Tag:Renewable Energy

1
What to Know About ISO/RTO Annual Certification Requirements
2
Financing the Renewable Hydrogen Revolution
3
Join CleanCapital for a Webinar: How is the Inflation Reduction Act Affecting Clean Energy Developers?
4
Reactive Power Compensation for Renewable Energy Facilities: Opportunity Amidst Change
5
Update on the Tax Credit Revolution: Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Clock Starts Soon
6
The Tax Credit Revolution
7
Declaration Of Emergency And Authorization For Temporary Extensions Of Time And Duty-Free Importation Of Solar Cells And Modules From SE Asia
8
2022 Offshore Wind Handbook Now Available
9
Five Agencies Issue Ambitious Renewable Energy Goals for Federal Lands: 25GW by 2025
10
Sustainable Outlook: 100% Renewable Energy, 100% For Humanity With Sandra Kwak, Founder of 10Power

What to Know About ISO/RTO Annual Certification Requirements

By: Ruta Skučas, Stephanie Staska (Director of Trade and Risk Products at Yes Energy), and Chimera Thompson

Explore an overview of the annual certification requirements in each of the organized wholesale electricity markets operated by the independent system operators and regional transmission organizations (ISO/RTOs) in the United States. Each year, market participants must certify ongoing compliance through an officer’s certification stating that they meet requirements to participate in the market.

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Financing the Renewable Hydrogen Revolution

A Supplement to The H2 Handbook, United States

Risk in the hydrogen industry spans multiple areas, from feedstock and power supply to offtake and transportation. Understanding the regulatory, tax, and practical considerations of hydrogen projects, particularly green hydrogen, is essential for formulating an investment strategy for renewable hydrogen.

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Join CleanCapital for a Webinar: How is the Inflation Reduction Act Affecting Clean Energy Developers?

In August Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act, a landmark climate and clean energy bill. Six months later, we’re asking: where are we now?

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Reactive Power Compensation for Renewable Energy Facilities: Opportunity Amidst Change

By: Ruta Skučas, Maria Faconti, and Kimberly Frank

Originally published in the Oil, Gas & Energy Resources Law Section Report – Volume 47, Number 1 / January 2023.

Reactive power provides synchronous and non-synchronous generators, as well as other forms of non-generation resources capable of providing reactive power, with a potential additional revenue stream. The provision of voltage support to the grid is an ancillary service, compensated in various ways in the various wholesale electricity markets. Renewable developers should familiarize themselves with the opportunities provided by reactive power compensation, even as some of the compensation models may be shifting.

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Update on the Tax Credit Revolution: Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Clock Starts Soon

U.S. Energy, Infrastructure, and Resources Alert

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse, and Craig E. Leen

The US Treasury Department released a preliminary draft of Notice 2022-61 (the Notice) on 29 November 2022 and the final on 30 November 2022. Taxpayers now have 59 days to begin construction on qualified projects without causing those projects to be subject to the new prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements. The U.S. Department of Labor also released companion FAQs on the prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules 29 November 2022. The Notice generally applies to credits under Code[1] Sections 30C (alternative fuel infrastructure), 45Y (post-2024 electricity PTC[2]), 48E (post-2024 electricity ITC[3]), 45V (hydrogen PTC), 45 (current electricity PTC), 48 (current electricity ITC), 45Q (carbon capture), 45L (energy efficient homes), 45U (zero-emission nuclear power), 48C (advanced energy manufacturing facilities), and 179D (energy efficient commercial buildings), but the beginning of construction rules apply more narrowly.

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The Tax Credit Revolution

Please Join us as The Tax Credit Revolution Webinar series continues on Monday, 19 September at 12:00 p.m. ET. This part will be co-hosted by K&L Gates and Marsh

The Tax Credit Revolution: What You Need to Know About How the IRA Will Impact Insurance for Tax Credit Risks

Tax insurance provides renewable energy developers and tax equity investors with a cost-effective risk mitigation tool to protect taxpayers against the loss of renewable energy tax credits in the event of a successful IRS challenge. Join us for a discussion on how tax insurance has become a widely used solution to ensure successful financing in the development of renewable energy projects and how we expect coverage to expand in response to new considerations under the Inflation Reduction Act. 

