Legal & Regulatory

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing more stringent discharge standards for three types of coal power plant wastewater as part of an update to its Effluent Limitations Guidelines (ELGs). However, the agency also proposed compliance flexibilities, and in a separate direct final rule, moved to extend a deadline to allow more coal plants to […]

Climate legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act, which aims to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions up to 43% below 2005 levels by 2030, has shifted the already critical need for domestic minerals into

A problematic hurdle imposed by the federal government has long plagued businesses looking to deploy their capital into the American economy: permitting. And while a deal last year between Democrats and Republicans to reform overly burdensome federal rules that delay the development of next generation infrastructure could not be reached, there is still hope on the horizon. The prospect […]

In addition to affordability, range anxiety—the ability to access efficient and reliable vehicle charging—remains one of the largest barriers to electric vehicle (EV) adoption. At the federal level

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed barring six coal-fired power plants in various states—a combined 11 GW—from disposing coal ash into unlined surface impoundments. The agency, however, also proposed to provide disposal extensions if the coal plants are needed to maintain grid reliability. The EPA’s proposed determinations, issued on Jan. 25, fall under its […]

NuScale Power has submitted a standard design approval (SDA) application to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) based on its six-module VOYGR-6 configuration, which will use uprated 250-MWth (77-MWe) modules. The step is crucial for the proposed construction of the 462-MWe Carbon Free Power Plant at an Idaho National Laboratory (INL) site. NuScale’s SDA application submitted […]

President Joe Biden last year signed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that, in addition to a number of other actions, extended and enhanced a number of green energy tax opportunities. Notably, it extended the

The Biden administration has rolled out in a final what it says is a “durable” definition of “waters of the U.S.” (WOTUS), potentially capping a legal and political battle that has raged for nearly two decades. The final rule issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of the Army on […]

Almost all distribution transformers produced or imported into the U.S. could require amorphous steel cores starting in 2027 under new energy efficiency standards proposed by the Department of Energy (DOE). The measure, unveiled as industry grapples with a crippling shortage of distribution transformers, will serve a longer-term role in boosting grid resiliency as a “strategic […]

According to Elon Musk, solar and batteries go together like peanut butter and jelly. The sustainability of renewable energy relies on the deployment of energy storage systems for the storage of energy harnessed by renewable sources. The reduction in the cost to manufacture battery energy storage systems (BESSs) has catapulted the use of these types […]

The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) includes the largest clean energy incentive effort in U.S. history. It builds on the energy initiatives included in 2009’s American Reinvestment Recovery Act

The Biden administration has reversed a controversial Trump-era rule that barred plan fiduciaries from considering climate change and other environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors when choosing retirement investments and exercising shareholder rights, such as proxy voting.  A final rule issued by the Department of Labor (DOL) on Nov. 22 removes restrictions issued in two […]

Power shortfalls could be rife over the next three months across a large portion of the North American bulk power system (BPS), particularly during extreme and prolonged cold conditions, the North American Electric Reliability Corp. (NERC) has warned. The nation’s designated Electric Reliability Organization (ERO) in its latest Winter Reliability Assessment, issued on Nov. 17, said […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) have settled to resolve alleged violations of the Clean Water Act with four separate large-scale solar farm owners in Alabama, Idaho, and Illinois. The solar farm owners—all subsidiaries of large international finance and investment companies—used a common construction contractor for their farms. The federal […]

Building on analysis in its February 2021 Public Citizen, Inc. v. Centerpoint Energy, Inc. opinion, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) recently issued decisions in Evergy Kansas, Inc. (Evergy) and Transalta Energy Marketing (U.S.), Inc. (Transalta) analyzing whether investments that were under 10% of outstanding voting shares, but were paired with appointment of directors that […]

President Biden recently laid out a detailed plan to strengthen America’s forests. Renewable wood energy—that is, biomass energy produced from wood that is not suitable for higher-value products—is an

Watson Farley & Williams (“WFW”) has advised long-standing client Vattenfall on its signing of a contract with Siemens and Aker Solutions to deliver grid connection infrastructure for the Norfolk Boreas Offshore Wind Farm off the east coast of the UK. Under the contract, Siemens and Aker Solutions will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction […]

There have been historic initiatives within the U.S. to create a sustainable energy economy and to address major environmental concerns created by fossil fuels. The Inflation Reduction Act contains $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, which will have a meaningful impact on climate change. Meanwhile, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law seeks to remedy environmental issues […]

After the Supreme Court handed down its decision in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) earlier this year, many speculated on what it does—and does not—mean for future power plant rules

The Department of Energy (DOE) has initiated community outreach to facilitate consent-based siting, management of spent nuclear fuel (SNF), and interim storage facility siting. The effort, outlined in a series of steps the DOE expects to take in response to a recent request for public input, marks a significant first step toward advancing the agency’s […]

Oklo, the developer of the much-watched 1.5-MW Aurora microreactor, has submitted a recharged licensing project plan (LPP) with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), launching a renewed effort that could help the advanced nuclear reactor developer set the stage for “effective and efficient” application reviews by the federal regulator. The move is a significant step for […]

Like it or not, property acquisition for utilities, especially through eminent domain, is changing. What once was an easy, efficient process is now being met with more frequent resistance from property owners

As international travel picks up, energy corporations are turning to mobile employees to fulfill their international staffing needs. However, as mobile work gains steam, tax and compliance risks continue to grow as well—unbeknownst to most corporate leaders. Many businesses, unfortunately, are failing to set up an adequate plan to protect against tax violations in the […]

President Biden’s signing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) should provide further impetus for growth of U.S. renewable energy, coming on the heels of a report from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that installations of solar and wind power accounted for more than two-thirds of new domestic utility-scale generation in the first six months […]

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is readying a regulatory sweep targeting more stringent limits on traditional pollutants that could accelerate coal power plant closures. A coal trade group estimates that even without new rules, 86 GW of coal generation is slated to retire by 2030. While the U.S. Supreme Court in June curtailed the EPA’s […]

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) has given Southern Nuclear Operating Company (SNC) the green light to load fuel and begin the operation of an AP1000 nuclear reactor at Vogtle Unit 3. The authorization moves Vogtle 3 out of the NRC’s construction reactor oversight program and into the operating reactor oversight process—effectively making Vogtle 3 the first […]

On the final day of the Supreme Court’s term, the Court ruled in favor of West Virginia and other petitioners challenging the claimed regulatory authority that underlaid the Clean Power Plan (CPP)—the

An ancient proverb imparts: the fox knows many little things, but the hedgehog knows one big thing. This insight is expanded through the moral of Aesop’s fable, “The Fox and the Hedgehog,” which

The inclusion of an estimated $369 billion in energy security and climate change investments in a July 27–unveiled U.S. Senate budget reconciliation proposal has prompted optimism from a range of energy sectors. Less than two weeks after negotiations on clean energy and climate provisions within the reconciliation package hit an impasse and suggested their demise, […]

Few observers outside the electric utility industry understand the U.S. power grid, often called the world’s largest machine. It’s three grids, actually—the Eastern Interconnect, the Western Interconnect, and the Texas Interconnect. Much of the Eastern and Western Interconnects are subdivided regionally into independent organizations—independent system operators (ISOs) or regional transmission operators (RTOs)—that monitor, coordinate, and […]