Law Commons^™

Meeting Clean Energy Goals Will Require The Grid Of The Future, Ken Berlin, Rob Gramlich, Alexandra B. Klass, Josiah Neeley

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The transmission grid is the critical superhighway that connects energy supply and demand. But our grid was designed for the power plants of the past—not for the diverse range of resources and technologies of our clean energy future. Over 70 percent of the nation’s transmission infrastructure is more than 25 years old, and in many areas of the country constraints have already been an impediment to renewable power. To meet greenhouse gas reduction goals, we will need to expand electric transmission systems by 60 percent by 2030 and possibly triple the capacity of these systems by 2050. The Infl ation …

Regulating For Energy Justice, Alexandra B. Klass, Gabriel Chan

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In this Article, we explore and critique the foundational norms that shape federal and state energy regulation and suggest pathways for reform that can incorporate principles of “energy justice.” These energy justice principles—developed in academic scholarship and social movements—include the equitable distribution of costs and benefits of the energy system, equitable participation and representation in energy decision making, and restorative justice for structurally marginalized groups.

While new legislation, particularly at the state level, is critical to the effort to advance energy justice, our focus here is on regulators’ ability to implement reforms now using their existing authority to advance the …

Constitutional Challenges And Regulatory Opportunities For State Climate Policy Innovation, Felix Mormann

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This Article explores constitutional limits and regulatory openings for innovative state policies to mitigate climate change by promoting climate-friendly, renewable energy. In the absence of a comprehensive federal policy approach to climate change and clean energy, more and more states are stepping in to fill the policy void. Already, nearly thirty states have adopted renewable portfolio standards that create markets for solar, wind, and other clean electricity. To help populate these markets, a few pioneering states have recently started using feed-in tariffs that offer eligible generators above-market rates for their clean, renewable power.

But renewable portfolio standards, feed-in tariffs, and …

Beyond A Zero-Sum Federal Trust Responsibility: Lessons From Federal Indian Energy Policy, Monte Mills

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The federal government’s trust relationship with federally recognized Indian tribes is a product of the last two centuries of Federal Indian Law and federal-tribal relations. For approximately the last 50 years, the federal government has sought to promote tribal self-determination as a means to carry out its trust responsibilities to Indian tribes; but the shadows of prior federal policies, based largely on notions of tribal incompetence and federal paternalism, remain. Perhaps no other policy arena better demonstrates the history, evolution, and promise for reform of the federal trust relationship than Federal Indian energy policy, or the range of federal statutes …

A Tale Of Three Markets: Comparing The Renewable Energy Experiences Of California, Texas, And Germany, Felix Mormann, Dan Reicher, Victor Hanna

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The Obama administration has repeatedly identified the large-scale build-out of clean, renewable energy infrastructure as a key priority of the United States. The President's calls for a cleaner energy economy are often accompanied by references to other industrialized countries such as Germany, hailed by many as a leader in renewable energy deployment. Indeed, the share of renewables in Germany's electricity generation mix is twice that of the United States, and the ambitious "Energiewende" commits the country to meeting 80% of its electricity needs with renewables by 2050. While some praise the German renewables experience as successful proof of concept, others …

Empowering Federal Regulation For A Changing Electricity Sector, Felix Mormann

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No abstract provided.

Transmission And Transport Of Energy In The Western U.S. And Canada: A Law And Policy Road Map, Stephen R. Miller

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No abstract provided.

Clean Energy Federalism, Felix Mormann

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Legal scholarship tends to approach the law and policy of clean energy from an environmental law perspective. As hydraulic fracturing, renewable energy integration, nuclear reactor (re)licensing, transport biofuel mandates, and other energy issues have pushed to the forefront of the environmental law debate, clean energy law has begun to emancipate itself. The emerging literature on clean energy federalism is a symptom of this emancipation. This Article adds to that literature by offering two case studies, a novel model for policy integration, and theoretical insights to elucidate the relationship between environmental federalism and clean energy federalism.

