Law Commons^™

Shouldering The Burden Of Renewable Energy: Lithium Mining In Chile’S Indigenous Communities, Asha Wedemier-Allan

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

Technology has improved society, from bridging digital divides to increasing efficiency. To power technology, energy sources were traditionally derived from diminishing and exhaustible resources like fossil fuels. The renewable energy revolution emerged to balance the global demand for technology with its impact on natural resources. Lithium is a critical, non-renewable mineral that clean technology relies on. Essentially, lithium makes renewable energy possible. As the pillar for a fossil fuel-free yet technology-driven society, it is imperative to examine the sustainability and impacts of lithium mining.

This Note discusses the legal and socio-political frameworks shaping foreign direct investments in Chile’s lithium mining …

24/7 Clean Energy, Todd Aagaard

University of Colorado Law Review

In the face of the rapidly escalating climate crisis, the electricity sector is moving toward renewable energy. To date, policies and strategies have focused on increasing overall renewable energy generation, with little regard for timing and location. The result has been a misalignment of supply and demand in renewable energy markets. Renewable power projects produce energy when and where it is least expensive, leaving supply scarce at other times and places. Consumers, meanwhile, continue to use power when and where they need it. This mismatch increases the electricity grid’s dependence on fossil fuel–fired electricity to meet electricity demand at times …

Draft Federal Legislation: Agricultural Economic Empowerment Zones, Samuel C. Kessler

Commonwealth Policy Papers

This draft federal legislation was modified from initial failed attempts to pass Qualified Opportunity Zones, and focused on most bipartisan parts of those attempts to then create a targeted policy of agricultural economic empowerment zones to incentivize sustainability, renewable energy, and upcycling value from biomass to improve local economic interdependence.

Members of the United States Congress and other national governments may make use of this bill draft freely.

Lumpy Social Goods In Energy Decarbonization: Why We Need More Than Just Markets For The Clean Energy Transition, Daniel E. Walters

University of Colorado Law Review

To avoid the worst consequences of global climate change, the United States must achieve daunting targets for decarbonizing its electric power sector on a very short timescale. Policy experts largely agree that achieving these goals will require massive investment in new infrastructure to facilitate the deep integration of renewable fuels into the electric grid, including a new national high-voltage electric transmission network and grid-scale electricity storage, such as batteries. However, spurring investment in these needed infrastructures has proven to be challenging, despite numerous attempts by regulators and policymakers to clear a path for market-driven investment. Unchecked, this problem threatens to …

Ten Years Of Tidal Energy Experience With The Maine Ocean Energy Act, John Ferland

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

The State of Maine is ten years into a compelling and sweeping economic vision, called the Ocean Energy Act. This Act was established to create a new renewable energy industry out of the Gulf of Maine. This paper focuses specifically on the tidal energy development experience under the Act. It explains the background about the Act’s intent, documents the actual experience of tidal energy development in the Maine economy, and predicts how the industry might unfold over the next decade.

Diving To New Depths: How Green Energy Markets Can Push Mining Companies Into The Deep Sea, And Why Nations Must Balance Mineral Exploitation With Marine Conservation, Catherine Danley

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Case For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard In Virginia: A Case Study Examining Virginia’S Potential For A Mandatory Renewable Portfolio Standard By Comparing Virginia To Maryland And North Carolina, Rebecca Wescott

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Since the early 1980s, states have utilized Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards (“RPSs”) as policy mechanisms to “promote broader investment in renewable energy without requiring passage of a comprehensive energy policy measure that includes a pricing mechanism for carbon.” RPS policies can be drafted in one of two ways: (1) as a mandatory RPS, a legal mandate on what percentage of a state’s power portfolio must come from specific eligible renewable energy sources by a specific date in the future, or (2) as a non-binding or voluntary RPS, a policy goal that recommends that a certain percentage of a state’s power …

From Exploitation To Equity: Building Native-Owned Renewable Energy Generation In Indian Country, Michael Maruca

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Indian country contains abundant renewable energy resources, and harnessing such resources is vitally important for national climate change mitigation efforts. Shifting the electric grid towards wind and solar generation also carries local environmental and health benefits, increases energy independence, and serves national security interests. For willing tribes, renewable energy development offers an opportunity for job growth and income base expansion. But if that development is to serve all parties— tribes, states, and the nation—then the current policy framework must change. If it does not change, policymakers risk continuing the long history of exploitative resource development on reservations.

