The Virginia Clean Energy Act, the Botetourt County Battery Power Facility and the Impact on the Commonwealth - The Virginia Clean Energy Act (“VCEA”) mandates that Dominion Energy Virginia and Appalachian Power, the two...more
On the same day that Maine's highest court was pondering whether 25 percent of Maine's registered voters will successfully prevent hydropower from Canada from reaching New England, E&E published this prediction of...more
With an attendance of more than 190 world leaders, the long-awaited twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties (COP26) concluded with agreement on the Glasglow Climate Pact and the Paris Rulebook. Amid mixed views of whether...more
Decarbonising Natural Gas and LNG - Natural gas and liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) have long been hailed as one of the winners of the current energy transition when compared to other fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide (“CO2”)...more
I’m not sure it’s even really news at this point, but earlier this week Ameren Missouri announced that it would close its Rush Island Energy Center generating plant early, rather than spend the money to install flue gas...more
Russia Chooses Not to Raise Natural Gas Supplies to Europe Despite Putin’s Pledge to Help - "Highly anticipated auction results showed Russia’s state gas giant Gazprom had not booked additional gas transit capacity for...more
China's New Coal Projects Make Up 90% of Global Total for First Half of 2020: Study - "Global coal-fired generation capacity saw a net decline of 2.9 gigawatts from January to June, the first drop on record for a six-month...more
Industry Expert Insights - We reached out to one of our Lex Mundi partners and a well-known expert in Poland in the energy and legal industries to get his thoughts on the current energy climate. Radoslaw Wasiak is a...more
Cancelled Teck Oil Sands Project Underscores Global Climate-Energy Policy Tension - "The Frontier project became the latest casualty in oil-producing countries with robust environmental movements agitating to cut...more
Energy-Related CO2 Emissions ‘Flatlined’ Last Year, IEA Says, Raising Hopes About Climate - "Global emissions remained at approximately 33 gigatonnes in 2019 despite the world economy growing by 2.9%, the IEA said." ...more
The Insanity is Over: ‘Navigable’ Now Means ‘Navigable’ Again - "The Trump administration has now announced that the intentionally ambiguous and easily abused Waters of the United States Rule has been replaced by the new,...more
Energy Infrastructure Attacks are ‘Probable’: Oil Traders Fear Supply Disruptions in the Middle East - "A dramatic escalation of geopolitical tensions will most likely result in an unplanned oil supply shortage in the...more
Why Everything They Say About California Fires — Including That Climate Matters Most — is Wrong - "'We’ve looked at the history of climate and fire throughout the whole state, and through much of the state, particularly...more
Focus - PacifiCorp to add 7 GW of renewables and storage, close 20 of 24 coal plants - Utility Dive – October 3 - PacifiCorp plans to add nearly 7 gigawatts of renewable generation and storage capacity by 2025 and will...more
In a move that will have a significant impact on Pennsylvania's power producers, Governor Tom Wolf signed an executive order on October 3rd directing the state's Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) to create...more
New Fortress Energy LNG Plant Demonstrates New York Insanity - "For those unfamiliar with the facility, the plant is a gigantic $800 million investment that will take in natural gas from the Marcellus Shale and liquefy it...more
Focus - Governor Brown approves permanent water restrictions - THE SACRAMENTO BEE - May 31 - Governor Jerry Brown signed a pair of bills Thursday to set permanent overall targets for indoor and outdoor water...more
Trump Prepared to Hit China with $60 Billion in Annual Tariffs - "President Trump is preparing to impose a package of $60 billion in annual tariffs against Chinese products, following through on a longtime threat that he...more
Welcome to Spilman Thomas & Battle's weekly energy news e-blast - Currents. The purpose of this communication is to provide a synopsis of the top news stories for the week, but with a twist. We recognize that you may already...more
The Trump Administration promotes an "all of the above" energy strategy, but many of the Administration's actions to date seem to favor coal and fossil fuels at the expense of clean and innovative energy solutions. Although...more
City of Cape Town launches waste-to-energy plant - South Africa’s City of Cape Town is now generating its own electricity through a waste-to-energy plant. While launching the ZAR400 million (US$30 million) plant...more
President-Elect Donald Trump has promised to bring back jobs in the coal industry and reduce regulations that could inhibit economic growth. His transition team has already begun arriving at federal agencies to review the...more
Presidential elections matter. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to drastically change the federal government’s role and policies in relation to energy, the environment, and climate change. Reducing regulation...more
On October 12, 2016, the Energy Information Administration reported that “Energy-related CO2 emissions for first six months of 2016 are lowest since 1991.” The EIA gave three reasons for the drop in CO2 emissions. ...more
At an April 21 workshop, the Oregon Public Utility Commission presented its timeline for implementing a variety of programs in the wake of the state’s recently passed and far-ranging energy bill, SB 1547 (the “Oregon Clean...more