Renewable portfolio standards and feed-in …

A Dormant Commerce Clause Approach To Interstate Electricity Transmission, Felix Mormann

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No abstract provided.

Green Go! - The Military's Sustainability Mission, Felix Mormann

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No abstract provided.

Beyond Tax Credits: Smarter Tax Policy For A Cleaner, More Democratic Energy Future, Felix Mormann

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Solar, wind, and other renewable energy technologies have the potential to mitigate climate change, secure America's energy independence, and create millions of green jobs. In the absence of a price on carbon emissions, however, these long-term benefits will not be realized without near-term policy support for renewable energy. This Article assesses the efficiency of federal tax incentives for renewables and proposes policy reform to promote renewable energy more cost-effectively through capital markets and crowdfunding.

Federal support for renewable energy today comes primarily in the form of accelerated depreciation and, critically, tax credits. Empirical evidence reveals that only a fraction of …

Mitigating The Impacts Of The Renewable Energy Gold Rush, Amy Wilson Morris, Jessica Owley

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No abstract provided.

Green Siting For Green Energy, Amy Wilson Morris, Jessica Owley, Emily Capello

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No abstract provided.

Hydraulic Fracturing: Sources Of Law And Information, Barbara H. Garavaglia

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Hydraulic fracturing—also known as fracking—has become increasingly controversial in the United States over the past several years, especially in states such as Michigan with large shale gas deposits that were previously unextractable. In 2012, a Michigan fracking ban initiative failed to make it onto the November statewide ballot, but citizens groups are presently collecting signatures in an attempt to get the initiative onto the November 2014 ballot as an “initiated state statute.” And, more recently, state auctions of drilling permits have been the scenes of citizen protests driven by concerns about the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing.

Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann

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This Article introduces an investor-orented framework for the evaluation of renewable energy policy, applies these newly developed critea to a qualitative comparison of the primary policy instruments, and offers recommendations to enhance the investor appeal of renewable energy in the United States.

The multi-trillion dollar task of scaling-up renewable energy technologies to mitigate climate change, ensure energy security, and create green jobs is one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century It is, in fact, too great a challenge for either the public or private sector to shoulder alone. Rather, public policy must catalyze private investment in renewable …

The Next Step: The Integration Of Energy Law And Environmental Law, Amy J. Wildermuth

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For many years, the law has largely ignored the obvious connection between energy production and consumption and nature. The laws that govern energy in this country-energy law-have very little to do with the laws that restrict what can be done with nature-environmental law. The primary focus of energy law is to ensure that energy is supplied without disruption at an affordable price. The primary focus of environmental laws is to be sure that the process of creating anything, including energy, does not create "too much" pollution, however we might define that phrase.
The question motivating this conference is what the …

Is Environmental Law A Barrier To Emerging Alternative Energy Sources, Amy J. Wildermuth

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My aim in this article is to explore the environmental law-energy divide from the environmental law perspective. In doing so, I will examine the impact of environmental law on energy use and energy sources today, focusing particularly on the development of alternative energy. Professor Lincoln Davies has taken up the same task---exploring the environmental law-energy divide-but from the perspective of energy law. Our collective goal is to inspire a discussion about how energy law and environmental law interact and what that means for energy development and use. We also hope to provide some ideas, based on lessons from alternative energy …

Energy Independence: Challenges Facing The West In Adopting Alternative And Renewable Energy Sources, Barbara Cosens

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No abstract provided.

The Gulf Spill Context: Peak Oil, Risky Oil, And Energy Strategy, Edward A. Parson

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As shocking as the situation in the Gulf of Mexico may be, in this broader context it must be regarded as a normal event. That’s not to say that it’s normal in relation to past experience. Rather, the Gulf spill is “the new normal,” in the sense that our current energy strategy—or lack thereof—will make such events increasingly likely, even if we assume conditions of effective regulation and responsible compliance that evidently were not present on the Deepwater Horizon.

