The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a stunner with its decision this morning in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency. The Supreme Court has curtailed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of stationary source greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under two Clean Air Act permitting programs – New Source Review Prevention of Significant Deterioration … Continue Reading
My colleague, Daniel Lee, followed oral argument yesterday in the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of federal greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, and provides this analysis: During oral argument for Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA this Monday, the Supreme Court conflicted over a number of issues including the application of Chevron deference, … Continue Reading
Yesterday the EPA released the third major Notice of Violation ("NOV") against a biofuel producer in the past six months under the Renewable Fuel Standard ("RFS"). The NOV states that EPA has determined that Green Diesel, LLC of Houston, Texas, generated 60,034,033 invalid Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs') with a current market value of perhaps $85 million. Coming on the heels of the resolution of the Clean Green Diesel and Absolute Fuels NOVs, this NOV is likely to trigger immediate market reaction.… Continue Reading
On June 20, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on American Electric Power Co., Inc., et al. v. Connecticut, et al. This case is significant because it dismissed a lawsuit in which several states and environmental groups sought court orders requiring large electrical utilities (alleged to be “the five largest emitters of carbon … Continue Reading
On August 12, 2010, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a new loan guarantee solicitation for renewable energy manufacturing projects. The Commercial Technology Renewable Energy Manufacturing Projects solicitation (the "Solicitation") is supported by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (the "Recovery Act") through Section 1705 of the Loan Guarantee Program and is focused primarily on providing new … Continue Reading
The ZINO Society, a Seattle-based angel investment group, announced last week that its annual “ZINO Green Investment Forum” would be held on March 4, 2010, at the McKinstry Innovation Center in Seattle. Up to fifteen early-stage companies in “green tech, clean tech, and sustainable products or services” will be selected by the ZINO Green screening board to … Continue Reading
On December 7, 2009, Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the issuance of a final rule amending the October, 2007 Final Regulations implementing the Loan Guarantee Program under Section 1703 of Title XVII of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (the "Section 1703 Program"). The amendments implemented through the final rule were first identified in a … Continue Reading
At the Western Governors’ Association Annual Meeting on June 15, 2009, the Western Governors heard a sobering and candid report from Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, which, at its core, indicated that climate change is real and happening faster than scientists previously warned. According to Secretary Chu, "the news is getting scary . . . … Continue Reading
The Western Governors’ Association ("WGA") will hold its annual meeting in Park City, Utah on June 14-16, 2009. Based on a review of the Agenda posted to the WGA’s website, the focus of the meeting will be on developing regional and global strategies for addressing important issues related to energy resources, climate change and water. I will be … Continue Reading
Minnesota politicians held a news conference yesterday on the state capitol mall to provide an overview of recent legislation relating to solar energy projects. Minnesota has allocated $14.5 million in stimulus money for renewable energy projects, with a portion flagged for solar projects to encourage the installation and use of solar-powered systems. Another piece of legislation gives … Continue Reading
Governor Bill Richardson and the New Mexico Office of Recovery and Reinvestment have announced $37 million US funding from the U.S. DOE through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for New Mexico’s State Energy Program, the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program, and the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program. The initial Request for Application … Continue Reading
On February 13, the Utah Public Utilities and Technology Committee voted to favorably recommend a House Resolution urging Governor Huntsman to withdraw Utah from the Western Climate Initiative. The resolution, 1st Sub. H.R. 3, contains recitals referring to “Utah’s abundant and clean burning coal,” the lack of balance in the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Council on … Continue Reading
The California Air Resources Board may soon get its wish. Back in 2005, ARB first requested a waiver from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, to allow California to regulate motor vehicle greenhouse gas emissions. EPA denied the waiver two years later, after California threatened to sue EPA to force the agency to take action on the request. The very day after … Continue Reading
In the midst of an unprecedented amount of bad news surrounding the economy, the robust growth in employment in the wind and solar energy sectors has been receiving a lot of attention. Wind industry jobs have increased 70% over the past year, totaling 85,000 in 2008. These 85,000 jobs in the wind industry include some 13,000 manufacturing jobs, … Continue Reading
