Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Regulating Electricity-Market Manipulation: A Proposal For A New Regulatory Regime To Proscribe All Forms Of Manipulation, Matthew Evans

Michigan Law Review

Congress broadly authorized the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) to protect consumers of electricity from all forms of manipulation in the electricity markets, but the regulations that FERC passed are not nearly so expansive. As written, FERC’s Anti-Manipulation Rule covers only instances of manipulation involving fraud. This narrow scope is problematic, however, because electricity markets can also be manipulated by nonfraudulent activity. Thus, in order to reach all forms of manipulation, FERC is forced to interpret and apply its Anti-Manipulation Rule in ways that strain the plain language and accepted understanding of the rule and therefore constitute an improper extension …

Chernobyl's Legal Fallout - The Convention On Early Notification Of A Nuclear Accident, Sharon Mcbrayer

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Zoning For Solar Energy: Resource Guide, Jessica A. Bacher, John R. Nolon

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

This document is designed to help New York State localities amend zoning and other land use regulations to permit the development of solar energy systems in their jurisdictions. While it applies to many types of solar energy systems, this resource guide focuses primarily on solar electric or photovoltaic (PV) systems. It begins by describing the local government’s role in land use planning and regulation. It then discusses the importance of defining all solar energy systems that a community wants to allow in existing zoning districts and shows how to incorporate those definitions in the zoning ordinance. Next, the guide explains …

Natural Resources Law: Private Rights And The Public Interest, Eric Freyfogle, Michael Blumm, Blake Hudson

Contributions to Books

This casebook offers a view of natural resources law rich in history, yet exposing students to the complexities of practicing natural resources law in the 21st century. Given that the focus of most Natural Resources Law casebooks is public lands and public law (often at the federal level), this casebook is unique in its primary focus on natural resource conflicts on private lands and its significant focus on private law (though public law is also a focus). While we include chapters on federal public lands and areas of federal primacy like wetlands regulation and endangered species protection, our focus is …

Defining Power Property Expectations, Michael Pappas

Faculty Scholarship

To date, most government efforts to promote distributed solar energy have involved incentivizing property owners to undertake voluntary installations. However, that approach is changing, as government actors move to increase distributed solar generation capacity not only through incentive programs, but also through requirements. Such a change from voluntary to mandatory measures represents a seismic shift in the approach to encouraging distributed solar generation, and it may raise objections about interference with property expectations.

The Comment addresses those concerns by exploring the nature of property expectations in the energy context and analyzing how courts and legislatures have balanced property expectations against …

The Rise Of Renewables And Distributed Generation In Minnesota, Jacob B. Shoop

William Mitchell Law Review

No abstract provided.

The Democratization Of Energy, Joseph P. Tomain

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

The electricity industry is changing in dramatic ways.Most significantly, as demonstrated by the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan, the country is witnessing the merger of energy and environmental regulation. Historically, energy regulation was driven by the need to produce more power for economic growth. By contrast, environmental regulation attended to the pollution of the environment. Production of energy depends upon the use of natural resources, and throughout the fuel cycle from extraction and transportation to the burning and disposal of those resources, the environment is directly affected. Most dramatically, greenhouse gas emissions present climate change challenges. In order to effectively …

A Promise To Pay Money If Transferred Land Is Used For Identified Energy-Related Activity: Can Successors Of The Promisor Be Bound?, Rex J. Zedalis

Tulsa Law Review

No abstract provided.

