Category — Regulation
White House to Review DOE Loan Guarantee Program as Flywheel Manufacturer Files for Bankruptcy
On October 28, 2011, White House Chief of Staff, William Daley, announced that there will be an independent analysis of the Department of Energy (“DOE”) loan portfolio, and particularly more than two dozen renewable energy loans and loan guarantees made by the DOE program. The review will be led by Herb Allison, a former U.S. Treasury official.
November 7, 2011 Comments Off
FERC Sets For Hearing Puget’s Tariff Revisions Regarding Intermittent/Non-Dispatchable Generators
In a case that highlights some of the regulatory challenges presented by shifts in the nation’s generation mix, on October 20, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) accepted Puget Sound Energy, Inc.’s (“Puget”) proposed Schedules 3 and 13 concerning rates for Regulation and Frequency Response Service, but suspended them for a five-month period, to become effective January 5, 2012, subject to refund, and set them for hearing and settlement judge procedures. [Read more →]
October 31, 2011 Comments Off
DC Circuit Vacates FAA Determination that Cape Wind Project Poses No Harm
On October 28, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (”DC Circuit) vacated and remanded the Federal Aviation Administration’s (”FAA”) “No Hazard” determinations for the Cape Wind Associates’ proposed wind farm off of the Nantucket Sound (”Cape Wind project”). The DC Circuit ruling is another major setback to the Cape Wind project that had its loan program put on hold earlier this year by the Department of Energy (see May 23, 2011 edition of the WER). [Read more →]
October 31, 2011 Comments Off
EPA Postpones Utility MACT Rule to December
On October 24, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) filed with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a 30-day extension to complete the final emissions standards for the Maximum Achievable Control Technology (“MACT”) rule. Currently the EPA is operating under a 2009 consent decree with a November 16, 2011 deadline to issue a final rulemaking on standards for hazardous air pollutants from EGUs (see October 17, 2011 edition of the WER). [Read more →]
October 31, 2011 Comments Off
California Air Resource Board Passes Cap-and-Trade Regulation
On October 20, 2011, the California Air Resource Board (“CARB”) announced the adoption of the final cap-and-trade regulation, which establishes a statewide limit on the production of greenhouse gas emissions.
The regulation aims to reduce overall greenhouse emissions in California to the 1990-level by 2020. [Read more →]
October 25, 2011 Comments Off
