Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Opposition To Renewable Energy Facilities In The United States, Romany M. Webb, Ivonne Norman

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

For the first time in nearly 2 decades, the United States is seeing rapid growth in electricity demand, driven by the data center boom as well as expanding electrification. Total electricity use in the United States reached a record high of 4,430 terawatt hours (TWh) in 2025 — almost 3 percent above 2024 levels — and is expected to continue growing at a similar rate through 2050. Meeting this increased demand, while continuing to advance action on climate change, will require a massive ramp up in renewable energy development. Notable progress was made in 2025, with utility-scale solar generation in …

Rebutting 38 False Claims About Solar, Wind, Electric Vehicles, And Battery Storage, Andrew Kieffer

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law

Achieving the United States’ ambitious emissions reduction goals depends in large part on the rapid adoption of wind and solar energy and the electrification of consumer vehicles. However, misinformation and coordinated disinformation about renewable energy is widespread and threatens to undermine the transition. In this report, the Sabin Center identifies and examines 38 of the most pervasive false claims about solar energy, wind energy, and electric vehicles, with the aim of promoting a more informed discussion.

Masthead

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Table Of Contents

Seattle University Law Review

No abstract provided.

Converting Buildings Is Hard: Why Seattle’S Municipal Government Should Streamline Commercial-To-Residential Conversions, Tyler M. King

Seattle University Law Review

The conversion of commercial buildings into housing is a promising solution to the growing housing crisis in many urban areas. However, despite its potential benefits, the process of repurposing commercial spaces is often stymied by complex zoning codes, high conversion costs, and bureaucratic hurdles. This Article argues that the local and state governments in Seattle should adopt more streamlined policies and offer greater incentives to developers to facilitate these conversions. By reforming zoning regulations and providing targeted financial support, municipalities can reduce the barriers to conversion and unlock the potential of underutilized commercial properties. This article examines the legal and …

Getting Money Out Of Politics By Putting Money Into Politics: A Few Modest Proposals To Reform Seattle’S Democracy Voucher Program, Decker O’Donnell

Seattle University Law Review

Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program offers an unconventional response to the growing influence of money in American elections: rather than restricting political spending, it seeks to amplify the participation of ordinary voters by providing publicly funded vouchers that residents may assign to participating candidates. This Article examines the program’s development, operation, and constitutional foundation within the modern campaign-finance framework established by Buckley v. Valeo and subsequent Supreme Court decisions. It argues that democracy vouchers provide a constitutionally viable means of broadening participation in campaign financing while mitigating the influence of wealthy donors. The Article identifies two weaknesses in the current system: …

Legal Malpractice In Washington: Use Of The Rules Of Professional Conduct, Angelo Tadrous

Seattle University Law Review

Legal malpractice claims are difficult to prove. They are difficult to prove because many jurisdictions require that a plaintiff prove that, but for the lawyer’s misconduct, the client would have fared better. Thus, in a malpractice suit, a plaintiff must try a case within a case. Despite this difficulty, many jurisdictions prohibit the use of the Rules of Professional Conduct when litigating a malpractice case. Washington State is one of these jurisdictions. The Washington Supreme Court held in Hizey v. Carpenter that the Rules of Professional Conduct may not be referred to during trial. This Note argues that this prohibition …

Who Decides The Dead? Interpreting Washington’S Disposition Of Remains Statute, Wyatt Young

Seattle University Law Review

Washington’s disposition-of-remains statute, RCW 68.50.160, is designed to honor a decedent’s expressed wishes regarding the control and disposition of their body after death. Yet recent litigation reveals a critical gap between the statute’s intent-centered design and its practical enforceability. In Larotonda v. Blackburn, a trial court acknowledged that irreparable harm would occur if a decedent’s burial wishes were ignored but nonetheless denied relief on the grounds that the individual designated to carry out those wishes lacked standing. The result was a legal paradox: a statute that recognizes decedent autonomy in theory but withholds any meaningful mechanism for its enforcement …

Machine Learning For Predictive Energy And Emissions Modeling Of Vehicles And Power Grids In The United States, S M Tanvir Faysal Alam Chowdhoury

Dissertations

The environmental benefits of electric vehicle (EV) adoption depend on more than replacing internal combustion engine vehicles with electric powertrains. EV adoption reshapes electricity demand, interacts with regional generation mixes, and influences travel behavior and congestion, creating a coupled transportation-energy system in which vehicle and power-plant emissions must be evaluated together. This dissertation develops machine-learning frameworks for predicting energy consumption and emissions from vehicles and power grids under rising EV adoption. The first component forecasts grid emissions from EV charging. Using simulation data from NREL's Cambium database, a Prophet-based time-series framework predicts carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emission rates …

Teaching Old Statutes New Tricks: Towards Equitable Participation In Transportation Act Section 4(F) And Nhpa Section 106, Laura Mott

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Drawing A Line In The Mud: The Fifth Circuit's Narrow Reading Of Louisiana's Infrastructure Trespass Statute In White Hat V. Murrill, Andrew J. Lloyd

