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Articles Posted in Energy

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Practical Tips for Managing Environmental Issues During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Due diligence and compliance challenges require flexible approaches and creative solutions. In “Practical Tips for Managing Environmental Issues During the Coronavirus Pandemic,” colleagues Sheila McCafferty Harvey and Reza Zarghamee discuss how proactive and creative compliance strategies, and effective strategies to document parties’ efforts to comply with existing obligations, can help hedge…

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Wyoming Governor Signs Law Allowing Retiring Fossil Plants to Be Replaced with Small Modular Nuclear Reactors

On March 13, 2020, Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon signed House Bill 74 (HB 74) into law. After the Governor signed HB 74, it became House Enrolled Act 60. HEA 60 allows utilities and other power plant owners to replace retiring coal and natural gas electric generation plants with small modular…

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No Sales or Use Tax Due on Materials and Equipment Used to Construct and Install Steam Facility at Tennessee Manufacturing Plant

In a letter ruling published March 16, 2020, the Tennessee Department of Revenue concluded that a contractor’s purchase of materials and equipment for use in the construction and installation of a new steam production facility at a federally owned manufacturing plant was exempt from Tennessee sales and use tax.  Tenn.…

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COVID-19’s Effects on California Executive Power and Industrial Facilities

California Governor Gavin Newsom has declared a state of emergency and, pursuant to his broad authority under the California Emergency Services Act and other statutory provisions, has issued Executive Orders suspending or modifying the effect of certain state statutes and regulation in response to COVID-19, and authorizing the commandeering of…

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Wyoming House Bill 74: Replacing Retiring Energy Sources with Small Nuclear Reactors

On March 10, 2020, the Wyoming legislature passed House Bill 74 (HB 74). If signed into law, HB 74 will allow utilities and other power plant owners to replace retiring coal and natural gas electric generation plants with small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs). HB 74 was introduced with bipartisan support…

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Deployment of SMRs: Key Market Trends for Consideration

Any strategy for the successful deployment of small modular reactors (SMRs) must thoroughly consider the current trends affecting the burgeoning market for SMRs. In 2019, the three major trends shaping this market were the large number of SMR designs, interest in SMRs in both mature and emerging markets, and factors…

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A Changing Climate for State Policy-Making Regarding Climate Change

Issued by 13 federal agencies, the 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment presented a stark warning on the consequences of climate change for the United States. The report predicts that if significant steps are not taken to rein in global warming, the damage will reduce the U.S. economy by as much…

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The State of the Energy Marketplace in the United States

Colleague Robert A. James has authored the United State chapter of Global Legal Group’s Energy 2020 in which he provides an overview of the current U.S. energy marketplace. In the chapter, Rob discusses the progress as well as the clashes on policies and projects in a wide variety of arenas,…

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Montana Federal Court Holds that an Interior Department’s Federal Advisory Committee Was Improperly Reestablished

On August 13, 2019, in a case that may have an impact on the leasing of federal lands for energy development in the future, the U.S. District Court for the Missoula, Montana Division, issued a ruling in the case of Western Organization of Resource Councils v. Bernhardt, which involves the…

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DC Circuit Approves, with Some Misgivings, FERC’s Approval of the Atlantic Sunrise Natural Gas Pipeline Extension

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit decided the case of Allegheny Defense Project, et al. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on August 2, 2019. In a Per Curiam opinion, the court denied petitions challenging the Commission’s orders permitting the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company’s expansion of an…