Ferc’S Expansive Authority To Transform The Electric Grid,
2016
University of Richmond
Ferc’S Expansive Authority To Transform The Electric Grid, Joel B. Eisen
Law Faculty Publications
Using an unprecedented historical analysis of over 100 years of law dating to the Progressive Era, this Article concludes that the Supreme Court’s landmark decision in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) v. Electric Power Supply Association properly asserted that FERC has ample authority to pursue broad environmental and energy goals in transforming the electric grid. Building on the Court’s finding that FERC may regulate “practices” that “directly affect” rates in wholesale electricity markets, the analysis develops a detailed standard that is consistent with interpretation of regulatory statutes in each of three distinct eras: the Progressive Era, the era of regulation …
Checks, Balances, And Nuclear Waste,
2016
Notre Dame Law School
Checks, Balances, And Nuclear Waste, Bruce R. Huber
Journal Articles
The Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1982 established a process for siting and constructing repositories for nuclear waste. When Nevada’s Yucca Mountain emerged as a likely repository site, that state’s officials and allies exercised the numerous political and legal checks afforded by the Act and appear, at least for the time being, to have defeated the selection. But Nevada’s victory may well be the nation’s loss. In the absence of a national waste repository, nuclear power plant operators have no choice but to store spent nuclear fuel on site, where it presents a number of risks not contemplated by the …
A Comparison Between Shale Gas In China And Unconventional Fuel Development In The United States: Water, Environmental Protection, And Sustainable Development,
2016
Brooklyn Law School
A Comparison Between Shale Gas In China And Unconventional Fuel Development In The United States: Water, Environmental Protection, And Sustainable Development, Paolo D. Farah, Riccardo Tremolada
Brooklyn Journal of International Law
China is believed to have the world's largest exploitable reserves of shale gas, although several legal, regulatory, environmental, and investment-related issues will likely restrain its exploitation. China's capacity to face these hurdles successfully and produce commercial shale gas will have a crucial impact on the regional gas market and on China’s energy mix, as Beijing strives to decrease reliance on imported oil and coal, and, at the same time, tries to meet growing energy demand and maintain a certain level of resource autonomy. The development of the unconventional natural gas extractive industry will also provide China with further negotiating power …
Ferc V. Epsa,
2016
Vanderbilt University Law School
Ferc V. Epsa, Jim Rossi, Jon Wellinghoff
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
This Essay explores the implications of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in FERC .v. EPSA for state regulation of customer energy resource initiatives, such as net metering policies for rooftop solar and energy storage programs. Unlike many past judicial decision that fixate on a jurisdictional "bright line," EPSA does not define a turf for state policymaking as beyond FERC's reach but instead recognizes how state policies operate adjacent to FERC's regulation of practices affecting wholesale rates. As the first Supreme Court case to explicitly recognize cooperative federalism programs in the regulation of modern energy markets under the FPA, ESPA is …
In Defense Of Ecosystem Services,
2016
Vanderbilt University Law School
In Defense Of Ecosystem Services, J.B. Ruhl
Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications
The path of ecosystem services as a theme in environmental law and policy spans my practice (1982-1994) and academic (1994-present) careers. The importance of nature to human well-being seems so obvious one would think it has been front and center in environmental law and policy since the beginning, but, until recently, that has not been the case. Lately, however, the ecosystem services framework has catapulted this theme into prominence, if not dominance, in environmental discourse.