Land Use Planning For Solar Energy: Resource Guide, Jessica A. Bacher, John R. Nolon, Tiffany Zezula

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

This document was created to help New York State localities develop and adopt solar friendly policies and plans. It begins by presenting the local government’s role in land use planning and regulation and introduces common characteristics of “solar friendly” communities. The resource then describes how municipalities should begin a solar energy initiative through an official policy statement that provides support for solar energy and that authorizes a task force to shepherd the process, appropriate studies, training programs for staff and board members, inter-municipal partnerships, and outside funding sources. Next, the document explains how municipalities should engage the entire community in …

Microgrids & District Energy: Pathways To Sustainable Urban Development, Dan Leonhardt, Tom Bourgeois, Brad Bradford, Jordan Gerow, Nick Martin, Laxmi Rao

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

A microgrid is an energy system specifically designed to meet some of the energy needs of a group of buildings, a campus, or an entire community. It can include local facilities that generate electricity, heating, and/or cooling; store energy; distribute the energy generated; and manage energy consumption intelligently and in real time. Microgrids enable economies of scale that facilitate local production of energy in ways that can advance cost reduction, sustainability, economic development, and resilience goals. As they often involve multiple stakeholders, and may encompass numerous distinct property boundaries, municipal involvement is often a key factor for successful implementation.

This …

Charting The Course For Energy Efficiency In New York: Lessons From Existing Programs, John Bowie, David Gahl, Nick Martin, Sam Swanson

Environmental Law Program Publications @ Haub Law

This report examines the performance of the existing suite of energy efficiency efforts run by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority and the state’s investor owned utilities. The latest data shows that through 2014 EEPS program administrators had achieved 79 percent of their to-date savings goals.

The report focuses on the best ways to transition from the EEPS program model to the emerging REV model. Reviewing publicly available information, this analysis takes stock of what the EEPS has achieved and calls for a REV planning and delivery program that builds upon lessons learned from decades of past …

Clogging The Pipeline: Exploring The D.C. Circuit's Improper Segmentation Analysis In Delaware Riverkeeper Network V. Ferc, Mary-Kaitlin E. Rigney

American University Law Review

Technological advancement in drilling techniques, primarily hydraulic fracturing, has provided access to previously unreachable natural gas reserves. Much of this increase in natural gas production is derived from the Marcellus Shale, a shale formation that spans Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and New York. This surge in natural gas production has prompted natural gas pipeline companies to upgrade their pipeline networks. Pipeline companies must apply for certificates of public convenience and necessity from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and, if approved, perform an environmental evaluation, as required by the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). In examining the environmental impacts of …

Regulation Of Hydraulic Fracturing, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 271 (2015), David Callies

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Illinois’S Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act: A Successful Compromise, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 315 (2015), Jennifer Cassel

UIC Law Review

This article briefly discusses the history of legislative action and negotiations that led up to the negotiation and promulgation of the Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act (the Act) in June 2013. It also summarizes and discusses numerous provisions in the Act that were of particular interest to environmental groups engaged in negotiating the Act, as well as the Act’s implementing regulations finalized in November 2014. Finally, it provides a brief discussion of the status of fracking activity in Illinois right now and a forecast for the near future.

The Role Of Natural Gas In The Clean Power Plan, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 325 (2015), Lincoln Davies, Victoria Luman

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Asking The Right Questions About The Future Of Shale Gas, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 377 (2015), John Dernbach

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Big Talk And Little Action On Renewable Energy, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 571 (2015), Rachael Salcido

UIC Law Review

The United States has been in pursuit of a conflicting objective—pursuing an “all of the above” energy policy while trying to reduce emissions that drive climate change. As the United States pursues climate mitigation objectives, renewable energy must be built out in every region of the country. This article explores the tension between renewable energy development and its visible conflicts with land and wildlife conservation and environmental protection goals. While it is certain that climate change will bring devastating harms to the planet, the adoption of an aggressive renewable energy build-out will also have environmental impacts. Managing these impacts is …

Fracking: The Unconventional Energy Response To Climate Change: Implications For The Real Estate Industry, 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 449 (2015), Celeste Hammond

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Underbalanced Drilling: Can It Solve The Economic, Environmental And Regulatory Taking Problems Associated With Fracking? 49 J. Marshall L. Rev. 511 (2015), Richard Roddewig, W. James Hughes

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

A Primer: Air And Water Environmental Quality Standards In The United State, Jason J. Czarnezki, Siu Tip Lam, Nadia B. Ahmad

Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.