Speaker: Antony Joyce MarshAlisha Soares Marsh
Moderator: Elizabeth Crouse K&L Gates

To view all previously recorded The Tax Credit Revolution webinars, follow this link

Declaration Of Emergency And Authorization For Temporary Extensions Of Time And Duty-Free Importation Of Solar Cells And Modules From SE Asia

By Stacy J. Ettinger

On June 6, 2022, President Biden issued a declaration of emergency and authorization for temporary extensions of time and duty-free importation of solar cells and modules from SE Asia under 19 USC 1318(a). The basis for the declaration of emergency is the need to ensure electric resource adequacy and address the unavailability of solar cells and modules that is jeopardizing new, planned solar installations.

In short, there is an emergency because the US is unable to import solar modules in sufficient quantities to ensure solar capacity additions necessary to achieve US climate and clean energy goals, ensure electricity grid resource adequacy, and help combat rising energy price.

Statutory authority. The statutory authority cited in the declaration (19 USC 1318(a)) is a catch-all provision that allows the president to authorize CBP to permit duty free entry of certain items if the president declares the existence of an emergency.

Specifically, the statute provides for “the importation free of duty of food, clothing, and medical, surgical, and other supplies for use in emergency relief work.” Expect arguments from stakeholders that solar products don’t fit within the list, but this law is about as good as gets if you want to find a way to stop the application of antidumping and/or countervailing duties (“ADCVDs”).

Here’s how this is going to work—

New Commerce regulation. Commerce likely will publish an interim final regulation – before the date of the preliminary determination in the solar circumvention proceedings – that will allow Commerce to instruct CBP to not collect duties on cells/modules from the four SE Asian countries for a period of 24 months (starting from the date of the proclamation). The new regulation will not apply to the current ADCVDs on imports of Chinese or Taiwanese solar cells/modules.

Current regulations (19 CFR Part 358) set forth the procedures for importation of supplies for use in emergency relief work free of ADCVDs, as authorized under 19 USC 1318(a). These regulations were published in 2006 (71 FR 63230 (October 30, 2006)). 

Commerce will continue with the circumvention inquiries. Commerce officials put out a press release on June 6 clarifying that the agency will continue the ongoing circumvention inquiries. The release states that “whatever conclusion Commerce reaches when the [circumvention] investigation concludes will apply once this short-term emergency period [24 months] is over. In accordance with the President’s declaration, no solar cells or modules imported from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam will be subject to new antidumping or countervailing duties during the period of the emergency. Existing duties on Chinese and Taiwanese imports of solar cells and modules remain in effect.”

Commerce could still go negative at the prelim or final. Commerce is proceeding with the circumvention inquiries related to imports of cells/modules from the four SE Asian countries. Commerce’s preliminary determination is due no later than August 29, 2022; Commerce’s final determination is due by January 26, 2023. Commerce could still issue a negative determination at the prelim or final stage of the circumvention inquiries.

What happens if Commerce goes affirmative? If Commerce goes affirmative, per its regulations it must direct CBP to suspend liquidation and require a cash deposit of estimated duties. Pursuant to the emergency declaration and new regulation, Commerce would have the authority to not follow its regulations. In other words, Commerce would instruct CBP to not suspend liquidation or collect cash deposits for imports of solar cells/modules from the four SE Asian countries.

What could go wrong with this plan? Possible risk is that an interested party to the circumvention inquiries (such as the domestic manufacturer that requested the inquiries) will sue on the new regulation and/or Commerce’s application of the current regulation (19 CFR Part 358), arguing duty free treatment of solar cells/modules is beyond the scope of products covered under the statute (19 USC 1318(a)). The litigation could take at least a couple years to play out.

