The Minnesota State Legislature’s attempt to expand the amount of electricity that utility companies secure from renewable energy sources cleared a major hurdle recently, as H.F. 956 was included in the House omnibus energy bill.  H.F. 956 proposes to increase Minnesota’s renewable energy standard (“RES”) to 40% by 2030.  The current standard requires that Minnesota’s

The Stoel Rives Energy Development group is proud to announce the publication of the third edition of Lex Helius: The Law of Solar Energy.

In the wake of recent state and federal policies and incentives, investment in solar energy has become increasingly competitive. Accordingly, our energy team desires to provide our readers with the most

Stoel Rives attorney Heath Curtiss, one of the
co-authors of "Federal Land Issues with Siting
and Permitting" in our Law of Wind, describes
a Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") plan to
protect certain land suitable for renewables
development from the location of mining claims :

As many of our clients with right-of-way (“ROW”) applications pending before BLM

In a blow to China’s position as the world’s dominant producer of solar panels, the new military authorization law  prevents the Defense Department from buying Chinese-made solar panels, but allows it to buy solar panels from any country that has signed the W.T.O.’s side agreement on government procurement.

The W.T.O. Government Procurement Agreement, which requires free trade in government purchases

There is new hope for the PACE financing program (the acronym stands for: “property-assessed clean energy”). The PACE program was started in Berkeley, CA in 2007 and made loans available to homeowners to help defer the cost of renewable energy/energy efficiency equipment and installations. The loan funds come from municipalities who raise the money through bonds