Bargaining In The Shadow Of Rate-Setting Courts, Daniel A. Crane

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Judges will tell you that they are comparatively poor rate regulators. The specialized, technical competence and supervisory capacity that public utilities commissions enjoy are usually absent from judicial chambers. Nonetheless, when granting antitrust remedies-particularly remedies for monopolistic abuse of intellectual property-courts sometimes purport to act as rate regulators for the licensing or sale of the defendant's assets. At the outset, we should distinguish between two forms ofjudicial rate setting. In one form, a court (or the FTC in its adjudicative capacity) grants a compulsory license and sets a specific rate as part of a final judgment or an order. The …

Council And The Constitution: An Article On The Constitutionality Of The Northwest Power Planning Council, Dale Goble

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No abstract provided.

Solar Access And Property Rights: Reply To A Maverick Analysis, Dale Goble

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No abstract provided.

Siting =/= Protection: A Note On Solar Access, Dale Goble

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In assuring solar access, it is necessary to distinguish between siting collectors and protecting their access to sunshine once they have been placed. Siting requires the flexibility to balance potentially competing uses of land; it is best accomplished by zoning and land use planning. Once a collector is sited, however, flexibility must give way to certainty. The necessary certainty cannot be provided by zoning, which conveys no legally enforceable right. It is best accomplished by the recognition of a solar right through a priority-based permit system.

Allocation Of Scarce Goods Under Section 2-615 Of The Uniform Commercial Code: A Comparison Of Some Rival Models, James J. White

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Section 2-615 of the Uniform Commercial Code authorizes a contract seller to allocate goods in short supply when full performance has become commercially impracticable. Most of the cases under and commentary on that section have focused on the issue of commercial impracticability. The allocation aspects of the section have attracted much more modest attention in the cases and in the scholarly journals. The purpose of this article is to examine critically the allocation rule set out in section 2-615(b). That subsection authorizes a seller, upon a finding of commercial impracticability, to allocate "in any manner which is fair and reasonable." …

Increasing Use Of The Sun: A Potential Role For The Energy Utilities, Dale Goble

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No abstract provided.

Solar Rights: Guaranteeing A Place In The Sun, Dale Goble

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No abstract provided.

Siting Power Plants In Washington State, William H. Rodgers, Jr.

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No abstract provided.

Is A Municipal Fuel Yard A 'Public Service Plant'?, Evans Holbrook

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In Consumers' Coal Co. et al. v. City of Lincoln, et al. (Neb. 1922) 189 N. W. 643, the supreme court of Nebraska held that a municipal fuel-yard, selling fuel at retail to the inhabitants of the city, was not a "public service plant" authorized by a section of the city charter which empowered the city to acquire, own and operate gas and electric plants, street railways, telephone plants, "and any and all other public service plants and properties, for the purpose of supplying the city and the inhabitants thereof with such service and public utilities." The suit was brought …

Public Utility Valuation, Edwin C. Goddard

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It has been so often remarked that the "valuation" of public utilities is determined by no rule of thumb, that there are no fixed rules or formulas to guide courts or commissions, that determination of value as a rate base is matter of judgment and discretion in each case, Minnesota Rate Cares, 230 U. S. 352, 434, that the statement has come to be believed by reason in part of its much repetition. It is usually accepted as axiomatic. The glorious uncertainty resulting from such an admission will continue so long as judgments of one man or set of men …

Public Utilities—Franchise Rates As Affected By The World War, Edwin C. Goddard

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The economic convulsions due to the World War are abundantly reflected in the relations between the public and their public utilities operating under franchises fixing rates for service. The enormous rise in cost of labor and materials has, in many cases, so reduced the net income of such utilities as to make it a negative quantity at existing franchise rates. The utilities are crying to be saved from bankruptcy, but the unfortunate suspicion bred by past dealings of many such companies has made the public skeptical, and perhaps in many cases entirely unreasonable. In some cases plain selfishness may explain …