If the plaintiff were to prevail (and assuming an affirmative final regarding circumvention), suspension of liquidation and estimated duty payments would kick in. It is unclear whether suspension/duty payments would be retroactive (ie, to date of affirmative preliminary determination) or prospective (eg, from the effective date of the final court decision). The latter seems more likely.

The bottom line. Implementation of the Declaration should provide a two year window during which developers and other solar system providers should be able to import panels from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam without the risk of retroactive tariffs.

Relevant documents

Declaration of Emergency and Authorization for Temporary Extensions of Time and Duty-Free Importation of Solar Cells and Modules from Southeast Asia | The White House

FACT SHEET: President Biden Takes Bold Executive Action to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing | The White House

President Biden Invokes Defense Production Act to Accelerate Domestic Manufacturing of Clean Energy | Department of Energy

Department of Commerce Statement on President Biden’s Proclamation on Solar Cells and Modules | U.S. Department of Commerce

2022 Offshore Wind Handbook Now Available

U.S. Offshore Wind Handbook Helps Navigate Technical and Regulatory Issues

We are pleased to announce the release of the 2022 edition of the Offshore Wind Handbook, a collaboration between K&L Gates, Mainstream Renewable Power, and Kent plc., written to help guide investors and new market entrants through technical and regulatory issues in a fast-paced developing U.S. offshore wind market.

To view the 2022 Offshore Wind Handbook, click here.

Five Agencies Issue Ambitious Renewable Energy Goals for Federal Lands: 25GW by 2025

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse and David Wang

Five federal agencies (the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Defense (DoD), Energy (DOE), and Interior (DOI), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)) have announced in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that they will “prioritize and expedite” the development of at least 25GW of renewable energy on federal lands administered by DOI and USDA by 2025. The MOU contemplates continued cooperation in respect of renewable energy development on additional federal lands between 2025 and 2030. This initiative, which is pursuant to directives set forth by the Energy Act of 2020, aims to improve interagency cooperation for the expedited processing of wind, solar, and geothermal energy applications. This includes the development of supporting activities, such as electric transmission, access routes, energy storage, and land use planning. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service (USFS), in coordination with the National and BLM Renewable Energy Coordination Offices (RECOs), will be the lead agencies overseeing the interagency coordination and expedited reviews for the respective lands they administer.

In addition to increasing coordination of environmental and other agency reviews, the five agencies aim to improve interagency collaboration in the National and BLM RECOs, identify opportunities for coordination with state and Tribal governments, and streamline the project approval process by eliminating redundancies and accelerating decision-making. The MOU notes that, in the course of conducting the reviews, consideration will be given to “the protection for cultural resources and sacred sites as well as the Nation’s land, water, and biodiversity, and fostering creation of jobs to support local communities.” The federal government’s ambitious prioritization of the development of renewable energy generation facilities and key ancillary activities such as transmission presents tremendous opportunities for developers and investors. Moreover, the focus on DOI lands indicates strong support for Tribes and echoes the Biden administration’s support for economic development and energy justice. However, working with the federal government can be complicated, even during an administration that clearly means business when it comes to climate change and the energy transition. Our Public Policy, Government Contracting, Indian Law, and Power teams stand by to help you navigate the challenges and seize the opportunities.

To learn more about K&L Gates’ Public Policy, Government Contracting, American Indian Law, and Power practice areas, please visit our website.

Sustainable Outlook: 100% Renewable Energy, 100% For Humanity With Sandra Kwak, Founder of 10Power

Date: 29 October 2021

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse

On the latest episode of Sustainable Outlook, host Elizabeth Crouse sits down with Sandra Kwak, founder of 10Power, to discuss the social mission behind 10Power’s renewable energy projects in developing nations and the importance of reinvesting their revenue to empower local communities through education and technology.

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