Vinson & Elkins’ Post

Legal rules for hydrogen - how, when, where? Join the lunch #webinar Tuesday 20th February to learn more about the legal aspects of #hydrogen in the society. Post.doc. Torhild Nordtveit from University of Bergen presents. Hydrogen as an energy carrier for the future is just off the starting blocks. The future promises a challenging orienteering race in which one must find all the “control points”, meaning knowledge of many kinds, necessary to enable a well-functioning hydrogen market. Some of these control points belong to the legal science. The presentation will address what control points we need to look for, and how they should be combined. Torhild Nordtveit has a varied background from both public administration and private consultancy. She holds a #PhD in private law and works as a postdoctoral researcher at the #HyValue project, combining private and public law with the development of the hydrogen market. #hydrogenmarket #hydrogeneconomy #energylaw #legalinnovation #eulaw #energymarket #energytransformation #detgrønneskiftet #bergenenergylab Ignacio Herrera Anchustegui - Ingrid Birce Muftuoglu - Jonas Solbakken - Kristine Spildo - Kim E. Andreassen - Norbert Lümmen - Velaug Myrseth Oltedal - Ernst Nordtveit https://lnkd.in/dJBGzyxh

Panel Spotlight at the Houston Energy Conference: Hydrogen´s New Frontiers, Wednesday, February 28, 2024, 9:00 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. Register for the conference and view the preliminary agenda here: https://lnkd.in/gucNyvQr Sponsoring Committee: International Energy & Environmental Law Committee Co-Sponsoring Committees: Cross Border Real Estate; International Investment & Development; Latin America & Caribbean Program Co-Chair/Moderator:  Mariana Ardizzone, Partner, Mitrani Caballero Ruiz Moreno, Buenos Aires, Argentina Program Co-Chair/Speaker:  Benedict Kirchner, Of Counsel, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Meadville, PA Speakers: Fernando Garcia Bonini, General Counsel, Total Americas, Houston, TX Tara Righetti, Professor, University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, WY Connor Thompson, Research Scholar, University of Houston Law Center, Houston, TX A clean energy alternative initially propelled from Europe is now expanding across the Atlantic as hydrogen projects are taking off throughout the Americas. To meet Net Zero emissions targets, demand for hydrogen is expected to increase up to ten times by 2050. How are policies, laws, and incentives shaping the hydrogen economy of the future across the different jurisdictions? Developing countries across the Americas call for foreign technologies and investment to harvest their green hydrogen valleys, but their vast natural gas reserves will likely continue to fuel their lower pace energy transition. Could technology transfers, and other strategies under the Paris agreement help bridge the gap? How will private landowners be involved? #energylaw #houston #hydrogen

Dr. Loren Scott joined Jason Spiess to discuss the EPA’s decision to award Louisiana the power to approve carbon capture projects. Louisiana is the third state—after North Dakota and Wyoming—given primary authority by EPA to issue permits for the Class VI wells used in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). North Dakota approved its fourth well permit last spring, and an ethanol producer named Red Trail Energy is already capturing and storing carbon there. Texas, West Virginia, and Arizona all have similar requests into EPA. The federal agency took 4 years to approve Louisiana’s bid for primacy. Proponents say giving more states primary authority to issue permits will accelerate approval of new projects essential to reduce CO2. Louisiana is an emerging hub of carbon management deployment working within the regional Gulf Coast context. In the state, there are 324 facilities that qualify for the 45Q tax credit, ranging from various power generation sources, refineries, and more industrial sectors. The emissions from these 320 facilities represent an estimated 99.7 percent of all the emissions from facilities in the state. https://lnkd.in/gvF8pMrG

