatic permits for incidental “take” of bald and golden eagles was five years.
Continue Reading Court Invalidates 30-Year Permit Provisions of U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Eagle Permit Rule on NEPA Grounds

On Saturday, June 13, Governor Dayton signed the 2015 Jobs and Energy Bill into Law.  Our prior coverage of this bill can be found here and here.  The following amendments were made after the Governor’s veto:

  • New definitions for “propane,” “propane storage facility,” and “synthetic gas.”
  • New net metering provision that applies to

…

As a follow up to our prior coverage, Governor Dayton vetoed the jobs and energy bill that passed in the final few minutes of the 2015 regular legislative session.  Governor Dayton’s veto letter can be found here.

After significant negotiations, the legislature finally posted a revised version of the legislation in its 2015 1st…

In a literal sprint to the finish, the Minnesota legislature passed a bill, which included energy policy provisions as part of a Senate Floor Amendment, just seconds before the State constitutional deadline. Pertinent energy policy provisions were included in Article 3 of that amendment and are briefly summarized below:

  • If the MN PUC

…

This morning, California Governor Jerry Brown announced Executive Order B-30-15, setting a target to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the state to 40% below 1990 levels by 2030. The 2030 target acts as an interim goal on the way to achieving reductions of 80% below 1990 levels by 2050, a goal set by former Governor Schwarzenegger in 2005 with Executive Order S-3-05. In starting his fourth term in 2015, Governor Brown has not been shy in laying out ambitious carbon reduction goals. In his inaugural address, the Governor called for increasing the state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50%, reducing petroleum use in cars and trucks in California by 50%, and doubling building energy efficiency, all by 2030.

State legislators have also introduced bills this session to increase the RPS to 50% and amend AB 32 to reach 80% below 1990 GHG levels by 2050. AB 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, established the current statutory target of reducing GHG emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. The fate of the legislative proposals will be decided later this year, but in the meantime, Governor Brown has directed state agencies to implement measures to achieve the 2030 and 2050 goals under existing statutory authority. The Executive Order also specifically directed the California Air Resources Board to update its Climate Change Scoping Plan to incorporate the 2030 target.
Continue Reading Governor Brown Announces New 2030 Greenhouse Gas Reduction Target for California

Hi there, this is Jon Wellinghoff, former FERC chair and current Stoel Rives partner. I’m pleased to announce that effective today I have joined the Stoel Rives Renewable + Law blogger team. We thought it would be useful to share with you blog readers some of my thinking and writing on the topic of energy…

In a long-anticipated move, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“Service”)has published a final listing decision and interim rule on the northern long-eared bat. The Service listed the northern long-eared bat as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”), and, rather than publishing a final 4(d) rule, opted to publish an interim 4(d) rule and…

Yesterday, California legislators publicly announced a suite of bills to push forward the state’s ambitious clean energy and carbon reduction goals.  California Climate Leadership, a coalition of state senators, including Kevin De León, Ben Hueso, Mark Leno, Fran Pavley, and Bob Wieckowski, discussed the legislation at a press conference shown here.  SB 350…