Early next year, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in a pair of cases, which could overrule the Chevron doctrine and thereby end nearly forty years of judicial deference to federal administrative agencies’...more
On February 14, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) method for calculating the size of a small power production qualifying facility (QF) under PURPA as...more
On February 14, 2023, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld FERC’s broad definition of qualifying facilities (“QF”) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”). In Broadview Solar, LLC, 174 FERC ¶...more
On February 14, 2023, a divided D.C. Circuit panel affirmed FERC’s March 2021 ruling that the power output capacity of a generating facility – not the nameplate capacity of its component parts – determines its eligibility as...more
On March 19, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued an order returning to its longtime standard used to determine a generating facility’s “power production capacity” for purposes of certification as a...more
Comments for FERC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on Fuel Cell Energy Output (“NOPR”) are due tomorrow, November 25, 2020. In the NOPR, FERC proposes to modify its regulations for qualifying facility (“QF”) status under the...more
On November 19, 2020, FERC issued Order No. 872-A, an order denying rehearing and clarifying portions of Order No. 872, which revised the regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”)....more
On September 1, 2020, a sharply divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) abandoned its long-standing approach for determining the “power production capacity” of a generation facility seeking...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) seeking comments on proposed revisions to regulations that implement the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA)....more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) proposed on September 19th what it describes as a modernization of its regulations governing small power producers and co-generators under the Public Utility Regulatory...more
On September 19, 2019, a divided Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) in which it proposed significant changes to its regulations implementing sections 201 and 210 of the...more
Modernization of regulations implementing the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA) has long been a high priority for FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee. ...more
Significant Changes to FERC’s Rules for Market-Based Rate Sellers - On July 18, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued two orders modifying its rules for sellers to obtain or retain authorization...more
On July 30, 2019, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal panel unanimously held that the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) preempts two components of California's Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT)...more
On July 29, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued an opinion in Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peterman et al. (Nos. 17-17531 & 32) strongly upholding core principles of the Public Utility Regulatory...more
In Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc ., the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) revoked the Qualifying Facility (QF) status of a “hybrid” power project proposed by Eco Green Generation, LLC (Eco Green)....more
On April 18, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) granted Sunrun, Inc. (Sunrun) limited waivers of FERC’s filing requirements for obtaining qualifying small power production facility (QF) status under the...more
On August 31, 2018, NorthWestern Corporation (NorthWestern) petitioned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission) to revoke the qualifying small power production facility (QF) status of four wind projects...more
Is a co-located storage facility and wind or solar facility considered to be one qualifying facility (“QF”) under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (“PURPA”)? Or multiple QFs? How will the aggregate capacity of such...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced at its most recent monthly conference that it is taking a new look at PURPA. The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) was enacted in 1978 in response to the...more
In a decision issued last week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted summary judgment in favor of Winding Creek Solar LLC (“Winding Creek”). Winding Creek had alleged that certain California...more
On November 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit held in Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. Mass. Elec. Co. that a Qualifying Facility (QF) does not have a private right of action against a utility company...more
On June 28, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit rejected challenges to Connecticut’s renewable energy procurement process and renewable energy credit program (Allco Fin. Ltd. v. Robert J. Klee (Docket Nos....more