This Article examines …

Using Renewable Portfolio Standards To Accelerate Development Of Negative Emissions Technologies, Anthony E. Chavez

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

As society continues to emit greenhouse gases, the likelihood of dangerous climate change occurring increases. Indeed, most analyses project that we must utilize negative emission technologies (“NETs”) to avoid dangerous warming. Even the Paris Agreement anticipates the implementation of such carbon dioxide (“CO₂”) removal technologies. Unfortunately, NETs are not ready for large-scale deployment. In many instances, their technologies remain uncertain; in others, their ability to operate at the scale required is unknown. Other uncertainties, including their costs, effectiveness, and environmental impacts have yet to be determined.

A means to accelerate the development and implementation of NETs is a …

A “Green” Approach To Hedge Fund Regulation And Reform, Matthew Keehn

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Growth And Legal Implications Of Energy Storage Technologies, Chaunceton B. Bird

Utah OnLaw: The Utah Law Review Online Supplement

The energy storage industry is growing at burgeoning rates. New technologies are lowering the cost and improving the efficiency of energy storage devices. But with widespread adoption comes a myriad of legal issues. When states are creating their own legal frameworks to encourage or discourage investment in energy storage, the industry is hampered by inconsistency and a lack of predictability. By implementing broad federal regulations, the federal government can remove uncertainty and encourage growth and development of energy storage technologies. Thanks to companies like Tesla who are making energy storage more appealing and affordable, demand for behind-the-meter energy storage is …

Room To Grow: A Consumer-Focused Proposal For Revitalizing Ohio’S Renewable Energy Sector Through Sustainable Expansion Of The Market, Mairi Mull

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Climate Regulation Of The Electricity Industry: A Comparative View From Australia, Great Britain, South Korea, And The United States, Lincoln L. Davies, Penelope Crossley, Peter Connor, Siwon Park, Shelby Shaw-Hughes

South Carolina Journal of International Law and Business

No abstract provided.

An Empirical Study Of The Impact Of The Renewable Fuel Standard (Rfs) On The Production Of Fuel Ethanol In The U.S., Jay P. Kesan, Hsiao-Shan Yang, Isabel F. Peres

Utah Law Review

The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program, which mandates the commercialization of biofuels through 2022, is the United States’ most significant piece of legislation regarding renewable energy. It was first passed in 2005 and revised and expanded in 2007 in order to create a viable market for biofuels based on the policy goals of enhancing domestic U.S. energy security, reducing transportation-related greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and stimulating rural economic development.

The RFS requires minimum levels of consumption for different kinds of biofuels and requires increasing blending amounts of biofuels into gasoline and diesel fuels by producers and importers each year. Mandates …

“The Energy Capital Of The East Coast?”: Lessons Virginia Can Learn From Cape Wind Failure And European Success In Offshore Wind Energy, Lamya Moosa

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Fueled By Free Trade: Wto Trade Agreements Ensuring The Proliferation Of Solar Technology, John Ferriss

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Enforcement Activism Of The Eu’S Renewable Energy Directive During The Global Financial Crisis, Jon Truby

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Beyond Solyndra: Examining The Department Of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program, Hilary Kao

