Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Uniting Energy And Environmental Law: Focus On Innovation, Creativity, And Economics, Inara Scott

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The State Of The Us Energy Sector, Joshua D. Rhodes, Phd

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Pennsylvania Gas: Trusts, Takings, And Judicial Temperaments, Joshua Ulan Galperin

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Turning The Tide In Coastal And Riverine Energy Infrastructure Adaptation: Can An Emerging Wave Of Litigation Advance Preparation For Climate Change?, Dena Adler

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor’S Introduction, Collin Mccarthy

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Big Horn County Electric Cooperative, Inc. V. Big Man, Brett Berntsen

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The tribal exhaustion doctrine requires that parties first exhaust available tribal court remedies before challenging tribal jurisdiction in federal court. Exactly what constitutes an exhaustion of tribal court remedies, however, remains riddled with nuance. In Big Horn County Electric Cooperative, Inc. v. Big Man, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana rejected a U.S. magistrate judge’s recommendation to remand a case to tribal court to further develop the factual record. Instead, the district court relied on federal circuit court precedent in holding that exhaustion had occurred when the tribal appellate court expressly ruled on the case’s jurisdiction …

The Carbon Tax Vacuum And The Debate About Climate Change Impacts: Emission Taxation Of Commodity Crop Production In Food System Regulation, Gabriela Steier

Pace Environmental Law Review

The scientific consensus on climate change is far ahead of U.S. policy on point. In fact, the U.S. has a legal vacuum of carbon taxation while climate change continues to impact the codependence of agriculture and the environment. As this Article shows, carbon taxes follow the polluter-pays model, levying taxes on the highest greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions—and contributions to climate change. But this is not only unsustainable; it would also undermine agricultural production and, thus, food security. This Article describes how the law can regulate climate change contributions and promote adaptation and mitigation supported through carbon taxes in the agricultural …

Planning For Excellence: Insights From An International Review Of Regulators’ Strategic Plans, Adam M. Finkel, Daniel E. Walters, Angus Corbett

Pace Environmental Law Review

What constitutes regulatory excellence? Answering this question is an indispensable first step for any public regulatory agency that is measuring, striving towards, and, ultimately, achieving excellence. One useful way to answer this question would be to draw on the broader literature on regulatory design, enforcement, and management. But, perhaps a more authentic way would be to look at how regulators themselves define excellence. However, we actually know remarkably little about how the regulatory officials who are immersed in the task of regulation conceive of their own success.

In this Article, we investigate regulators’ definitions of regulatory excellence by drawing on …

1-Click Energy: Managing Corporate Demand For Clean Power, Gina S. Warren

Maryland Law Review

Globally, more private businesses, especially Fortune 100 companies are generating their own electricity, investing in renewable energy facilities, and voluntarily purchasing renewable energy credits to cover their carbon footprints. This shift could have a significant impact on the existing energy delivery system. On the one hand, this shift shows positive momentum toward the incorporation of clean energy into a fossil fuel dominated grid. As the negative impacts of climate change accelerate around the globe, decreasing reliance on fossil fuels is certainly an important goal. On the other hand, corporate disruption of what has historically been a highly regulated public service …

Market Segmentation Vs. Subsidization: Clean Energy Credits And The Commerce Clause's Economic Wisdom, Felix Mormann

Washington Law Review

The dormant Commerce Clause has long been a thorn in the side of state policymakers. The latest battleground for the clash between federal courts and state legislatures is energy policy. In the absence of a decisive federal policy response to climate change, nearly thirty states have created a new type of securities—clean energy credits—to promote low-carbon renewable and nuclear power. As more and more of these programs come under attack for alleged violations of the dormant Commerce Clause, this Article explores the constitutional constraints on clean energy credit policies. Careful analysis of recent and ongoing litigation reveals the need for …

Market Segmentation Vs. Subsidization: Clean Energy Credits And The Commerce Clause's Economic Wisdom, Felix Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

The dormant Commerce Clause has long been a thorn in the side of state policymakers. The latest battleground for the clash between federal courts and state legislatures is energy policy. In the absence of a decisive federal policy response to climate change, nearly thirty states have created a new type of securities—clean energy credits—to promote lowcarbon renewable and nuclear power. As more and more of these programs come under attack for alleged violations of the dormant Commerce Clause, this Article explores the constitutional constraints on clean energy credit policies. Careful analysis of recent and ongoing litigation reveals the need for …

Costs And Consequences Of Wake Effects Arising From Uncoordinated Wind Energy Development, J.K. Lundquist, K.K. Duvivier, D. Kaffine, J.M. Tomaszewski

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Optimal wind farm locations require a strong and reliable wind resource and access to transmission lines. As onshore and offshore wind energy grows, preferred locations become saturated with numerous wind farms. An upwind wind farm generates ‘wake effects’ (decreases in downwind wind speeds) that undermine a downwind wind farm’s power generation and revenues. Here we use a diverse set of analysis tools from the atmospheric science, economic and legal communities to assess costs and consequences of these wake effects, focusing on a West Texas case study. We show that although wake effects vary with atmospheric conditions, they are discernible in …

President Trump, The New Chicago School And The Future Of Environmental Law And Scholarship, Sarah B. Schindler

Faculty Publications

Recent presidents including Bill Clinton, G. W. Bush, and Barack Obama have refined how environmental law has been enacted and carried out. Under President Trump, the scope of public environmental law will most certainly narrow. It seems likely that the future of environmental law will depend not upon traditional federal command-and-control legislation or executive branch maneuvering, but instead upon activating environmentalism through expanded substantive areas and innovative regulatory techniques that fall outside the existing, traditional norms of environmental law and legal scholarship. This chapter is an attempt to acknowledge this monumental change, recognizing that these barriers to traditional environmental regulation …

Measuring Brief (Fossil Creek Watchers, Inc.), Lowell J. Chandler, Nathan A. Burke

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

Measuring Brief (Enerprog, Llc), Mehrded Safvati, Joshua Smith, Gabriela S. Perez

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

Measuring Brief (Epa), Zachary Jones, Narayan Subramanian, Shravya Govindgari

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

2018 Bench Memorandum

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

2018 Competition Problem

Pace Environmental Law Review Online Companion

No abstract provided.

Energy For Metropolis, Nadia B. Ahmad

University of Miami Law Review

Throughout the past decade, municipal governments have steadily increased climate change adaptation measures, natural resource conservation programs, and clean energy initiatives. Through energy efficiency measures and renewable energy mandates, cities are poised to make significant impacts in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the mitigation of climate risks in the clean energy transition. This Article addresses municipal directives of advanced biofuels as an integral part of the clean energy transition. Existing laws and policies have critical design flaws. Specifically, the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) has proven to be burdensome and complex, producing more unintended consequences than desired outcomes. Problems …