Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Symposium - Supply And Demand: Barriers To A New Energy Future, Michael P. Vandenbergh, J. B. Ruhl, Jim Rossi

Vanderbilt Law Review

Like many fields, energy law has had its ups and downs. A period of remarkable activity in the 1970s and early 1980s focused on the efficiencies arising from deregulation of energy markets, but the field attracted much less attention during the 1990s. In the last decade, a new burst of activity has occurred, driven largely by the implications of energy production and use for climate change. In effect, this new scholarship is asking what efficiency means in a carbon- constrained world. Accounting for carbon has induced scholars to challenge the implicit assumption of the early scholarship that the price of …

The Tipping Point Of Federalism, Amy L. Stein

UF Law Faculty Publications

As the Supreme Court has noted, “it is difficult to conceive of a more basic element of interstate commerce than electric energy, a product that is used in virtually every home and every commercial or manufacturing facility. No state relies solely on its own resources in this respect.” And yet, the resources used to generate this electricity (e.g., coal, natural gas, or renewables) are determined largely by state and local authorities through their exclusive authority to determine whether to approve construction of a new electricity generation facility. As the nation finds itself faced with important decisions that directly implicate the …

Good For You, Bad For Us: The Financial Disincentive For Net Demand Reduction, Michael P. Vandenbergh, Jim Rossi

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

This Article examines a principal barrier to reducing U.S. carbon emissions — electricity distributors’ financial incentives to sell more of their product — and introduces the concept of net demand reduction (“NDR”) as a primary goal for the modern energy regulatory system. Net electricity demand must decrease substantially from projected levels for the United States to achieve widely-endorsed carbon targets by 2050. Although social and behavioral research has identified cost-effective ways to reduce electricity demand, state-of-the-art programs to curtail demand have not been implemented on a widespread basis. We argue that electric distribution utilities are important gatekeepers that can determine …

Supply And Demand: Barriers To A New Energy Future, Jim Rossi, Michael P. Vandenbergh, J. B. Ruhl

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

Like many fields, energy law has had its ups and downs. A period of remarkable activity in the 1970s and early 1980s focused on the efficiencies arising from deregulation of energy markets, but the field attracted much less attention during the 1990s. In the last decade, a new burst of activity has occurred, driven largely by the implications of energy production and use for climate change. In effect, this new scholarship is asking what efficiency means in a carbon-constrained world. Accounting for carbon has induced scholars to challenge the implicit assumption of the early scholarship that the price of energy …

Energy Ratings Hit Commercial Real Estate - California Lights The Way, Jonathan Cahill

The Journal of Business, Entrepreneurship & the Law

The Energy Star Program has been extremely successful for consumer appliances and electronics, but can this success translate to commercial real estate? In the United States, commercial buildings account for nearly nineteen percent of energy-related carbon dioxide emissions. Consequently, energy rating of buildings has become an increasingly attractive way to combat pollution and lower energy consumption. Despite this, the United States does not yet have a federal policy requiring energy usage disclosure for buildings. This has left state and local governments to lead the way in innovative and effective reporting regimes. California's response to this regulatory vacuum is Assembly Bill …

Slides: What Laundry Can Teach Us: Five Principles For New Business Models, Teju Ravilochan

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Teju Ravilochan, CEO, The Unreasonable Institute

17 slides

Slides: Envirofit: Making The World Fit For Humanity, Jessica Alderman

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jessica Alderman, Director, ENVIROFIT

15 slides

Slides: Multi-Dimensional Energy Poverty Index (Mepi), Morgan Bazilian

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Morgan Bazilian, Deputy Director, Joint Institute for Strategic Energy Analysis (JISEA), National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

8 slides

Agenda: 2012 Energy Justice Conference And Technology Exposition, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, University Of Colorado Boulder. Colorado European Union Center Of Excellence, University Of Colorado Boulder. Presidents Leadership Institute

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Co-sponsored with the Colorado European Union Center of Excellence and the Presidents Leadership Institute at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The ability to harness energy is fundamental to economic and social development. Worldwide, almost 3 billion people have little or no access to beneficial energy resources for cooking, heating, water sanitation, illumination, transportation, or basic mechanical needs. Energy poverty exacerbates ill health and economic hardship, and reduces educational opportunities, particularly for women and children. Specifically, access to efficient and affordable energy services is a prerequisite for achieving the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) relating to poverty eradication.

In response, the UN …

Slides: Appropriate Sustainable Energy Technologies: A Light To The World, Lakshman D. Guruswamy, Jason B. Aamodt, Blake Feamster

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Jason Aamodt, Attorney; Adjunct Professor, University of Tulsa

15 slides

Slides: Meeting The Needs Of Women Through Clean Cooking Solutions, Corinne Hart

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Corinne Hart, Program Manager, Gender and Markets, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves

20 slides

Slides: Draft Power In Developing Country Agriculture--South Asia, Arjun Makhijani

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Arjun Makhijani, President, Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (IEER)

13 slides

Slides: Sources Of Electrical Energy For Those Who Are Remote And Poor, Frank Barnes

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Frank Barnes, Distinguished Professor, Electrical, Computer, and Energy Engineering, University of Colorado

24 slides

Slides: Impacts Of Energy Deficits In Cooking, Illumination, Water, Sanitation, And Motive Power, Paul S. Chinowsky

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Paul Chinowsky, Director, Mortenson Center in Engineering for Developing Communities; Professor, University of Colorado

25 slides

Slides: The Green Climate Fund: Challenges And Opportunities: Some Thoughts On How The Green Climate Fund Could Close The Energy Justice Gap, Martin Hiller

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Martin Hiller, Director‐General, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP), Vienna, Austria

