McDermott Will & Emery
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By McDermott Will & Emery on May 1, 2014
Posted In Renewables
Recently introduced Illinois Senate Bill 3263 (the Bill), entitled “The Wind Energy Facilities Construction and Deconstruction Act,” would strip Illinois counties of the power to regulate commercial wind energy facilities and vest that power exclusively in the Illinois Department of Agriculture (DOA). The Bill would apply to “commercial wind energy facilities” (i.e., any wind energy...
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The President’s Methane Reduction Strategy – Here’s What Energy Companies Need to Know
By McDermott Will & Emery and Jacob Hollinger on Apr 17, 2014
Posted In Environmental, Natural Gas
President Obama recently released a Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions (Strategy) that sets forth a multi-pronged plan for reducing methane emissions both domestically and globally. Domestically, the plan is to focus on four sources of methane—the oil and gas sector, coal mines, agriculture and landfills—and to pursue a mix of regulatory actions with respect to...
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Comparison of Key Energy-Related Tax Provisions in the President’s 2015 Budget Proposal and the Camp and Baucus Proposals
By McDermott Will & Emery, Philip Tingle, McDermott Will & Emery and McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 14, 2014
Posted In Renewables, Tax, U.S. Congress
President Obama’s recently released budget proposal for the 2015 fiscal year contains energy-related tax provisions that include a permanent extension of the production tax credit (PTC) and a provision making it refundable. The recently released discussion draft of the Tax Reform Act of 2014 from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp also contains...
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Senate Finance Committee Passes Bill to Extend Certain Lapsed Tax Breaks
By McDermott Will & Emery on Apr 7, 2014
Posted In Renewables, Tax, U.S. Congress
The Senate Finance Committee passed the Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency Act (EXPIRE Act) on April 3, 2014. The legislation would renew through 2015 more than 50 tax incentives that either have lapsed or will lapse at the end of 2014. The EXPIRE Act is not yet scheduled for consideration by the full Senate. ...
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D.C. Circuit Denies Rehearing on Nuclear Waste Fee Decision
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 26, 2014
Posted In Environmental, U.S. Congress
The D.C. Circuit last week denied the Department of Energy’s (DOE) petition for en banc review of the court’s November decision holding that the DOE could not continue to collect nuclear waste fees from utilities. The Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) and National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) filed suit after the DOE’s termination of...
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Massachusetts DOER Releases Solar Carve-Out II Guideline
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 24, 2014
Posted In Project Development and Finance, Renewables
The Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) released a draft guideline last week outlining a proposed process to grant Assurances of Qualification to solar generation facilities seeking to participate in the Solar Carve-Out II program. The guideline is designed to mirror the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities’ Net Metering System of Assurances since many solar...
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Massachusetts Permit for New Natural Gas Plant Incorporates Global Climate Conditions Including Sunset Date
By McDermott Will & Emery on Mar 18, 2014
Posted In Environmental, Natural Gas
The Massachusetts Energy Facilities Siting Board (Siting Board) approved a certificate for a 630-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant in Salem last month. The certificate is unique in that it incorporates the terms of a settlement agreement that imposes greenhouse gas emissions caps and requires the plant to sunset operations no later than 2050. The facility...
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California Issues Guidance on Nonprofit Property Owners Hosting Solar
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 21, 2014
Posted In Renewables
The California Board of Equalization in December 2013 issued guidance to advise nonprofit real-estate owners of the property tax consequences of hosting on their tax exempt properties solar generating equipment owned by for-profit renewable energy developers. Hosting developers in this fashion has seen a burgeoning of distributed solar power, particularly in California. But nonprofits, such...
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Energy Regulators FERC, CFTC Finally Reach Proactive Understanding on Jurisdiction and Information Sharing
By McDermott Will & Emery on Jan 9, 2014
Posted In CFTC, Dodd-Frank Act, FERC, Natural Gas, Power Markets, U.S. Congress
Primary regulators of energy transactions, the Federal Energy Regulatory and Commodity Futures Trading Commissions (FERC, CFTC or jointly Participating Agencies) began the new year by entering on January 2 two overdue Memoranda of Understanding (MOU), one on overlapping jurisdictions, the other on sharing of information generated in connection with market surveillance and investigations into suspected...
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Illinois Releases Proposed Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations
By McDermott Will & Emery on Nov 22, 2013
Posted In Environmental, Hydraulic Fracturing, Natural Gas
Nearly six months after passage of the much touted Illinois Hydraulic Fracturing Regulation Act (225 ILCS 732/1-1 et seq.) (the Act), the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) issued proposed regulations implementing the Act (the HFRA Regulations) and scheduled two public hearings to receive public input (one in Chicago on November 26, 2013 and the second in Ina...
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