Solar Power

20 posts

Renewable Energy Projects Face Opposition in 49 States, Local Restrictions in 31 States

By Leah Adelman and Jacob Elkin Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law has published an update to its Report on Opposition to Renewable Energy Facilities in the United States, which documents local restrictions on and opposition to the siting of renewable energy projects. The updated report highlights […]

Report from COP22: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry’s Call to Action

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived in Marrakech for the 22nd meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), known as COP22. Hundreds queued for hours in the hot Marrakechi sun for an opportunity to hear Secretary […]

European Commission awards a Spanish innovative renewable energy project under the NER300 funding program

by Teresa Parejo Navajas, Professor of Law, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (Spain). In December 2012 the European Commission awarded over €1.2 billion funding to 23 highly innovative renewable energy demonstration projects under the first call for proposals for the so-called NER300 funding program. Projects will be co-financed with revenues […]

Final Programmatic EIS Establishes Plan for Southwestern Solar Development

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 […]

CCCL Publishes Draft Small-Scale Solar Siting Ordinance

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 […]

New York Law Provides Innovative Mechanism for Building Energy Efficiency Improvements

On June 22, 2011, the New York State Legislature passed The Power NY Act of 2011 (A. 8510/S. 5844) (PNY Act).[1] Governor Cuomo is expected to sign it.  The new law, once enacted, would do two very important things:  (1) provide a mechanism to allow owners of residential and non-residential […]