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 […]
Clean Energy
273 posts
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 […]
On September 21, 2022, the New York Times published an essay by Gabriel Popkin titled “Are There Better Places to Put Large Solar Farms Than These Forests?” Popkin describes a recently approved 4,500-acre solar project in Virginia that will remove approximately 3,500 acres of forest and asks whether such projects […]
On September 22, 2022, the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law and the Columbia Climate School co-hosted a Climate Week NYC webinar on “Siting Renewables in New York: Ambitious Climate Goals, a New Siting Process, and How It Is Going.” This blog post will summarize the highlights of the event, […]
By Romany M. Webb The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has been described as being “all carrot” and “no stick” but that is not entirely correct. It is certainly true that the IRA uses “carrots” – principally in the form of tax credits – to incentivize actions that will reduce greenhouse […]
By Romany M. Webb At Tuesday’s signing ceremony, President Biden described the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) as “one of the most significant laws in our history.” Political rhetoric aside, its passage is a major achievement. After decades of inaction on climate change, the U.S. Congress has finally taken a step […]
On June 30, 2022, the State of California joined the State of New York in adopting legislation that allows state authorities to bypass local laws in permitting large-scale renewable energy projects. California’s new law, AB 205, gives the California Energy Commission (the “commission”) authority to issue a certificate for any: […]