Last month, Husch Blackwell published its seventh-annual report on public-private partnerships (P3s) and alternative project delivery strategies. This year’s report features an interesting article by Michael Blackwell, an attorney on the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources team, that explores how P3s and P3-like agreements might be deployed to hasten the transition from fossil fuels
At its May 13, 2024 open meeting the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) unanimously approved Order No. 1977,[1] which updates the process FERC uses when exercising its transmission siting authority under Section 216 of the Federal Power Act, as amended by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA).
At its May 13, 2024 open meeting, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a groundbreaking final rule—Order No. 1920[1] —requiring public utilities to undertake new long-term regional transmission planning over a 20-year horizon and allocate the cost of selected transmission projects in a manner that corresponds to the benefits they provide.
For one reason or another, not every parcel of land originally targeted for a renewable energy project is able to be included in a final site plan. Typically, developers try to secure private easements from contiguous landowners, but landowners are not always willing to execute easements.
On April 30, 2024, the Department of the Treasury issued final regulations on tax credit transfers that allow hydrogen producers to sell tax credits earned under § 45V of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Section 6418 of the Internal Revenue Code and the final regulation issued thereunder allow credit purchasers to use purchased credits to offset their tax liability. Credit sellers will be able to sell credits that they would not otherwise be able to use due to insufficient tax liability. Given such powerful incentives, many energy producers are wondering how to add “green” hydrogen (discussed below) to their portfolios by powering hydrogen facilities with wind turbines and solar panels. Here, we discuss what wind and solar producers should keep in mind as they plan, negotiate, and begin developing hydrogen plants powered by renewable energy, with a particular focus on site control.
NERC recently filed rule changes with FERC that propose to significantly expand NERC registration and compliance requirements to inverter based resources, such as renewable energy and battery facilities, that historically were too small to be subject to such requirements. NERC’s proposed rule changes are one of the latest developments in NERC’s multi-year effort to address the “reliability gap” associated with these types of resources.
As the energy transition continues, battery energy storage has become an increasingly critical form of technology to support and maximize variable renewable energy resources such as wind and solar, and add a level of reliability and resilience to the grid. While the development process for a standalone battery energy storage project typically does not differ significantly from its wind or solar counterparts, there are a several considerations unique to the nature of battery storage to consider when negotiating the site control documents for the project.
On March 21, 2024, FERC issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) to revise its reactive power compensation rules to limit compensation to interconnection customers to times when the transmission provider asks the interconnection customer to operate its facility outside the standard power factor range established in the interconnection agreement.
On March 21, 2024, FERC issued a follow up rehearing order to its landmark Order No. 2023 generator interconnection reform rule, providing several clarifications and tweaks in response to industry comments.
The future of the green hydrogen industry in the United States will become a bit clearer in the coming weeks. Comments on the proposed hydrogen tax credits in 26 USC 45V were due by February 26, 2024, and will be discussed at a public hearing scheduled for March 25, 2024. This hearing will provide the public a clearer prediction of 45V’s final form.