State public utility commissions (PUCs) could make major progress toward achieving energy efficiency if they utilized the tools available to them, according to a study released August 14 by Columbia Law School’s Center for Climate Change Law. The report, “Public Utilities Commissions & Energy Efficiency: A Handbook of Legal & Regulatory Tools […]
by Irene Shulman, Intern Climate change has the potential to affect the availability and affordability of insurance across most major insurance categories. Regulation changes, resource cost and availability, and frequency of natural disasters will impact both insurers and policyholders, and thus, are important factors to assess. The National Association of […]
by Casey Graetz, Intern On August 7 the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) issued an official memorandum and order to suspend final licensing decisions on new licenses and on license renewals for nuclear power plants. This action by the NRC does not affect the agency’s review of license applications, and only […]
By Sarah Goldmuntz, Intern The debate about zoning of natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing has intensified with a recent decision by a Pennsylvania appellate court that struck down crucial parts of the law known as Act 13. The law would have required that drilling, waste water pits and pipelines […]
By Erin Parlar, Legal Intern Enrique Pena Nieto’s pending ascendancy to the presidency in Mexico has raised questions concerning his stance on climate change legislation recently enacted by current President Felipe Calderon. Under Calderon’s leadership, Mexico rose to the forefront of climate change politics, culminating in the national law he […]
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 Erin Parlar, Legal Intern Another element of the proposed “fracking” measures in New York was recently highlighted in the public debate by a new study by the group Earthworks. The study found that in the period from 2001 through 2010, the number of annual inspections of active conventional oil […]