On December 5, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit handed the U.S. offshore wind industry a decisive win in its eagerly awaited ruling on the remaining challenges to the Vineyard Wind 1 project’s federal...more
Going into 2024, the Biden Administration was primed to hold four offshore wind lease sales during the one-year window established by the Inflation Reduction Act. But the recent announcement by the Bureau of Ocean Energy...more
Fast on the heels of a small but successful sale of two leases off Delaware and Virginia, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has issued a Call for Information (“Call”) to kick off another round of leasing in the...more
On August 14, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held its long-awaited Central Atlantic lease sale, auctioning leases off Delaware and Virginia to Norwegian energy giant Equinor and utility Dominion Energy...more
If the offshore wind industry is going to come close to meeting the Biden Administration’s goal of deploying 15 GW for floating wind by 2035, it’s going to require a lot of turbines spinning in the Gulf of Maine and off a...more
Last week, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) jointly finalized a long-awaited overhaul of their offshore wind leasing and permitting regulations, which...more
UPDATE:
A recent lawsuit against Dominion Energy’s approved Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project off the coast of Virginia underscores our prediction in our March 8 QuickStudy that plaintiffs will craft their...more
On April 5, 2024, The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) (collectively, the “Services”) finalized a series of rules reversing certain revisions to the Services’...more
In the world of offshore wind, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (“BOEM”) Gulf of Mexico region is known for its independent streak. The proposed sale notice (PSN) for its second Gulf of Mexico wind sale in two years...more
Of the four lease sales the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) expects to hold this year, the Gulf of Maine is shaping up to be the Big Dance. With some of the strongest winds on the East Coast, the Gulf of Maine is...more
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before: a group of local residents or businesses opposes a renewable energy project for aesthetic, economic, or ideological reasons. But when filing lawsuits challenging project approvals,...more
As interest and investment in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) projects grows, spurred by the availability of tax credits and investor interest in the energy transition, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s)...more
On February 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS” or “Service”) issued a long-awaited final rule revising its eagle permit program under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act (15 U.S.C. 668-668d) (“BGEPA”)....more
On February 13, 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) designated two final Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) for the development of floating offshore wind energy projects off the southern coast of Oregon. This...more
On June 16, 2023, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled unanimously that the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”), when faced with insufficient data, cannot rely on...more
The Railroad Commission of Texas (“RRC” or “Commission”) recently took a critical first step in the process of applying for permitting and enforcement authority, known as “primacy,” over the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Class VI...more
On September 14, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”) published a proposed rule to list the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus, “TCB”) as endangered under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). This action,...more
On February 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced two new policy statements intended to bolster the “legal durability” of the approval process for future natural gas projects. The policy...more
On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) released a proposed rule to list two distinct population segments (DPS) of the lesser prairie chicken (LEPC) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). If the listing...more
The American Jobs Plan and Made in America Tax Plan (the “Plan”), announced by the Biden Administration on March 31, 2021, place heavy emphasis on renewable energy, electrical grid improvements, and climate change-related...more
On March 29, the Biden Administration issued a proposal to significantly boost U.S. investment in offshore wind energy. In addition to several funding mechanisms, the Administration proposed to designate a significant...more
On March 29, the Biden Administration unveiled the broad strokes of a comprehensive, multi-agency plan to “accelerate and deploy offshore wind energy and jobs” in furtherance of President Biden’s twin priorities of fighting...more
On January 7, the Department of the Interior (“DOI”) published a final rule codifying its previously announced interpretation that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”) applies only to intentional acts directed at migratory...more