Capstone’s Post

🏛️ On June 28, 2024, the Supreme Court's decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo overturned the Chevron deference doctrine, reshaping the regulatory landscape for the energy industry. This 6-3 ruling could lead to increased legal challenges and slower regulatory processes, impacting how environmental laws are interpreted and enforced across states. ➡️ Learn more about the implications of this decision and how it may impact your energy and decarbonization strategy: https://bit.ly/3VVAdv0 #ChevronDoctrine #ChevronDeference #EnergyPolicy #PolicyUpdate

Take a look at this 2-page summary, written by Trio’s policy team, explaining how the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn the Chevron Doctrine may impact energy in the US.

With #SCOTUS gutting the executive's ability to effectuate legislatively authorized energy and environmental policy by overturning Chevron deference (see Loper Bright) and opening longstanding agency rules to perpetual challenge (see Corner Post), uncertainty over energy and climate policy at the Federal level may be a feature of the commercial landscape for the foreseeable future (great reporting as usual from Canary Media Inc.). So much as it ever was, it will be up to the states to lead the #cleanenergy transition - specifically, policies supporting distribution level #solar and #batterystorage assets are squarely within the states' domain. To take just one example, the California Public Utilities Commission can still do the right thing for customers by creating a durable #communitysolar policy - one that values hybrid assets' grid contributions and fast-tracks their interconnection, without Federal funding. This is achievable, and will save money for customers while supporting the grid. It's time for the states to lead!

🚨🚨 @Canary Media Inc. reports on the potentially devastating effects of the ⚖️ Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the Chevron doctrine two weeks ago. In a nutshell, the Chevron doctrine emphasized that courts should defer to government agencies if a rule or regulation is unclear because the agencies have much more expertise in subject matters than the judges. The Court’s 6-3 ruling on June 28 eliminates this doctrine completely. So now, the anti-renewable energy crowd is preparing lawsuits going after rulings by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and the U.S. Department of the Treasury, all of which have regulations and rules that affect the ☀️ #solar industry and other #cleanenergy industries as well. Jeff St. John has all the details. Read it and let me know what you think in the comments. https://lnkd.in/eTxKNqJb #Deliveringacleanenergyfuture #commercialsolar #communitysolar

The American Energy Society publishes an article called Energy Today. This one focuses on the "The “Bullshit Asymmetry Principle,” as applied to energy." Give it a read and check out a few of the other theories included such at Occam's Razor, Hitchen's Razor, and Brandolini's Law. It has hit the spot for me today after weekend discussions, and just a Monday in the energy industry. https://lnkd.in/g6FWwcta

I keep writing about how enviros overestimate what the private sector will do voluntarily to address environmental challenges. I always add I hope I’m wrong. But evidence keep saying otherwise. Sadly, now I can point to more and more examples like this (BP). We need public policy — mandates, regulations, incentives — to fully unlock what the private sector can do. Let’s not ask the private sector to do the right thing, let’s require it by law.

E&E DAILY | Capitol Hill Democrats and national environmental groups are joining a fight against Puerto Rico's powerful fiscal control board over policies meant to encourage the proliferation of rooftop solar. The federal Financial Oversight and Management Board — or "La Junta," as locals call it — recently directed Gov. Pedro Pierluisi to undo a new law that encourages rooftop solar development in Puerto Rico. The board argued the 2024 law known as Act 10 — which protects net metering until 2031 — would compromise the independence of the island's energy regulator, the Puerto Rico Energy Bureau. The board, created by Congress to help the island manage its fiscal crisis, threatened "take such actions it considers necessary, including initiating litigation" to undo the law. House Natural Resources Democrats, led by ranking member Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), are circulating a letter in response. Critics of the board's actions on solar are also looking to influence its composition. "Any attempt to reduce the economic viability of rooftop solar and batteries by paring back net metering should be rejected at this critical stage of Puerto Rico’s energy system transformation," said the draft letter seen by E&E News. "Net metering has proven essential for families in Puerto Rico and essential for Puerto Rico’s progress towards its own renewable goals," it said. ... Solar advocates — including Hill Democrats — say the net metering policy is the backbone of the proliferation of renewable power in Puerto Rico. “Net metering is uniquely important there,” a Democratic aide said, granted anonymity to explain the lawmakers' concerns. Credits for excess power production makes rooftop solar “more affordable and more inclusive and reduces demand for imported fuel like coal and natural gas," said the aide. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm, who has made several trips to the island, last year announced the $450 million Puerto Rico Energy Resilience Fund to connect 40,000 households to rooftop solar and storage. The Inflation Reduction Act also included incentives to help disadvantaged people get solar. ... Democrats and solar boosters say the administration's work could be undermined by a federal oversight board that’s currently stacked with five appointees whose terms have expired. “Right now, there’s a huge opportunity to change the makeup of the board,” said Javier Rúa-Jovet, chief policy officer of the Solar Energy and Storage Association of Puerto Rico. Of the six members on the panel, five are from the Obama and Trump eras who can stay on until they are replaced. So far, President Joe Biden has appointed just one: Juan Sabater, who helps lead an investment firm. Rúa-Jovet, who was in Congress to lobby lawmakers on the subject last week, said he hopes the White House asks candidates if they would uphold the president’s climate policy agenda. “Make it a litmus test,” he said.

March 7-8, at The Foundation for Natural Resources & Energy Law's Special Institute on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) in TX, Affie Ellis and Shane Schulz will speak on Social Acceptance and #EnvironmentalJustice Issues Related to CCUS and Courtney Shephard will speak on Permitting Onshore CCUS Projects in the U.S. #environmentalregulations, permitting and land use issues in #carboncapture. https://lnkd.in/gD7zRr-a

𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙨 𝘾𝙤𝙪𝙧𝙩 𝙑𝙤𝙞𝙙𝙨 𝘼𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙈𝙞𝙙-𝘼𝙩𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙘 𝙂𝙖𝙨 𝙋𝙧𝙤𝙟𝙚𝙘𝙩 A U.S. appeals court has voided the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC) approval of a $1 billion natural gas project in the mid-Atlantic, serving 3 million customers. The United States Court Of Appeals For The Fifth Circuit found FERC's approval "arbitrary and capricious," failing to adequately address environmental and public interest concerns. The court highlighted that FERC did not properly assess greenhouse gas emissions or New Jersey's clean energy laws. Environmental groups and eight states challenged the project, which primarily benefits New Jersey. FERC must now reassess the project's approval. Williams Cos, the project's developer, plans to address the court's concerns, asserting that the decision won't delay the project's full implementation. #NaturalGas #EnvironmentalLaw #EnergyRegulation #CleanEnergy #ClimateAction #MidAtlantic #FERC #CourtDecision #Sustainability #EnergyProjects https://lnkd.in/ggpGv_j7

What can FERC do for regional gas transmission planning? As Libby Dimenstein and I explain in our new Columbia Journal of Environmental Law paper, a lot... https://lnkd.in/em8dWpma