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Dishwashers And Dicta: The Fifth Circuit's Not-So-Quiet Attack On Doe Authority In Louisiana V. United States Department Of Energy, Robert G. Torpey

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

Pengabaian Hak Cipta Musik Dalam Pelatihan Algoritma Artificial Intelligence: Analisis Penggandaan Karya Dan Implikasi Hak Moral Pencipta, Adi Jaya, Reni B. Setianingrum

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

The development of Artificial Intelligence in the music industry raises new legal challenges within copyright law, particulary regarding the use of copyrighted musical works as training data for AI algorithms, AI training processes typically involve digital reproduction, dataset storage, and musical pattern extraction, often conducted without consent or attribution, thereby posing risks to the protection of authors moral rights. This article examines whether AI training activities ca be legally classified as reproduction under Indonesia’s Copyright Law (Law No. 28 of 2014) and analyzes their implications for the protection of moral rights. Using a normative legal research method with statutory, conceptual, …

Kedudukan Hukum Perjanjian Jual Beli Tanah Ulayat Dalam Sistem Hukum Perdata Indonesia, Yeni Oktafia

Jurnal Hukum & Pembangunan

Under Article 1457 of the Indonesian Civil Code, a sale and purchase agreement creates reciprocal rights and obligations between the parties. In Indonesian land law practice, however, transactions involving customary land (tanah ulayat) present legal complexities due to its communal nature and governance by indigenous law communities, coupled with the absence of explicit regulation in the Civil Code and the plurality of customary law systems. This research examines the legal position and juridical implications of tanah ulayat sale and purchase agreements within Indonesian civil law while acknowledging the continued applicability of customary law. Employing a normative legal research method with …

Sample Article, Rhea Viewer

Journal of Environmental & Energy Law

This is my abstract.

Foreword, Adam Fortier-Brown

Maine Law Review

Access to legal services in America has emerged as one of the most pressing structural challenges facing the legal community. As attorneys increasingly concentrate in metropolitan areas, large areas are left with few practicing attorneys and challenging prospects of attracting many more. The consequences of this challenge reach across nearly every aspect of life in these communities—from housing and family stability, to starting or winding down businesses, and critically, to the constitutional guarantees that attach when someone is charged with a crime. Yet, these challenges have also generated a period of genuine creativity and collaboration between communities and different institutions. …

Alternative Marine Fuels And Mrv Liability Under Unclos Part Xii, Andrey Chernov

Ocean and Coastal Law Journal

Shipping’s decarbonization depends not only on adopting alternative fuels but also on the reliability of the monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems that underpin compliance. Ammonia, hydrogen, methanol, and liquefied natural gas (LNG) each introduce distinctive risks of error at the stages of certification, custody transfer, onboard measurement, and verification. At the same time, maritime law is increasingly data-driven. The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Energy Efficiency Existing Ship Index (EEXI) and Carbon Intensity Indicator (CII) depend on reported fuel-use data, while the European Union’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) and FuelEU Maritime Regulation impose direct financial penalties for inaccurate reporting. This …

Reimagining International Investment Law For The Age Of Minerals, Taylor Nchako

Washington and Lee Law Review

New technologies––from artificial intelligence (AI) and electric vehicles to medical devices and consumer electronics––demand an ever-increasing amount of minerals like lithium, cobalt, and copper. The United States requires these aptly named “critical” minerals to develop AI infrastructure, advance the clean energy transition, and remain economically competitive. As technology continues to advance at an astonishing pace, the U.S. has grown increasingly interested in securing critical minerals from sources in Africa. To obtain critical minerals, the U.S. must utilize investment treaties in its business dealings with African countries. At the same time, international investment law has garnered increased attention due to a …

Agri‑Photovoltaics In Poland’S Energy Transition – Untapped Potential?, Marcin Gronowski

Studia i Materiały Wydział Zarządzania Uniwersytet Warszawski

Objective: The aim of this study is to identify and assess the legal barriers hindering the implementation of agrovoltaics as a technology that enables the dual use of agricultural land for electricity generation whilst maintaining agricultural production, and thereby to identify the legislative changes required to unlock its transformative potential. The objective set takes into account the feasibility of implementing energy policy in the area of photovoltaic development, whilst balancing the need to protect agricultural land and the principle of sustainable development.

Methodology: The analysis was conducted using dogmatic and legal‑theoretical methods for the interpretation of legal norms, as well …

Puhca 2.0, Joshua C. Macey

Utah Law Review

Many electric utilities today are vertically integrated and own both rate regulated (transmission and distribution) and competitive (generation) affiliates. This structure gives them incentives to make investments that favor their affiliated generators and shift risk onto captive ratepayers. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state public utility commissions have adopted a variety of rules to address these concerns, including limits on affiliate transactions and functional unbundling requirements. Unfortunately, these requirements have failed to prevent utilities from using their control over grid infrastructure to benefit affiliates that participate in competitive markets.

This Article therefore calls for a structural solution: a …