22 slides

Slides: Nokero: Power To The Powerless, Stephen Katsaros

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Stephen Katsaros, Inventor, Founder, and CEO, Nokero

13 slides

Slides: Session 3: Decision-Making And The Energy Poor, Andrew Yager

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Andrew Yager, United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development

33 slides

Slides: Unido: Partner For Prosperity, Kandeh K. Yumkella

2012 Energy Justice Conference and Technology Exposition (September 17-18)

Presenter: Dr. Kandeh Yumkella, Chairman, UN Energy; Director General, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)

16 slides

Roles For State Energy Regulators In Climate Change Mitigation , Brandon Hofmeister

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The construction of new power plants in the United States carries the risk of significantly contributing to global climate change. After concluding that the current federal regulatory response to climate change risks from power plants is inadequate, this Article examines three potential roles for state energy regulators to play as a bridge climate mitigation strategy until a cohesive federal policy is enacted. State energy regulators have received relatively little attention as potential climate change regulators, but they are well positioned to analyze and mitigate climate change risks from new power plants. The Article considers the advantages and drawbacks of state …

Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

This article introduces an investor-oriented framework for the evaluation of renewable energy policy, applies these newly developed criteria 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 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 …

Drafting Model Laws On Indoor Pollution For Developing And Developed Nations Workshop, July 12-13, 2012, Boulder, Colorado: Introduction, Lakshman Guruswamy

Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations (July 12-13)

11 pages.

"This Essay introduces the framework for deliberation and legislative drafting undertaken at the workshop: Drafting Model Laws on Indoor Pollution for Developing and Developed Nations on July 12-13, 2012, in Boulder, Colorado. There are a number of fundamental premises upon which the workshop was based, and this Essay refers to the most salient among them."-- Excerpted from 24 Colo. Nat. Resources, Energy & Envtl. L. Rev. 319 (2013).

Anaerobic Digestion Technology: How Agricultural Producers And The Environment Might Profit From Nuisance Lawsuits, Catherine M. H. Keske

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Agenda: A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint For The American West, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center, University Of Colorado Boulder. Renewable And Sustainable Energy Institute, Western Resource Advocates, Rocky Mountain Research Station (Fort Collins, Colo.)

A Low-Carbon Energy Blueprint for the American West (Martz Summer Conference, June 6-8)

The future of the planet may depend upon our ability to increase energy supplies even as we reduce carbon emissions. This conference will address how a low-carbon energy program might evolve with a particular focus on the American West. It will focus on the future of energy in the West--on a “managed transition” to a different energy mix, on the need to nest this effort in a framework that acknowledges interconnections, and on identifying the most salient opportunities to consider the legal, political, financial, and technical challenges.

The New Nuclear Power Generation Licensing Scheme In Its Defining Moment: A Regulatory Vessel Equipped To Support A Thriving Industry Or Drifting Towards Stormy Waters Capable Of Running The Nuclear Revival Aground?, Anna Knecht

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

This Student Note assesses Congress and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s “new” nuclear licensing scheme by way of comparison with the old, two-step process under which the industry endured an era of dormancy lasting nearly forty years. With a focus on the novel ITAAC review process, this Note argues that while the Part 52 process is superior to its predecessor, certain significant issues (articulated herein) must be resolved before the new regulatory framework can support the economic, environmental, safety, and other advantages it aims to achieve.

Lessons Unlearned: The Legal And Policy Legacy Of The Bp Deepwater Horizon Spill, Mark Davis

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

The explosion and blowout of the BP Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico dominated much of the news and public discussion during the late spring and summer of 2010. The size and scale of the blowout and its effects on people, communities, and the environment produced loud calls for deep changes in the nation’s energy and environmental laws and policies. While some things have changed, the wide ranging changes that many expected have not yet come to pass; indeed if anything the momentum has shifted to letting aggressive oil and gas development resume and to leave the fundamental …

The Andean Electricity Market: A Competition Law Analysis, Mateo Ferrero

William & Mary Environmental Law and Policy Review

The countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru) have great potential to produce clean and reliable energy. However, this potential has only been exploited to a limited extent. Network industries, such as the electricity sector, have special features that create unique challenges for both developed and developing countries seeking to adequately manage this important part of the economy. Although the member countries of the Andean Community have substantially reformed their energy industries in the past decades, this sector still requires further competition. So far, most of the efforts undertaken by these countries have neglected the possibility of …

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.

Book Review: Fuel Cycle To Nowhere: U.S. Law And Policy On Nuclear Waste, K.K. Duvivier

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Nuclear power remains controversial on many levels. On the up side, the lifecycle emissions for nuclear power are second lowest only to wind in comparison to all other primary sources of electricity generation. Nuclear power compares favorably against coal-generated electricity on additional fronts including fewer transportation impacts and before Fukushima, historically lower radiation releases than coal. Its land footprint per kilowatt hour is the smallest for any generation source, including renewables. Last, but not least, the United States has significant domestic reserves of uranium to fuel the plants. On the down side, the civilian nuclear power industry is not competitive …

Earth, Air, Water And Fire: The Classical Elements Confront Land And Energy, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

For thousands of years, the classical theory, which was considered the best science of the time and was observed my most cultures and religions of the world, held that there were four basic elements from which everything in life was constructed: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. This classical theory anchored Hinduism, Buddhism, Chinese and Japanese religions, as well as Greek philosophy. From these classical elements, all matter was derived. From the time of Aristotle to relatively recent times, this theory persisted. These classical elements were thought to be at the core of alchemy in Medieval times.

This article transposes this …

Ripening On The Vine: North Carolina's Renewable Energy And Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standard Should Be Left Unchanged Ahead Of 2012 Compliance Deadline, Robert W. Kaylor, Patrick T. Buffkin

North Carolina Central Law Review

No abstract provided.