Government Contracting, Energy & Utilities Law

PEMEX Files Suit to Recover $160 Million in Bribery Case

by Marta Colomar, Carlos Gonzalez | Michael Diaz Jr. - Diaz Reus International... on 5/20/2013

Mexican state oil company Pemex has filed a lawsuit in New York seeking to recover nearly $160 million from Germany's Siemens and South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd. in a global bribery case, a law firm...more

Senate Includes Buy American Requirement in Water Resources Development Act of 2013: Provision Would Mandate Use of American Iron,...

by King & Spalding on 5/18/2013

The United States Senate passed the Water Resources Development Act of 2013 by an overwhelming 83-14 margin on May 15, 2013. The legislation included an amendment sponsored by Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Sherrod Brown...more

DoD Commercial-Scale Energy Initiatives Update: PPA RFI, MATOC Announcements, and Alternative Contracting, Oh My!

by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 4/25/2013

While many in industry assume that months of virtual silence indicates that the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD's) commercial-scale energy initiatives have been subjected to drastic sequestration measures, the opposite...more

TRANSACTIONAL: Upstream Developments -- Latin America Overview of PEMEX’s 3rd Round Model Service Contract

by King & Spalding on 4/18/2013

On October 18, 2012, Pemex Exploración y Producción (PEP) published a model contract to be used in the bidding for E&P contracts in Chicontepec (the “Model”), an area in the eastern coastal plains of Mexico estimated to...more

False Claims Act Focus - April 2013

by Mary Beth Bosco, Laurence Freedman, Michael Guiffre, Susan Baldwin Hendrix, Laura Laemmle-Weidenfeld | Patton Boggs LLP on 4/15/2013

EDITOR’S NOTE - The last few months have not failed to provide interesting False Claims Act (FCA) activity in the courts. We begin our newsletter by examining a case brought in the energy sector, alleging that a...more

Green Energy - Introduction to microFIT

by Matthew J. Wilson | Lerners LLP on 4/12/2013

The microFIT Program was launched in 2009 as part of the Ontario government’s efforts to increase renewable energy in the province. The Program provides eligible participants with the opportunity to develop a small, or...more

NIST Holds First Workshop on Executive Order Cybersecurity Framework

by Michael Baader, Jamie Barnett, Dismas Locaria, Anthony Rosso, Sejal Shah, Jason Wool, Brian Zimmet | Venable LLP on 4/11/2013

On April 3, 2013, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) held a workshop at the Department of Commerce in which it offered a sneak preview of the Cybersecurity Framework required under the recently-issued...more

IRS Issues Guidance on Application Process for Tax Credits for Manufacturers of Renewable Energy Property

by Ellen Bastier, Angelo Ciavarella, J. Ferd Convery , III, Arnold Grant, Ruth Holzman, Amy Koch, Donald Ousterhout, Christopher Rissetto | Reed Smith on 3/13/2013

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (the "Recovery Act") added a number of significant new tax incentives for businesses engaged in the renewable energy market, including a program that provides a tax credit to...more

Marcellus Shale Impact Fee to Support Certain Projects for Governmental Entities, Councils of Government, Not-For-Profit Entities,...

by George Magnatta, Joshua Pasker | Saul Ewing LLP on 3/7/2013

The Commonwealth Financing Authority has begun accepting applications for five programs established by the Act 13 Marcellus Legacy Fund to support conservation projects and environmental protection measures. On...more

Are Compliance Officers Getting Paid Their Worth?

by NAVEX Global on 2/27/2013

The NAVEX Global-sponsored 2012 SCCE (Ethics & Compliance Industry) Salary Survey was released this week (download report). In the executive summary, SCCE CEO Roy Snell highlights the necessity that the broader industry has...more

Employee Is Protected By Whistleblower Provisions Of The Labor Code When He Or She Reports Illegal Conduct By A Fellow Employee

by Laura Izon Powell, Bruce A. Scheidt, Kristianne Seargeant, David W. Tyra | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 2/19/2013

A terminated employee brought claims against his former employer for wrongful termination in violation of the California False Claims Act (“CFCA”), public policy, and the whistleblower protections provided by the Labor Code. ...more

Environmental Groups Say Further Environmental Review Needed to Address Fracking Impacts

by Matthew Francois | Sedgwick LLP on 2/14/2013

In a case pending in the Northern District of California, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Sierra Club recently urged a federal judge to rule that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated the National...more

