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Full-Text Articles in Law
Free Trade In Electric Power, Joel Eisen
Free Trade In Electric Power, Joel Eisen
Law Faculty Publications
This Article develops the core legal framework of a new electricity-trading ecosystem in which anyone, anytime, anywhere, can trade electricity in any amount with anyone else. The proliferation of solar and other distributed energy resources, business model innovation in the sharing economy, and climate change present enormous challenges — and opportunities — for America’s energy economy. But the electricity industry is ill equipped to adapt to and benefit from these transformative forces, with much of its physical infrastructure, regulatory institutions, and business models a relic of the early days of electrification. We suggest a systematic rethinking to usher in a …
Should The United States Create Trading Markets For Energy Efficiency?, Noah M. Sachs
Should The United States Create Trading Markets For Energy Efficiency?, Noah M. Sachs
Law Faculty Publications
This Comment examines whether the vision for energy efficiency markets matches the reality. It explains how energy efficiency markets work, examines the handful of energy efficiency markets that have been established to date, and explores the policy challenges inherent in commodifying energy efficiency and making it a tradable good.
The Limits Of Energy Efficiency Markets In Climate-Change Law, Noah M. Sachs
The Limits Of Energy Efficiency Markets In Climate-Change Law, Noah M. Sachs
Law Faculty Publications
This Article examines whether market-based policies, deployed in many areas of environmental law, should be harnessed to promote energy efficiency. Several countries in Europe and Asia have experimented with this new approach to energy efficiency, establishing markets that involve mandatory energy savings targets for firms and inter-firm trading of certificates that represent quantified energy savings. Many analysts contend that these new markets can unlock overlooked opportunities for energy efficiency improvements and could be a critical policy tool for addressing climate change. After describing the rationale for these new markets and their operation in other countries, this Article concludes that the …
Who Regulates The Smart Grid?: Ferc's Authority Over Demand Response Compensation In Wholesale Electricity Markets., Joel B. Eisen
Who Regulates The Smart Grid?: Ferc's Authority Over Demand Response Compensation In Wholesale Electricity Markets., Joel B. Eisen
Law Faculty Publications
This Article argues that Order 745 is both justified under the Federal Power Act (FPA) and important to ensure the transition to a clean energy future. A challenge to Order 745, Electric Power Supply Association v. FERC, is currently pending in the D.C. Circuit. This Article contends that Order 745 should be upheld against this challenge because it fits within FERC's broad authority to regulate the wholesale power markets.
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 …