Dr. Loren Scott joined Jason Spiess to discuss the EPA’s decision to award Louisiana the power to approve carbon capture projects. Louisiana is the third state—after North Dakota and Wyoming—given primary authority by EPA to issue permits for the Class VI wells used in carbon capture and sequestration (CCS). North Dakota approved its fourth well permit last spring, and an ethanol producer named Red Trail Energy is already capturing and storing carbon there. Texas, West Virginia, and Arizona all have similar requests into EPA. The federal agency took 4 years to approve Louisiana’s bid for primacy. Proponents say giving more states primary authority to issue permits will accelerate approval of new projects essential to reduce CO2. Louisiana is an emerging hub of carbon management deployment working within the regional Gulf Coast context. In the state, there are 324 facilities that qualify for the 45Q tax credit, ranging from various power generation sources, refineries, and more industrial sectors. The emissions from these 320 facilities represent an estimated 99.7 percent of all the emissions from facilities in the state. https://lnkd.in/gvF8pMrG

Have you wanted to know more about the Department of Energy's new Clean Hydrogen Hubs--but were afraid to ask? You're in luck—our Energy, Environment & Science Law Forum (EESLF) recently co-held a program all about these with D.C. Bar's EENR Community. Our EESLF cochair, Christina Bonanni, moderated a conversation between: * Suzanne Baker, Stakeholder Engagement Specialist in the Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations of the U.S. Department of Energy; * Nichole Saunders, Director & Senior Attorney for Energy Transition at the Environmental Defense Fund; and * Laura Goins, DEIA lead, NEPA Subject Matter Expert, and General Counsel for Allegheny Science and Technology. Here are just a few of their insights and takeaways: * Clean Hydrogen Hubs (CH2) that have received DOE funding have included substantial input from stakeholders and have been required to show various levels of information to progress through the award process with DOE; * Panelists agreed that community engagement and buy-in are crucial to the success of the CH2s and to assess the unique characteristics of the regions where each CH2 will be located; * CH2s must include many development partners with leadership in ESG and climate initiatives to further the dynamic, informed, and thoughtful development of clean hydrogen as a U.S. energy source. Want to ensure you hear about our next program? Be sure to join our mailing list at the link in the comments. #promotingwomenlawyers #CleanEnergy #HydrogenHub

Anastasia Makri, head of Energy, will address key issues of green energy investments at the 4th Energy Law Conference, taking place on April 3. During the conference, organised by NOMIKI BIBLIOTHIKI and the scientific magazine ‘’Environment and law’’, distinguished speakers from the legal, academic, and business sector will discuss the challenges and recent developments in the constantly evolving energy industry. You can register here: bit.ly/3xb3MA2  #zeposyannopoulos #NomikiBibliothikiConferences

🌎 The S.J. Quinney College of Law is hosting a Renewable Energy Transition symposium in March! Early bird 🐦 registration for this symposium ends on March 3rd, so register soon if interested. #renewableenergy #symposium #uofugeo #universityofutah "The Stegner Center’s 29th annual symposium will focus on the challenge of transitioning to a carbon-neutral energy system and related sustainability, environmental, and human health concerns. The symposium will address practical questions, like facility siting, supply chain adequacy, and permitting reform, as well as concerns about environmental justice, public participation and transparency, and implementing meaningful strategies to avoid, reduce and minimize impacts to communities and ecological resources." https://lnkd.in/gVQxVEeb

Andrés Chambouleyron at Berkeley Research Group breaks down how expropriation risk and damage mitigating efforts vary considerably by different energy sources. They both depend on the ratio of sunk to avoidable costs, i.e. the higher this ratio the higher expropriation risk and the lower the possibility of mitigating damages once expropriation is under way, and viceversa. On one end of the spectrum there are renewables, with a very high ratio of sunk to avoidable costs and on the other end, unconventional oil and gas production with a low ratio. Policy implications for high risk developing countries such as Argentina: low ratio industries do not require special guarantees to flourish (e.g. fracking in Vaca Muerta booming with 2.000 bps of CRP) while investors in high ratio industries such as renewables may require additional guarantees to sink capital (e.g. Renovar and FODER program). Law360

ISDS mechanisms often favor foreign investors over local communities and environmental regulations. We MUST exit ISDS to ensure governments can protect public interests and uphold social and environmental standards:

IN ONE HOUR: Join us for a webinar on our new #hydrogen study: https://lnkd.in/e35h4KbS. We’ll discuss how #envrionmentaljustice groups in the United States view hydrogen.