McDermott Will & Emery
Subscribe to McDermott Will & Emery's PostsMassachusetts Sets Energy Storage Target
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jul 10, 2017
Posted In Project Development and Finance
On June 30, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) announced that Massachusetts would adopt an aspirational 200 megawatt-hour (MWh) energy storage target to be achieved by January 1, 2020. The target is the second largest in the nation, although it is far lower than California’s 1.3 gigawatt storage mandate. Still, Massachusetts’ storage target...
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Analysis of Energy and Tax Proposals in the 2018 Budget Proposal
By McDermott Will & Emery, Heather Cooper and Philip Tingle on May 25, 2017
Posted In Project Development and Finance, Renewables, Tax, U.S. Congress
President Trump released his budget proposal for the 2018 FY on May 23, 2017, expanding on the budget blueprint he released in March. The budget proposal and blueprint reiterate the President’s tax reform proposals to lower the business tax rate and to eliminate special interest tax breaks. They also provide for significant changes in energy...
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Maryland Likely to Become First State to Adopt Energy Storage Tax Credit
By McDermott Will & Emery on May 3, 2017
Posted In Renewables, Tax
UPDATE: This bill was signed into Maryland law on May 4, 2017 with a $75,000 maximum credit for commercial systems. A previous version of the bill offered credits to commercial systems up to $150,000. In April, the Maryland legislature passed a bill creating a state income tax credit for the costs associate with installing an...
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EPA Requests Comments on Regulatory Rollbacks
By McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 20, 2017
Posted In Environmental
Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a request for comment asking for “input on regulations that may be appropriate for repeal, replacement, or modification.” EPA’s request is part of a federal government initiative under Executive Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda,” which established a federal policy “to alleviate unnecessary regulatory burdens”...
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NY Moves from Retail Rate Net Metering to Value-Based Compensation for Distributed Generation
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 21, 2017
Posted In Renewables
The New York Public Service Commission (NYPSC) approved an order on March 9 that will shift the state’s mechanism for compensating distributed energy resources from retail rate net metering to value-based compensation. The order is the next step in New York’s broad Reforming the Energy Vision (REV) plan and was praised by environmental groups and...
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Electric Utility and Solar Advocates in Arizona Reach Compromise Rate Settlement for Rooftop Solar
By McDermott Will & Emery and Joel A. Hugenberger on Mar 10, 2017
Posted In Renewables
The Arizona Public Service Co. (APS) and solar industry representatives and advocates have reached a settlement on rooftop solar compensation and rate design, following years of heated policy debate. The settlement, which the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) is expected to vote on this summer, required compromise from both sides on a variety of issues. Future...
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IRS Issues Guidance on Tax Treatment of Energy Savings Performance Contracts
By McDermott Will & Emery, Bradford E. LaBonte, Heather Cooper and Philip Tingle on Feb 2, 2017
Posted In Uncategorized
On January 19, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Rev. Proc. 2017-19, 2016-6 I.R.B. (the Rev. Proc.), providing a safe harbor under which it will not challenge the tax treatment of an Energy Savings Performance Contract Energy Savings Agreement (ESPC ESA) as a service contract under Section 7701(e)(3). While the application of the guidance...
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FERC Issues Policy Statement on Storage Resources with Multiple Payment Streams
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 24, 2017
Posted In FERC
Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Policy Statement to provide guidance on the ability of electric storage resources to recover costs through both cost-based and market-based rates concurrently. The Policy Statement appears intended to reconcile two lines of FERC precedent on this topic. The issue of multiple payment streams is one...
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Environmental Organizations File Litigation Briefs Supporting New York’s ZEC Program
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 6, 2017
Posted In Environmental, Project Development and Finance, Renewables
Two environmental organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), have weighed in to defend the legality of New York State’s Zero Emissions Credit (ZEC) program in ongoing litigation concerning that program. This blog is tracking the ongoing litigation and this article summarizes the arguments made by EDF and NRDC in their...
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Some Considerations for Comments to FERC on Electric Storage NOPR
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 3, 2017
Posted In FERC
As this blog previously reported here, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (NOPR) last month with the goal of requiring organized wholesale electricity markets (RTO/ISO markets) to modify their tariffs and rules to accommodate electric storage resources. FERC has received several comments and recently agreed to extend the deadline...
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