Legal

FY 2014 Budget Proposal: Significant Investment in Clean Energy Development

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In his FY 2014 budget proposal, President Obama increases spending on clean energy development, seeking to expedite R&D and boost cost-competitiveness and deployment of clean energy technologies.

President Barack Obama’s FY2014 budget plan released on April 10, 2013, proposes increases in spending for clean energy production and deployment. The budget aims to support cost-competitiveness and deployment of renewable power, electric vehicles, advanced biofuels, innovative manufacturing processes, and energy efficiency in residential and commercial buildings. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 19, 2013 at 1:00 PM

Alaska Legislature Passes Oil Tax Reform Bill

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Alaska’s legislature has given final approval to a bill designed to reform the state’s oil tax structure with significant tax cuts aimed to spur production and new investment.

On April 14, 2013, Alaska’s Legislature passed Senate Bill 21, an oil-tax reform bill aimed to encourage industry production and investment. The approval came on the final day of the 90-day legislative session after the Senate accepted amendments made by the House. The Senate passed the bill by a vote of 12-8, and the House passed its version by a vote of 27-12. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 18, 2013 at 1:30 PM

Government Policy Can Help Innovate the Path to a Clean Energy Future

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The key to broader penetration of solar energy depends on access to capital markets and innovative financial structures that can reduce the cost of capital for project finance as well as increase the investor base beyond the traditional tax-equity driven investors. There is a strong case for the DOE to establish the Advancd Research Project Agency-Capital (ARPA-C) that will function to support the broader adoption and commercialization of renewable energy through mechanisms, including credit enhancment and direct equity investments for capital market project aggregation warehouse facilities and securitization transactions.

While ARPA-E has been successful for the deveopment of new renewable technologies, the renewable sector can benefit from the expansion of ARPA-E to include capital to catalyze the breakthroughs for financial innovations. ARPA-C innovations can help bridge the funding gap that challenges renewable energy growth by providing structural support for renewable energy projects to develop capital markets solutions. Capital Markets structures can help reduce the total installed cost of solar electricity significantly – and combined with other DOE initiatives could help make solar power cost-competitive without additional subsidies. The Obama adminstration outlined in the March 20, 2011 publication “Blueprint for a secure energy future”, three major goals : Keep reading →

 /  Published April 17, 2013 at 2:30 PM

Good News From the IRS on the PTC for Wind and Geothermal

By Greentech Media


The IRS has clarified the “under construction” provision in the production tax credit.

Some good news from the IRS on April 15. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 17, 2013 at 12:30 PM

Devon Confident on Keystone XL Oil Pipeline

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Devon Energy chief executive John Richels is confident that US President Barack Obama’s administration will approve the the Keystone XL pipeline, but he expects the gap between prices for Canadian heavy oil and US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) to narrow even if the pipeline never gets built.

“Keystone XL is going to be approved,” Richels told attendees of the Independent Petroleum Association of America’s Oil and Gas Investment Symposium in New York on Tuesday. “From a national point of view it makes no sense for the President not to approve that, and buy more oil from Venezuela and the Middle East.” The Keystone XL pipeline, as envisaged, would transport up to 830,000 barrels per day of Canadian oil from Alberta to US refineries. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 17, 2013 at 10:30 AM

Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Plans Natural Gas Forums

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The Senate Energy Committee’s natural gas forums, scheduled for May 2013, will assess several issues surrounding natural gas development to ensure that upcoming policies will maximize economic benefits while maintaining environmental safety.

On April 3, 2013, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore) and Ranking Member Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) announced the committee’s plan to hold three natural gas forums in May. The forums will address topics including a scrutiny of estimates of domestic supply, and potential benefits and consequences resulting from expansion of exports. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 11, 2013 at 12:30 PM

DOE Nominee Moniz Asked About LNG Exports at Hearing

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President Obama’s nominee to lead the Department of Energy, Ernest Moniz, dealt with questions about LNG exports from both sides of the aisle during his Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources hearing held Tuesday April 9th.

If confirmed, which is widely expected, Moniz would be in charge of the department responsible for issuing some of the permits needed to export LNG from the US. He previously supported exports in a co-chaired 2011 MIT report entitled “The Future of Natural Gas,” which concluded “The U.S. should sustain North American energy market integration and support development of a global ‘liquid’ natural gas market with diversity of supply. A corollary is that the U.S. should not erect barriers to natural gas imports or exports.” Keep reading →

 /  Published April 10, 2013 at 2:30 PM

AFPM Says EPA Fuel Standard ‘Divorced from Reality’

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The American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers filed comments opposing the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rule Regulation of Fuels and Fuel Additives: 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

“I have long asserted that the RFS is broken and is harmful to countless parties, but nothing has been done to address the problems it has created,” said AFPM President Charles T. Drevna in a statement. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 10, 2013 at 10:30 AM

Energy Legal Work Takes the Number Two Spot: Growth Forecast

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Energy law was a star performer for the sector in the first quarter of 2013.

Only a spate of mega-deals in the technology, media and telecoms space kept energy sector legal work from once again taking the top spot in law firm activity in the first quarter of 2013 according to the latest rankings and data from Mergermarket. Keep reading →

 /  Published April 8, 2013 at 1:30 PM

Energy News Roundup: Iran Moving Beyond Oil, US Oil Pipelines and Off Road Vehicle Parts from China Run Afoul of EPA

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Here are some interesting energy-related tid bits making the rounds this week.

Iran Moving Beyond Oil Keep reading →

 /  Published April 5, 2013 at 12:30 PM
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