This is our second blog post discussing provisions in the 2024 Massachusetts Clean Energy Bill promoting the deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) and EV charging infrastructure.
As referenced in our first post, some of...more
In this Issue: Mission is Market -
As with many, we in the Foley Hoag energy and climate practice have felt the results of the 2024 election reverberate through our industry. We’ve gathered and digested the most current...more
12/20/2024
/ Biden Administration ,
Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy-Efficiency Tax Credits ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Funding ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Investment ,
Investors ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Renewable Energy ,
Tariffs ,
Tax Credits ,
Trump Administration ,
U.S. Treasury
On November 21, 2024, Massachusetts Governor Maura Healy signed into law a sweeping climate bill (St. 2024 c. 239, An Act Promoting a Clean Energy Grid, Advancing Equity and Protecting Ratepayers) packed with measures aimed...more
12/19/2024
/ Charging Stations ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Infrastructure ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
State Legislatures ,
Technology Sector
As we put this post-election issue of Climate Law Matters together, my colleagues and I noticed an interesting common thread in our reflections: without minimizing the impact a negative turn to federal policy could have on...more
On December 4, 2024, the Department of the Treasury finalized new rules governing the Section 48 Investment Tax Credit (“ITC”). The ITC applies to a broad range of clean energy projects, including biogas projects, which were...more
12/10/2024
/ Biofuel ,
Clean Energy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Tax Incentives ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Investment Tax Credits ,
IRS ,
Natural Gas ,
Production Tax Credit ,
Proposed Rules ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Tax Credits ,
Tax Equity ,
U.S. Treasury
In this Issue: Permitting Reform, the Supreme Court, EV’s, and Climate Week 2024 -
After nearly a decade as New York State’s environmental chief, I recently joined Foley Hoag to help the firm’s clients emerge as global...more
9/19/2024
/ Climate Change ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Reform ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Utilities Sector
Energy permitting reform is one of the hottest topics in Congress and state houses nationwide. Federal legislation is building momentum, while parallel efforts at streamlining energy approvals have also emerged at the state...more
8/27/2024
/ Clean Energy ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Sector ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Interconnections ,
Legislative Agendas ,
New Legislation ,
Permits ,
Proposed Legislation ,
State and Local Government ,
Transmission Grid ,
Transmission Lines
Four decades after the Supreme Court’s foundational decision in Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, the Court has abandoned the rule established in that case: that courts should defer to executive agencies’...more
7/1/2024
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Chevron Deference ,
Chevron v NRDC ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Government Agencies ,
Judicial Authority ,
Loper Bright Enterprises v Raimondo ,
Regulatory Authority ,
Relentless Inc v US Department of Commerce ,
SCOTUS ,
Statutory Interpretation
In This Issue: Battery and Energy Storage Systems -
2023 was a banner year for energy storage in the United States. Statistics reported by Wood Mackenzie show that in 2023 alone, energy storage deployment across all...more
6/24/2024
/ Acquisitions ,
Batteries ,
Clean Energy ,
Electric Vehicles ,
Electricity ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Energy Storage ,
FERC ,
Mergers ,
Renewable Energy
Because the sun does not always shine and the wind does not always blow, ensuring that renewable sources can reliably meet society’s energy demands has long been a challenge for clean energy advocates. Battery energy storage...more
On May 8, 2024, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) released a preliminary list of potential National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (“NIETCs”), representing another step forward in DOE’s efforts to effectuate...more
On February 20, 2024, the European Union (EU) announced a provisional political agreement to establish an EU-wide framework for voluntary certification of carbon dioxide removal (CDR) projects. This announcement, which marks...more
On December 19, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released long-awaited final guidance on its process to designate National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (commonly referred to as “NIETCs,” pronounced...more
On September 21, 2023, the Biden administration outlined plans to expand federal agencies’ consideration of the social cost of carbon—a metric for the economic cost of each additional ton of carbon dioxide emitted to the...more
9/25/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
Carbon Emissions ,
CEQ ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Cost-Benefit Analysis ,
Environmental Impact Statements ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
OMB ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
USPS
On July 31, 2023, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu signed an executive order ending the use of fossil fuels in new construction and major renovations of city-owned buildings. Although city buildings comprise a small percentage of...more
8/4/2023
/ Boston ,
Building Standards ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Green Buildings ,
Net Zero ,
New Regulations ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements
On July 28, 2023, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations governing how federal agencies review the environmental effects of major federal...more
8/3/2023
/ Biden Administration ,
CEQ ,
Climate Change ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Justice ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Environmental Review ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Rulemaking Process
On June 26, 2023, the Cambridge City Council voted to amend the city’s Building Energy Use Disclosure Ordinance (BEUDO) to require large non-residential buildings to reach net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 and...more
7/10/2023
/ Building Codes ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Environmental Policies ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Net Zero ,
Pollution Control ,
Real Estate Development ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Renewable Energy
On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, which significantly narrowed the Clean Water Act’s (“CWA”) test for determining whether wetlands are protected...more
5/31/2023
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Rapanos v US ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Water Projects ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
On May 9, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a notice of intent to establish a process for designating “route-specific” National Interest Electric Transmission Corridors (commonly referred to as “NIETCs,”...more
On February 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) released for public comment a draft of its National Transmission Needs Study (“Needs Study”), which endorses boosting overall transmission capacity—and transmission...more
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR), or the range of technologies and processes for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and oceans, promises to be a major part of US and global climate strategy in the coming decades. Recent...more
On December 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in which the Commission proposes to implement its newly clarified authority under the 2021 Infrastructure...more
The New York Cannabis Control Board (“CCB”) held a momentous meeting on November 21, 2022 wherein it continued to issue more conditional cultivation, processing, and dispensing licenses, but, perhaps more importantly,...more
11/29/2022
/ Agribusiness ,
Applications ,
Cannabis Products ,
Cannabis-Related Businesses (CRBs) ,
Dispensaries ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Licenses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Cultivation ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
New York ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State and Local Government
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)-watchers have their eyes squarely on recent reports that Senator Joe Manchin, Chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, won’t schedule a hearing on Chairman...more
On November 4, 2022, the White House announced a new initiative to support research and development projects on 37 “game-changing” technologies to advance the Biden Administration’s goal of net-zero emissions by 2050....more