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Full-Text Articles in Energy and Utilities Law
Dual Electricity Federalism Is Dead, But How Dead And What Replaces It?, Joel B. Eisen
Dual Electricity Federalism Is Dead, But How Dead And What Replaces It?, Joel B. Eisen
Law Faculty Publications
The Supreme Court decided three cases in the past year involving the split of jurisdiction between the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the states in the energy sector: FERC v. Electric Power Supply Association, Hughes v. Talen Energy Marketing and ONEOK v. Learjet. This Article concludes that these watershed decisions herald a new approach to governing the rapid evolution of the modern electric grid. Discussing the decisions, the analysis demonstrates that they mark the end of “dual federalism” in electricity law that treated federal and state regulators as operating within separate and distinct spheres of authority, and proposes that …
Public Utilities Law, William T. Reisinger
Public Utilities Law, William T. Reisinger
University of Richmond Law Review
This article explains, at a high level, some of the major changes to electric regulation in Virginia in recent years. It also discusses how the General Assembly's new policies have affected retail electric rates and the development of new generation facilities, including renewable energy resources, in the Commonwealth since 1999.
Smart Regulation And Federalism For The Smart Grid, Joel B. Eisen
Smart Regulation And Federalism For The Smart Grid, Joel B. Eisen
Law Faculty Publications
This Article examines the “Smart Grid,” a set of concepts, technologies, and operating practices that may transform America’s electric grid as much as the Internet has done, redefining every aspect of electricity generation, distribution, and use. While the Smart Grid’s promise is great, this Article examines numerous key barriers to its development, including early stage resistance, a lack of incentives for consumers, and the adverse impacts of the federal-state tension in energy regulation. Overcoming these barriers requires both new technologies and transformative regulatory change, beginning with the development of a foundation of interoperability standards (rules of the road governing interactions …
Can We Regulate Our Way To Energy Efficiency? Product Standards As Climate Policy, Noah M. Sachs
Can We Regulate Our Way To Energy Efficiency? Product Standards As Climate Policy, Noah M. Sachs
Law Faculty Publications
In this Article, I demonstrate that the regulatory strategy for energy efficiency is working. Although information disclosure, financial incentives, and other softer alternatives to regulation play a vital role in reducing energy demand, these should be viewed as complements to efficiency regulation, rather than replacements. The regulatory approach has led to substantial cost and energy savings in the past, it has enjoyed bipartisan political support, and it targets products and behaviors that are difficult to address through other policy tools. Given the politics of climate change in the United States, which make federal carbon taxes or a cap-and-trade system infeasible, …
Offshore Windfall: What Approval Of The United States' First Offshore Wind Project Means For The Offshore Wind Energy Industry, Michael P. Giordano
Offshore Windfall: What Approval Of The United States' First Offshore Wind Project Means For The Offshore Wind Energy Industry, Michael P. Giordano
University of Richmond Law Review
This comment explores the Cape Wind project with an emphasis on its role as the first United States offshore wind energy project. Part II of this comment explains the potential energy resource that offshore wind provides and examines some of the economic, technological, and regulatory challenges facing the development of offshore wind projects in United States waters. Part III of this comment introduces the Cape Wind project as a case study by briefly describing the particular political struggles and permitting challenges faced by its developers. Part IV of this comment analyzes how DOI approval and the eventual construction of Cape …
The Blackout Of 2003: What Is Next?, Joel B. Eisen
The Blackout Of 2003: What Is Next?, Joel B. Eisen
University of Richmond Law Review
No abstract provided.