Renewable energy projects have encountered significant opposition in at least 45 states. In addition, at least 228 local laws, ordinances and policies have been enacted in 35 states to restrict renewable energy projects, according to a report, Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States, issued on May 31 […]
Clean Energy
270 posts
Last Thursday, May 18, a state appellate court affirmed the trial court’s dismissal of Town of Copake v. New York State Office of Renewable Energy Siting, a lawsuit challenging the state’s March 2021 regulations for siting and permitting major renewable energy facilities. While the appellate court’s decision to uphold the […]
A major bottleneck in the deployment of renewable energy systems is the lack of adequate transmission capacity. According to recent studies cited by the U.S. Department of Energy, the United States will “need to expand transmission systems by 60% by 2030 and may need to triple those systems by 2050” […]
Following the 2007 landmark Supreme Court case Massachusetts v. EPA, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has regulated greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles under the Clean Air Act. These emissions standards were significantly loosened in the last year of the Trump Administration. In 2021 the Biden Administration […]
On January 27, 2023, the Sabin Center submitted comments on the draft Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5). Those comments, which are available here, highlighted key gaps in NCA5 and suggested additions and changes to address those gaps. This blog post describes the purpose and scope of the National Climate Assessment […]
In March 2021, the Biden Administration announced a target of deploying 30,000 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind capacity by 2030, enough energy to power approximately 10 million homes. As of May 31, 2022, only 42 MW of offshore wind capacity was in operation, less than 1% of the Administration’s 30,000-MW […]
By Romany M. Webb Last Thursday, December 15, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) seeking comments on proposed changes to its regulations governing the siting of interstate electric transmission lines. FERC is proposing the changes to implement section 40105 of the 2021 Infrastructure […]
On December 2, 2022, the Renewable Energy Legal Defense Initiative (RELDI), in collaboration with the law firm Sidley Austin LLP, filed an amicus brief on behalf of five New York farmers and three community groups urging a New York appellate court to uphold the State’s new regulations for siting renewable […]