CEQ Issues Draft NEPA Guidance on Consideration of the Effects of Climate Change and Green House Gas Emissions

On February 18, 2010, the Council on Environmental Quality released, for public review and comment, a draft “Guidance Memorandum” on the consideration of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change impacts as part of compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act.

SEC Issues Guidance for Disclosing Material Climate Change Risks

On January 27, 2010, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 (along party lines) to issue an Interpretive Release intended to clarify existing disclosure requirements as they apply to “business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change.”

FERC Launches Inquiry About Integration of Variable Energy Resources Into the Transmission Grid

On January 21, 2010, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a Notice of Inquiry to explore whether any of its standardized rules or procedures governing organized energy markets or operation of the transmission grid should be changed to eliminate barriers to the integration of Variable Energy Resources.

Weekly Climate Change Policy Update - January 19, 2010

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) sees a bipartisan climate bill on the floor of the Senate in the Spring . . . Reid and some other Senate Democrats are rallying in opposition to an expected amendment from Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), but it’s not yet clear whether she will offer an amendment and, if she does, what form it will take . . . The countdown is underway: January 31 is the deadline under the Copenhagen Accord for major economies to register their mitigation commitments. It will be a first test of the durability of the Accord.

Court Halts Construction and Limits Operation of Wind Energy Project to Protect the Endangered Indiana Bat

On December 8, 2009, a federal district court in Maryland issued a significant decision in Animal Welfare Institute v. Beech Ridge Energy, LLC enjoining the construction and operation of a wind energy project in West Virginia based upon a conclusion that the project would take endangered Indiana Bats in violation of Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act.

Power Administrations Seek Increased Role

U.S. Climate Change Policy Will Drive Significant Investment Opportunities in Traditional and Alternative Energy

A new President and the likelihood of more Democrats in the House and Senate may tip the balance of power in energy debates from traditional oil and gas interests to proponents of new energy sources and cleantech goods and services. While we watch the election unfold, and as the rhetorical battles over energy policy continue in Washington, D.C., climate change legislation looms largest of all the energy debates.

Energy's Next Step

Once heralded as the lynchpin to America’s energy independence, ethanol is increasingly under attack as a flawed energy resource. The livestock and food industries criticize ethanol for the impact it has on the price of corn. Environmentalists point out that corn ethanol takes almost as much energy to make as it produces. Communities in more arid regions of the country worry about corn ethanol’s high demand for water.

Energy Daily Webinar: Energy Funding Opportunities in the Obama Administration

Jennifer Owen is speaking at this event.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Conference - "Multi-State Decision Making for Renewable Energy and Transmission: Spotlight on Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming"

Malcolm McLellan is speaking at this event.

Law Seminars International: Renewable Energy in the Pacific Northwest

Malcolm McLellan is speaking at this event.

The Business of Renewable Energy 2009

Curt Rich is speaking at this event. Ben McMakin is attending. Van Ness Feldman is a Major Sponsor.

Electric Energy: Markets, Regulation and Investment

Van Ness Feldman's Douglas Smith and Kyle Danish will be two of the Program Co-Chairs. Mr. Smith will speak at 10:45 AM on March 3 during the session "Electricity Utility Regulation: Current Regulatory Challenges". Mr. Danish will speak at 3:15 PM on March 3 during the session entitled "Climate Change and Strategies for Electric Utilites and their Regulators".