Confirming landowners’ signatory authority is crucial when preparing renewable energy leases or conducting due diligence in a renewable energy financing transaction. It is not enough to rely on a landowner’s word that he or she owns a proposed project area and has the right to encumber it with a renewable energy lease. While some leases include language certifying that the landowner executing the agreement has signatory authority, failing to properly confirm that authority can result in title issues, potentially requiring lease amendments or resulting in the denial of title insurance.
The Inflation Reduction Act: Green Energy Benefits
In the wake of increasing inflation and as a means of codifying several of the Biden administration’s legislative priorities, the Senate passed the $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act on August 7, 2022 (the “Act”), by a 51-50 party-line vote. The Act, which is comprised of sweeping healthcare, energy, and tax measures, was approved by the House of Representatives on August 12, 2022, and signed into law by President Biden on August 16, 2022, creating a significant number of renewable energy sector benefits.
New Statutory Requirements for Texas Wind Farm Leases
The Texas legislature recently passed House Bill 2845 (“HB 2845”) imposing specific requirements on wind energy leases and wind developers’ decommissioning obligations for wind energy projects. While wind leases typically impose obligations on project companies relating to the removal of wind projects, HB 2845 mandates that wind leases must include specific provisions describing such obligations.
FAA Changes Would Have Disrupted Financing of Wind Development Projects Nationwide
NOTE: An earlier draft of this update indicating that the FAA policy was still under consideration was inadvertently published last week. That draft was out of date and should not be relied on as a statement of FAA policies currently under consideration.
Changes to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) policy concerning the issuance of Determinations of No Hazard to Air Navigation (DNHs) under discussion late last year would have had profound and potentially adverse repercussions on wind development projects nationwide. Fortunately
Final Rule Improves Eagle Take Permitting Process
On December 16, 2016, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (the Service) issued a final rule revising the eagle take permit regulations. The rule is intended to make the permit process less onerous for wind energy project developers and other companies that engage in activities with the potential to disturb, injure, or kill bald and golden eagles. On that same date, the Service also published
Proposed Law Would Create Opportunities for Renewable Energy Development on Public Lands
Both the House and the Senate are considering a proposed law, the Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2015, to streamline permitting for renewable energy development projects on public land. Hearings were held by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on S.1407 on June 9, and by the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources on an identical bill, H.R. 2663, on July 13.