TRANSACTIONAL: Construction: ‘Back-to-back’ – the pass-through of construction risk from project agreement through to subcontracts...

by King & Spalding on 2/11/2013

When passing risk through to various sub-contractors to a PPP or energy infrastructure project, it is important to ensure that the core sub-contracts are drafted on a ‘back-to-back’ basis with the project agreement. This...more

Vigorous Canadian Anti-Corruption Enforcement Continues Unabated: Griffiths Energy Fined $10.3 Million Pursuant to the CFPOA

by Riyaz Dattu | Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP on 1/30/2013

Griffiths Energy International Inc. (GEI) entered a guilty plea on January 22, 2013 to a criminal charge under section 3(1)(b) of Canada’s Corruption of Foreign Public Officials Act (CFPOA), and agreed to a fine in the amount...more

REGULATORY: Government Relations: Alternative Energy Initiatives Continue at Department of Defense By Michael A. Andrews, Thomas...

by King & Spalding on 1/24/2013

While renewable energy tax issues remain in flux amidst negotiations between Congress and the Administration, work on other federal renewable initiatives continues. On December 20 and 21, the House and Senate, respectively,...more

Japan’s New Feed-in Tariffs: Government’s Model Contract Available Now

by Yuki Sako, Naoki Watanabe | K&L Gates LLP on 1/21/2013

I. Introduction of FIT in July 2012 - On July 1, 2012, the Act on Special Measures concerning Procurement of Renewable Energy Sourced Electricity by Electric Utilities (Act No. 108 of 2011) (the “RE Act”) came into...more

New Effort to Develop Better Solar And Wind-Powered Batteries

by Bruce Goodman | Varnum LLP on 1/17/2013

A multi-partner team, led by Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago, has been awarded a five-year $120 Million federal Department of Energy grant to create the Joint Center for Energy Storage Research. Secretary of Energy...more

City Of Holland Selects Natural Gas Option For Generation

by Bruce Goodman | Varnum LLP on 1/8/2013

The Holland Board of Public Works has approved a 114 MW natural gas fired electric generating facility to replace its seventy year old 65 MW coal-fired power plant. This decision effectively abandons the coal-fired generating...more

Defense Agencies Seek Electrical Power from Biomass

by Mintz Levin - Energy & Clean Technology on 12/14/2012

On December 12, 2012, the Defense Logistics Agency – Energy (DLA-E), in close coordination with the Army Energy Initiatives Task Force (EITF), released a Request for Proposal (RFP) for electrical power from a biomass...more

Department of Interior Streamlines Lease Approval Process for Developing Renewable Energy Projects on Tribal Lands

by Bart J. Freedman, Eric E. Freedman, Alyssa A. Moir | K&L Gates LLP on 12/11/2012

The efficiency and transparency of developing wind and solar energy projects on tribal lands have improved considerably as a result of the recent issuance by the Department of Interior (DOI) of its final rule governing leases...more

New York Wind Development at a Crossroads

by Javid Afzali on 12/1/2012

Article discusses the future of wind power in New York State....more

Voter-Approved Measure That Establishes A Competitive Bidding Process For Future Waste Service Contracts Is Not A “Project” And Is...

by Jeffrey L. Massey, Daniel J. O'Hanlon, Leslie Z. Walker | Kronick, Moskovitz, Tiedemann & Girard on 11/14/2012

A city council’s decision to place a measure on the ballot to establish competitive bidding for future trash service contracts did not require prior environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act...more

Mixed Results for Renewable Energy as State Assembly Goes on Recess

by Robert Freedman - Partner at Tharpe & Howell,... on 11/9/2012

Three out of four is an exceptional batting average, but renewable energy advocates are undoubtedly disappointed by the one big loss they suffered in the recent legislative session. Three bills related to solar energy and...more

California Public Utilities Commission to Consider New Proposals to Improve Renewables Portfolio Standard Procurement Process

by Davis Wright Tremaine LLP on 11/7/2012

On Oct. 5, 2012, Commissioner Mark Ferron of the California Public Utilities Commission (“Commission”) issued a 39-page ruling including a number of proposals to improve California's Renewables Portfolio Standard (“RPS”)...more

Department of Defense Energy Initiatives Update: What's Next? How Will the Election Impact Energy Programs?

by Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati on 11/6/2012

Hundreds of industry representatives from companies of all types and sizes spent countless hours over the summer preparing submissions to the U.S. Army's $7 billion Renewable and Alternative Energy Power Production for...more

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Government Contracting › Energy & Utilities Law