Archive:2021

1
The Energizer – Volume 92
2
White House Chooses Exclusion of Silica-Based Products Produced Using Forced Labor, Impacting Solar PVs
3
The Energizer – Volume 91
4
D.C. Circuit Affirms That Offshore Wind Lease Does Not Trigger NEPA Review
5
Infocast Virtual Master Class: Negotiating & Documenting Corporate PPAs
6
The Energizer – Volume 90
7
Hydrogen Rising — U.S. Tax Incentives: New Opportunities for Hydrogen Investments
8
Oregon Passes Law to Explore Opportunities for Renewable Hydrogen Development
9
Hydrogen Rising — Fuel Cells & Beyond: Cummins & the Hydrogen Economy
10
The Energizer – Volume 89

The Energizer – Volume 92

By: Buck B. EndemannDaniel S. CohenMolly K. BarkerNatalie J. ReidMatthew P. ClarkNathan C. HoweMaeve C. TibbettsOretha A. Manu

There is a lot of buzz around clean technology, distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and other technological innovations in renewable energy and clean transport industries, and how these developments can contribute to solving longstanding environmental justice issues. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumers and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy industry forward.

IN THIS ISSUE: 

  • Connecticut Passes Legislation Targeting 1 GW Energy Storage by 2030
  • FERC to Establish Federal-State Task Force Addressing Electric Transmission Issues
  • NRG Energy Announces Retirement of Three More Coal-Fired Facilities
  • IKEA and Rockefeller Foundations Pledge $1 Billion to Support Distributed Energy Development

White House Chooses Exclusion of Silica-Based Products Produced Using Forced Labor, Impacting Solar PVs

By: Stacy J. Ettinger, Amy L. Groff, William D. Semins, Caitlin C. Blanche, Coleman Wombwell, Elizabeth C. Crouse

Today, the White House announced that Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued a withhold release order (the Order) on products manufactured using silica-based products produced by Hoshine Silicon Industry Co., Ltd., and its subsidiaries (“Hoshine”), which are purportedly the world’s largest metallurgical-grade silicon producers. Hoshine has been linked to forced labor in the Xinjiang province of the People’s Republic of China (the PRC). The Order covers silica-based products and materials or goods derived from or produced using those silica-based products. Thus, CBP may use the Order to seize or exclude a variety of products, including solar photovoltaic panels.

The Energizer – Volume 91

By: Buck B. Endemann, Daniel S. Cohen, Molly K. Barker, Natalie J. Reid, Matthew P. Clark, Nathan C. Howe, Maeve C. Tibbetts, Oretha A. Manu

There is a lot of buzz around clean technology, distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and other technological innovations in renewable energy and clean transport industries, and how these developments can contribute to solving longstanding environmental justice issues. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumers and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy industry forward.

IN THIS ISSUE: 

  • DOE Launches Clean Hydrogen Initiative
  • Small Modular Reactors Could Play Large Role in Washington State Energy Transformation
  • The Business Network for Offshore Wind Releases Guide to Opportunities in Floating Offshore Wind Deployment
  • Senate Finance Committee Advances Clean Energy for America Act Targeting Clean Energy and Electric Vehicle Credits
  • California Waters Open Up to Offshore Wind for the First Time in Nation’s History

D.C. Circuit Affirms That Offshore Wind Lease Does Not Trigger NEPA Review

By: J. Timothy HobbsAnkur K. TohanRobert M. SmithDavid L. WochnerNatalie J. Reid

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) does not need to conduct full environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) when granting an offshore wind farm lease, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has affirmed. The decision followed a lawsuit by commercial fishing organizations and seaside municipalities who claimed that BOEM violated NEPA and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) when it auctioned an offshore lease to Equinor (formerly Statoil) without performing an environmental review of the anticipated windfarm project. The decision puts to rest the question of whether a mere lease sale may trigger extensive environmental review under NEPA, potentially streamlining the initial lease acquisition process, but also requiring the investment of significant funds before developers have cleared environmental review.

Infocast Virtual Master Class: Negotiating & Documenting Corporate PPAs

CO-HOSTED WITH K&L GATES

29-30 July 2021

Over the last decade, corporate buyers and renewable energy suppliers have developed a variety of innovative structures to enable corporations to purchase renewable energy.

In the Negotiating & Documenting Corporate PPAs Master Class, expert instructors will provide an overview of the types of agreements that are commonly used to facilitate corporate renewable energy procurement, as well as when best to use them.

Attend to expand your knowledge and gain expert insights for real-world applications:

  • Background: Utility Monopolies and Exclusive Service Territories
  • REC Agreements
  • Green Tariffs 1.0
  • Green Tariffs 2.0
  • On-site solar PPAs
  • Physical PPAs (including direct access)
  • Community Solar PPAs
  • Virtual PPAs (VPPAs/contracts for differences)
  • Portfolio Aggregation PPAs
  • Block Delivery PPAs

Instructors will include: William H. Holmes, Lana Le Hir, Elizabeth Crouse, James Douglass, Tariq Fedda, Kenneth Gish, and Teresa Hill.