When A State Does The "Circuit": State Administrative Discretion At The Jurisdictional Precipice,
2016
Suffolk University Law School
When A State Does The "Circuit": State Administrative Discretion At The Jurisdictional Precipice, Steven Ferrey
Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works
California raised its renewable energy requirement, already the most ambitious of all the contiguous 48 states, to require 50% of all electric power generated by 2030 to be generated from renewable energy. This now is the most aggressive renewable energy standard of any major economy in the world. California's low carbon fuel standard, eventually upheld by the Ninth Circuit with a dissent, appears to be disconnected with the last half century of Supreme Court Commerce Clause jurisprudence. After this decision, as noted by a member of the Ninth Circuit, California may now be given free license to impose carbon tariffs …
The Energy Prosumer,
2016
University of Colorado Law School
The Energy Prosumer, Sharon B. Jacobs
Publications
Decentralization is becoming a dominant trend in many industries, and the electricity industry is no exception. Increasing numbers of energy consumers generate their own electricity and/or provide essential grid services such as storage, efficiency, and demand response. This Article offers a positive account of the emergence of these new energy actors, which it calls "energy prosumers. " It then frames several doctrinal and procedural puzzles that prosumers create, including jurisdictional puzzles, distributional concerns, and democratic challenges. Ultimately, it concludes that prosumers can be a positive disruptive force in the electricity industry if courts and regulators can manage these challenges effectively. …
The Regulatory Contract In The Marketplace,
2016
Vanderbilt University Law School
The Regulatory Contract In The Marketplace, Emily Hammond, David B. Spence
Vanderbilt Law Review
For decades, energy policy has struggled to reconcile two distinct visions for the future: the first seeks ever-more-competitive, efficient, and dynamic electricity markets, while the second seeks an ever-greener mix of electricity generation sources. Caught within this push-and-pull dynamic is the regulatory contract--a nineteenth-century concept that stands more for ordered regulation than competitive markets. This Article examines how piecemeal pursuit of two energy visions has produced mismatches between rapidly evolving markets and governance institutions that cannot change as quickly. To better evaluate these mismatches, the Article develops a framework that accounts not just for market operation and environmental externalities, but …
Coalbed Methane Development In Wyoming And Montana: The Potential Impacts Of Montana V. Wyoming, Coalbed Methane Development, And Water Quality On The Tribes Of The Powder River And Wind River Basins,
2016
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Coalbed Methane Development In Wyoming And Montana: The Potential Impacts Of Montana V. Wyoming, Coalbed Methane Development, And Water Quality On The Tribes Of The Powder River And Wind River Basins, Mallory J. Irwinsky
American Indian Law Review
No abstract provided.
The Bureau Of Land Management's Finalized Hydraulic Fracturing Rule On Tribal Lands: A Responsibility Or Intrusion?,
2016
University of Oklahoma College of Law
The Bureau Of Land Management's Finalized Hydraulic Fracturing Rule On Tribal Lands: A Responsibility Or Intrusion?, Kerstie B. Moran
American Indian Law Review
No abstract provided.
Lessons Learned: Avoiding The Hardships Of Tribal Mineral Leasing In The Development Of Oklahoma Tribal Wind Energy,
2016
University of Oklahoma College of Law
Lessons Learned: Avoiding The Hardships Of Tribal Mineral Leasing In The Development Of Oklahoma Tribal Wind Energy, Wyatt Swinford
American Indian Law Review
No abstract provided.
Eminent Domain And Serrated Power,
2016
Suffolk University Law School
Eminent Domain And Serrated Power, Steven Ferrey
Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works
This article provides an examination of the legal issues affecting siting of new wind projects and the ability of states to use preemptive state powers to preempt local zoning and land-use issues to circumvent local opposition to wind power siting, with detailed case studies of law in different states.
Hey America! Let's Get Smart: The Need For A Reliable Modern Smart Electrical Grid Resistance To Cyberattacks,
2015
Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law
Hey America! Let's Get Smart: The Need For A Reliable Modern Smart Electrical Grid Resistance To Cyberattacks, Richard J. Kisielowski Ii
Catholic University Journal of Law and Technology
No abstract provided.
Impact Of Executive Order 13211 On Environmental Regulation: An Empirical Study,
2015
CUNY School of Public Health
Impact Of Executive Order 13211 On Environmental Regulation: An Empirical Study, Elizabeth Ann Glass Geltman
Publications and Research
A great deal has been written about the Energy Policy Act of 2005 exempting oil and gas operations using hydraulic fracturing from the purview of certain federal environmental laws. Far less attention has been paid to George W. Bush’s Executive Order 13211 (EO 13211), entitled “Actions Concerning Regulations that Significantly Affect Energy Supply, Distribution or Use.” The executive order requires federal agencies to evaluate the impact of federal regulations on “supply, distribution and use of energy.” This study examined the impact of EO 13211 on United States environmental and conservation regulations proposed and promulgated by federal agencies. The study found …
Wind Power Growing Pains,
2015
University of Denver
Wind Power Growing Pains, K.K. Duvivier
Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship
The United States loves wind power. Since 2004 alone, U.S. wind capacity has multiplied almost ten times — from about 6.7 gigawatts in 2004 to over 65.9 gigawatts by 2014. This growth in generation potential has been accompanied by a growth in the size of the turbines that deliver that power — from approximately 56 feet in the 1980s to over 300 feet in 2015. As the turbines and meterological or met towers push up into non-surface atmospheric weather layers and navigable airspace over 200 feet, new wake efficiency and competing legal concerns arise.
