On September 29, 2017, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) filed a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) in order to require additional compensation to baseload generators that provide reliability and resiliency benefits to the electric grid.  In order to qualify for additional compensation, generators must have 90 days of

Last week the White House released its first installment of the Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) recommending investments in energy transmission, storage and distribution infrastructure.  While the U.S. is now the largest producer of oil and natural gas and is rapidly expanding renewable energy like wind and solar power, this energy must now travel across millions

On Nov 4th, Congressional Republicans beat back their Democratic opponents in nearly every part of the country.  Because of this resounding victory, Republicans have a tighter control of Congress than they’ve enjoyed since America teetered into the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s.  (Hopefully this is not foreshadowing).

Although Republicans already

Even though the administration is likely to raise its targets for both ethanol and advanced biofuels while finalizing 2014’s Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) levels, the RFS has provided anything but certainty for biomass developers.  Seven months into the year, it also remains unclear when the EPA will even publish the final targets for obligated parties

On June 2nd, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced perhaps the most significant environmental reform in its history.  Entitled the Clean Power Plan (CPP), the proposed regulations are designed to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions nation-wide by 30 % below their 2005 levels by the year 2030.

Overview of the Proposed Rule

Under the

Since 2008, the price of solar technologies has decreased significantly and the U.S. solar market has experienced rapid growth.  The White House has just released a report chronicling this progress as well as ongoing efforts.  To recap some of the highlights:

  • In 2013 solar represented the 2nd largest source of new electricity capacity added


Although most people in and out of Washington assume (correctly) that Congress is unable to enact significant energy legislation in 2014, President Obama can still leverage executive branch power to push through substantive policies and market drivers for renewable energy.  Having essentially written off Congress himself, the President has already proclaimed this the “Year of

Earlier this month Congress finally passed, and President Obama signed, the long-awaited Agriculture Act of 2014.  The “Farm Bill” became law after an unusually contentious process that led to significant policy changes in several of the measure’s key sections such as crop insurance, dairy subsidies and food stamps.  The bill contains a robust Energy Title

As the country faces polar vortexes of various magnitudes, a storm is brewing on the horizon for the wind energy industry.  A shifting political climate is drawing increased attention to the number of avian deaths, particularly eagle deaths, that may result from wind farms.  This mounting pressure felt by the wind industry is fueled by

Although the new year is less than a month old and Congress has only been in session a handful of days, there’s a lot to talk about regarding renewable energy policy.

In mid-January, the President signed the FY 2014 Omnibus Appropriations bill.  This included funding for the entire federal government through September 30th of