The Energizer – Volume 90

By: Buck B. Endemann, Daniel S. Cohen, Molly K. Barker, Natalie J. Reid, Matthew P. Clark, Nathan C. Howe, Maeve C. Tibbetts, Oretha A. Manu

There is a lot of buzz around clean technology, distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and other technological innovations in renewable energy and clean transport industries, and how these developments can contribute to solving longstanding environmental justice issues. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumers and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy industry forward.

IN THIS ISSUE: 

  • Twinning Nuclear Reactors with Machine Learning
  • FERC Invites Post-Technical Conference Comments on RTO/ISO Credit Practices
  • University of Illinois Will Soon Complete Final Phase of Solar Farm 2.0 Project
  • Spain Passes Carbon Neutrality Legislation that Bans Fossil Fuel Vehicles from Circulation within Nation’s Borders by 2050

Hydrogen Rising — U.S. Tax Incentives: New Opportunities for Hydrogen Investments

In part one of a two-part series, K&L Gates’ Seattle partner and leader of the firm’s Renewable Energy Tax practice, Elizabeth Crouse, speaks with Hydrogen Rising co-host David Wochner about federal tax incentives for hydrogen, including pros and cons related to the 45Q tax credit and a discussion of U.S. Senator Tom Carper’s new legislation specifically promoting investments in hydrogen.

Oregon Passes Law to Explore Opportunities for Renewable Hydrogen Development

By: Gabrielle E. Thompson and William H. Holmes

On 19 May 2021, Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 333 into law, which directs the Oregon Department of Energy to study the potential for development of renewable hydrogen production and use in Oregon. The results of the study are due to the Legislature by 15 September 2022.

Under the new law, the study will evaluate the benefits, as well as any barriers, to the production and use of renewable hydrogen in Oregon. The study will utilize existing data, studies, or other publicly available materials to analyze how “renewable hydrogen may support existing renewable energy and greenhouse gas reduction policies and goals in Oregon.”1

Specifically, the study will identify the total hydrogen volume currently used each year in Oregon by various industries and the potential applications of renewable hydrogen in Oregon by 2030 by sectors such as transportation, industry, electricity generation, and energy storage. The study will also include an assessment of the potential for using renewable hydrogen in conjunction with other renewable electricity generation to increase resiliency or to provide flexible loads.

Additionally, the study will look at the forecasted costs of renewable hydrogen and how those costs may affect its adoption in Oregon. Finally, the study will consider and identify any technological, policy, commercial, or economic barriers to the adoption of renewable hydrogen in Oregon.

The study represents an important first step in determining the opportunities for developing renewable hydrogen production and development in Oregon, which has adopted a Renewable Portfolio Standard that requires 50 percent of the electricity Oregonians use come from renewable sources by 2040. Renewable hydrogen is another potential source that could be used to meet those renewable energy requirements.

The bill, which was sponsored in the Senate by Senator Lee Beyer (D – Springfield), received a unanimous vote in favor by the House Energy and Environment Committee and received bipartisan support from Representative Helm (D – Washington County) and Representative Brock-Smith (R – Port Orford), who carried the bill to the House floor where it passed unanimously.

The bill was drafted by Renewable Hydrogen Alliance (RHA), a trade association based in Portland, Oregon, with more than 70 members in the United States and worldwide dedicated to the mission of using renewable electricity to create clean fuels.


1Senate Bill (SB) 333 Enrolled (2021).

Hydrogen Rising — Fuel Cells & Beyond: Cummins & the Hydrogen Economy

Hydrogen Rising co-hosts Sandra Safro and David Wochner welcome to the podcast Traci Kraus, Director of Government Relations for Cummins Inc., to discuss Cummins’ role in the development of the hydrogen economy, the opportunities and applications Cummins sees on the horizon, and the chances for advancement of the U.S. hydrogen industry on Capitol Hill and in the new Biden Administration.

The Energizer – Volume 89

By: Buck B. EndemannDaniel S. CohenMolly K. BarkerNatalie J. ReidMatthew P. ClarkNathan C. HoweOretha Manu

There is a lot of buzz around clean technology, distributed energy resources (DERs), microgrids, and other technological innovations in renewable energy and clean transport industries, and how these developments can contribute to solving longstanding environmental justice issues. As these innovations develop, energy markets will undergo substantial changes to which consumers and industry participants alike will need to adapt and leverage. Every other week, K&L Gates’ The Energizer will highlight emerging issues or stories relating to the use of DERs, energy storage, emerging technologies, hydrogen, and other innovations driving the energy industry forward.

IN THIS ISSUE: 

  • Hydrostor Receives Funding for Utility-Scale A-CAES Facility
  • Southern Utilities Reshuffle Renewable Energy Priorities
  • PJM Suggets Modified MOPR Provisions to Address State Clean Energy Policies
  • FERC Holds Technical Conference on Electrification and the Grid of the Future
  • Ford Invests in EV Battery Manufacturer Start-Up

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