Mitigating Climate Change By Zoning For Solar Energy Systems: Embracing Clean Energy Technology In Zoning’S Centennial Year,
2015
Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University
Mitigating Climate Change By Zoning For Solar Energy Systems: Embracing Clean Energy Technology In Zoning’S Centennial Year, John R. Nolon
Elisabeth Haub School of Law Faculty Publications
Adopting land use regulations that encourage solar and other clean energy systems is an essential strategy for promoting clean power and one that focuses on the essential role that local governments play in mitigating climate change. This article explores efforts at the state and local level to reform zoning and land use regulations to permit, encourage, require, and incentivize rapidly-evolving clean energy systems, particularly solar, that, in the aggregate, have the ability to significantly increase power generation and decrease carbon emissions. The article illustrates how zoning, as it approaches its 100th anniversary, is encrusted with provisions that prohibit or discourage …
Energy-Environment Policy Alignments,
2015
University of Washington School of Law
Energy-Environment Policy Alignments, Todd S. Aagaarad
Washington Law Review
Energy law focuses on making energy widely available at reasonable cost, and environmental law focuses on preventing pollution. As a result of these differences in their respective orientations, the two fields often work incoherently and even in conflict. Historically, federal energy law and environmental law have attempted to manage their interrelationships by imposing negative constraints on each other: Energy policies of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must comply with requirements set forth in environmental statutes, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) statutes contain energy-related requirements and exemptions. More recently, however, FERC and EPA have begun developing policies that create …
The Sun Doesn't Always Shine In Ohio: Reevaluating Renewable Portfolio Standards In Light Of Changed Conditions,
2015
University of Michigan Law School
The Sun Doesn't Always Shine In Ohio: Reevaluating Renewable Portfolio Standards In Light Of Changed Conditions, Jeffrey M. Smith
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
In 2014, with the signing of Senate Bill 310 (S.B. 310), Ohio became the first state to put a temporary “freeze” on its renewable portfolio standard (RPS) and energy efficiency mandates. The law has generated nationwide attention and been criticized as a step back in the state’s clean energy policy. This Note examines the central justifications for the passage of S.B. 310, challenging conventional wisdom that the law does not serve the interests of Ohio citizens. After the passage of Ohio’s RPS in 2008, the economic and energy landscape within the state changed dramatically, due in large part to technological …
Public Trust Doctrine Implications Of Electricity Production,
2015
University of Delaware
Public Trust Doctrine Implications Of Electricity Production, Lance Noel, Jeremy Firestone
Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law
The public trust doctrine is a powerful legal tool in property law that requires the sovereign, as a trustee, to protect and manage natural resources. Historically, the public trust doctrine has been used in relationship to navigable waterways and wildlife management. Despite electricity production’s impact on those two areas and the comparatively smaller impacts of renewable energy, electricity production has garnered very little public trust doctrine attention. This Article examines how electricity production implicates the public trust doctrine, primarily through the lens of four states—California, Wisconsin, Hawaii, and New Jersey—and how it would potentially apply to each state’s electricity planning …
Energy-Environment Policy Alignments,
2015
Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law
Energy-Environment Policy Alignments, Todd S. Aagaard
Faculty Publications
Energy law focuses on making energy widely available at reasonable cost, and environmental law focuses on preventing pollution. As a result of these differences in their respective orientations, the two fields often work incoherently and even in conflict. Historically, federal energy law and environmental law have attempted to manage their interrelationships by imposing negative constraints on each other: Energy policies of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) must comply with requirements set forth in environmental statutes, and the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) statutes contain energy-related requirements and exemptions. More recently, however, FERC and EPA have begun developing policies that create …
