Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Agency Genesis And The Energy Transition, Sharon B. Jacobs

Publications

Commentators and policymakers frequently propose new government agencies in response to novel or intractable problems. New agencies can refocus public attention on the problems they regulate. They can attract new talent and bypass calcified or captured channels. But they are also costly, and there is no guarantee that they will be more successful than their predecessors.

This Article examines agency genesis at the state level. In the process, it expands recent thinking about the administrative separation of powers to the states. At the federal level, setting up agency rivalries within the executive branch can be an effective tool for mitigating …

Richard Stewart's Perennial Question: "How's This Going To Work?", David Schoenbrod

Articles & Chapters

No abstract provided.

Null Climate Federalism: State Frustration Of Federal Renewable Energy Entitlements, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

Arresting rapid climate change is considered one of the most challenging issues of this century. To do so successfully, the U.S. must rapidly convert its electric power sector to operate on renewable energy. The Biden Administration pledged that the U.S. will have only clean/renewable electricity by 2035 – in these next 13 years U.S. federal tax incentives for renewable energy are scheduled to be substantially diminished or eliminated. Notwithstanding, there is one fundamental federal entitlement of rights for renewable power development.

The Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act (“PURPA”) statute was enacted by President Carter as the U.S. response to an …

Environmental Law, Disrupted By Covid-19, Rebecca Bratspies, Vanessa Casado Peréz, Robin Kundis Craig, Lissa Griffin, Sarah Krakoff, Keith Hirokawa, Katrina Kuh, Jessica Owley, Melissa Powers, Shannon Roesler, Jonathan Rosenbloom, J. B. Ruhl, Erin Ryan, David Takacs

Publications

For over a year, the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about systemic racial injustice have highlighted the conflicts and opportunities currently faced by environmental law. Scientists uniformly predict that environmental degradation, notably climate change, will cause a rise in diseases, disproportionate suffering among communities already facing discrimination, and significant economic losses. In this Article, members of the Environmental Law Collaborative examine the legal system’s responses to these crises, with the goal of framing opportunities to reimagine environmental law. The Article is excerpted from their book Environmental Law, Disrupted, to be published by ELI Press later this year.

Presidential Progress On Climate Change: Will The Courts Interfere With What Needs To Be Done To Save Our Planet?, Michael B. Gerrard

Faculty Scholarship

The Biden Administration is undertaking numerous actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition away from fossil fuels as part of the fight against climate change. Many of these actions are likely to be challenged in court. This paper describes the various legal theories that are likely to be used in these challenges, assesses their prospects of success given the current composition of the Supreme Court, and suggests ways to minimize the risks.

Industrial Policy And Local Content Rules In Us Energy Policy, Zachary Sturman, Timothy Meyer

Faculty Scholarship

The United States (US) has a long history of using local content requirements (LCRs) – laws, regulations, or governmental measures that condition a benefit, often financial support, on the use of a certain percentage of inputs from the local jurisdiction – to promote the development of favored domestic industries. The energy sector, as well as related infrastructure industries, have been no exception. Historically, the US has used LCRs and similar measures to promote the development of fossil fuel industries. More recent interest by policymakers in the US have spurred the use of local content rules tied to pipeline construction, as …