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

In the year following the Fukushima nuclear disaster in March 2011, the renewable and clean energy industries faced significant turmoil— from natural disasters, to political maelstroms, from the Great Recession, to U.S. debt ceiling debates. The Department of Energy’s Loan Guarantee Program (“DOE LGP”), often a target since before it ever received a dollar of appropriations, has been both blamed and defended in the wake of the bankruptcy filing of Solyndra, a California-based solar panel manufacturer, in September 2011, because of the $535 million loan guarantee made to it by the Department of Energy (“DOE”) in 2009. Critics have suggested …

Have We All Gone Batty? The Need For A Better Balance Between The Conservation Of Protected Species And The Development Of Clean Renewable Energy, Laura Householder

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

An Integrated Green Urban Electrical Grid, Deborah Behles

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Relying on only renewable resources for generating electricity once seemed like a dream. Yet, an island in Denmark is now achieving that dream by generating all the electricity it needs with renewable resources. Other communities throughout the world now want to achieve this same milestone. To critics, these goals are not attainable due to the intermittent nature of the primary renewable resources, wind and solar power, which many of these communities plan to rely on. But, several studies have confirmed that it can be done, and plans are already underway to switch communities to one hundred percent renewable energy in …

Legal And Regulatory Impediments To Vehicle-To-Grid Aggregation, Matthew Hutton, Thomas Hutton

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

This article begins by defining the “vehicle-to-grid” concept for a legal readership, and places it in context by discussing some major problems facing the United States electrical grid. There are several ways in which the vehicle-to-grid concept may potentially mitigate the grid’s problems as are described. Then, the article discusses the major legal and regulatory impediments to implementing a vehicle-to-grid program. Several of the hurdles are simply manifestations of uncertainties in the business environment. Others are more properly legal and regulatory impediments, but are expected to be surmountable. Therefore, the Article concludes that legal and regulatory impediments will not likely …

A Shift In The Wind: The Siting Of Wind Power Projects On Public Lands In The Obama Era, Eric S. Spengle

Indiana Law Journal

No abstract provided.

The Smart Grid: A Smart Solution To A Complicated Problem, Alison C. Graab

William & Mary Law Review

No abstract provided.

China's Renewable Energy Law: A Platform For Green Leadership?, Joel B. Eisen

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Are Renewable Portfolio Standards A Policy Cure-All?: A Case Study Of Illinois's Experience, David G. Loomis, Adrienne Ohler

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Renewable Portfolio Standards (“RPS”) are stated to have a plethora of benefits: job creation, renewable energy growth, reduced carbon emissions, and a reduction in retail electricity prices. Often when a policy has multiple agendas, the policy fails to meet any of the objectives. Twenty-nine states have implemented an RPS, but state policies vary with regard to the sources considered eligible, out-of-state generation, credit trading, and the process of ensuring compliance. The various policy facets affect the growth of renewable energy within the state and affect the additional stated benefits of job creation and reduced emissions. This paper examines Illinois’s RPS …

A Survey Of State Renewable Portfolio Standards: Square Pegs For Round Climate Change-Holes?, Ivan Gold, Nidhi Thakar

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

Thirty states now have renewable portfolios standards that require generators of electricity to increase their use of renewable energy. Originally intended to promote “energy independence” and other environmental goals, today the programs are among the few U.S. programs which respond to the threat of global warming. This article considers how they work and whether they are effective. It concludes that, in the absence of comprehensive international or federal greenhouse gas controls, renewable portfolio standards are an effective and productive means to retard global warming.

When Prayer Trumps Politics: The Politics And Demographics Of Renewable Portfolio Standards, Joshua P. Fershee

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

The Ramifications Of The W.H. Sammis Settlement: Why Jobs Are Being Lost, The Air Remains Unclean, And This Landmark Settlement Is Making Progress In The Wrong Direction, Michael Paul Pegman

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

A Grassroots Vehicle For Sustainable Energy: The Conservation Reserve Program & Renewable Energy, Jared Wiesner

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.

Corporate Governance And Rational Energy Choices, Steven Ferrey

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

No abstract provided.