The ongoing trade disputes between the U.S. and China have escalated in recent weeks, with both nations filing new requests for consultations through the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO). While these disputes span a broad range of issues and products, renewable energy technologies have been one […]
Solar Power
25 posts
By Michael Babakitis, Legal Intern Governor Chris Christie signed a bill on Monday, July 23rd, that will require New Jersey’s utilities to procure 2.05% of their electricity from solar projects in 2014 (.5% more than would have otherwise been required) and to procure 4.1% of their electricity from solar projects […]
By Katee Kline, Legal Intern On July 24, the Department of the Interior released a final programmatic environmental impact statement (PEIS) identifying prime areas for solar development, approving seventeen large-scale energy projects on public lands, and outlining the procedure for approval of similar projects. The PEIS, authored by the DOI’s Bureau […]
By Julia Ciardullo Fellow This is the third and final blog that discusses some of the most notable recent legal developments in the field of intellectual property law and green technology. In two prior posts, we discussed (1) the expiration of the USPTO’s Green Technology Pilot Program and the enactment […]
Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law (CCCL) has prepared a first draft of a model small-scale solar-siting ordinance. The model ordinance offers a framework that can enable municipalities to implement and enforce the effective and efficient use of solar energy resources. The ordinance would govern all new solar […]
by Daniel M. Firger Associate Director Note: a longer version of this article first appeared in BNA’s Daily Environment Report (No. 133, 12 July 2011). Climate change is poised to become the next big thing in international trade law, but not for the reason most experts have long predicted. The […]
Laura Mulry Fellow April 2011 was an eventful month for massive solar projects in California and their unlikely opponent: the desert tortoise. As climate change, overpopulation, and development place ever more plant and animal species at risk of extinction, prominent environmental groups, Native Americans, and local residents have brought a […]
By Danielle Sugarman Fellow Recently New York has taken a step forward in ramping up its solar energy commitment. In February of 2011 New York Assembly member Steven Englebright (D), along with Energy Committee Chair Assembly member Kevin Cahill (D), introduced The Solar Industry Development and Jobs Act of 2011 […]