Phillips Lytle - Renewable Energy

In twin decisions handed down today, the Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Department upheld two local zoning laws that prohibit activities related to oil and gas development (commonly referred to as “hydraulic…more

While some believe that New York State is a relatively sunny state, this spring has, so far, made others question this tag. However, New York is looking to take advantage of its sunshine through the NY-Sun Competitive PV…more

While New York’s natural gas resources remain locked down between perpetual regulatory limbo and extreme polarization among interest groups, recent events have proven that compromise is possible…more

Last week, a group of U.S. Senators submitted a letter requesting swift clarification by the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) of language regarding the wind production tax credit…more

Faced with the twin challenges of meeting New York State’s Renewable Portfolio Standard (“RPS”) — which sets renewable energy consumption targets and milestones for the State — and the current economic conditions which have…more

President Obama proposed several broad energy-related initiatives in his State of the Union address last week, which are summarized in David Flynn’s post below. Noticeably absent from the President’s address was “clean coal,”…more

President Obama’s State of the Union address touched on many issues of critical importance to Americans, including America’s energy future and its link to economic growth and prosperity. In discussing the need to maintain…more

Like the famous Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow, DEC has not timely emerged from its long-running study of environmental and health impacts of High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (“HVHF”), suggesting that there will be at least…more

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) Commissioner, Joseph Martens, spoke to legislators about his agency’s 2013-2014 budget on Monday. During the sometimes-feisty hearing, legislators peppered Martens…more

The D.C. Circuit delivered a mixed decision recently regarding an American Petroleum Institute (“API”) challenge to the 2012 EPA Rule (“2012 Rule”) outlining blending requirements for cellulosic biofuels. Cellulosic biofuel is…more

State Supreme Court Justice Ferris D. Lebous recently overturned a local ordinance adopted by the Binghamton City Council in 2011 to ban activities associated with gas drilling and exploration for a period of two years. Justice…more

Renewable energy is at an important crossroads for several reasons. In particular, the following concerns have been brought to the forefront: the continued availability of subsidies that can impact the economic feasibility of…more

Governor Andrew Cuomo, as part of his ongoing “NY-Sun” program intended to accelerate customer-sited solar electricity capacity in New York State, recently signed into law three bills which further this initiative…more

There is new hope for the long-stalled development of New York’s Marcellus and Utica Shale resources. A story published last week by the New York Times reports on a Cuomo administration strategy to break the log-jam that has…more

Wind energy development in the Great Lakes has seemingly stalled, but a new Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between five Great Lakes states and ten federal agencies may renew hopes for locating wind turbines in the Great…more