by Bahrad Sokhansanj J.D. Candidate, Columbia Law School On February 1, 2011, a three judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals vacated a landmark Department of Energy (DOE) electricity transmission Congestion Study, together with the agency’s designation of the Mid-Atlantic and Southwest National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (NIETCs). […]
Energy
by Cullen Howe & Danielle Sugarman Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law (CCCL) has prepared a first draft of a model municipal wind siting ordinance (PDF). The model ordinance presents a framework for the adoption, implementation and enforcement of standards to promote effective and efficient use of wind […]
Gregory E. Wannier Deputy Director One result of the 2010 midterm elections was the replacement of several climate-receptive state governors with more skeptical administrations in governor mansions around the country. As a result, the continuation of many state and regional climate activities has been thrown into question. Nowhere is that […]
By Julia Ciardullo Fellow On December 29, 2010, Massachusetts released its Clean Energy and Climate Plan for 2020, which sets out an ambitious state-wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction target and lays out a framework for how the state will achieve that target. The Plan was released in compliance with […]
by Danielle Sugarman Fellow On December 16, 2010 the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted 9 to 1 to approve regulations that will establish a cap-and-trade program for greenhouse gases (GHGs) in California. This move marks a significant step in achieving obligations set under CA’s 2006 Global Warming Solutions Act […]
The Colorado Public Utility Commission (CPUC) issued formal written orders on December 15 approving two utilities’ plans, pursuant to a new state clean air law, to shut down a number of coal burning power plants across the state. Under the orders, Xcel Energy, the state’s largest power provider, will decommission […]
Daniel M. Firger Associate Director Foreign companies are buying up U.S. coal mines. In a statement on November 12, the chairman of Coal India Ltd., a state-controlled entity and the world’s largest coal producer, with a near-monopoly on Indian coal mining, confirmed that the firm was in talks with several […]
Michael B. Gerrard Andrew Sabin Professor of Professional Practice Director, Center for Climate Change Law The midterm elections on November 2 yielded significant results at the state level. As readers of this blog are aware, California voters faced a ballot measure called Proposition 23, which would have frozen implementation of […]