Carly Feliciani | Global Power Law & Policy

K&L Gates’ Quick Guide to the Polish Auction System for Renewables

Sep 21 2018

K&L Gates is pleased to introduce our Quick Guide to the Polish Auction System for Renewables. Find the full version of the guide here.

Wind energy is breaking new ground in Poland. After a few years of stagnation, there is well-grounded optimism for the dynamic development of onshore and offshore RES.

A 1000 MW wind auction is expected in November 2018, with more to come in 2019. Bidders will compete in offering the lowest price over a 15-year period, plus indexation, and the auction winners will receive an estimated 12–15 billion PLN, i.e., ca. 4 billion EUR over this period.

The government is working on a separate piece of legislation concerning public support for the first offshore wind farms on the Polish Baltic Sea. However, concessions for offshore wind are already awarded and the industry is gearing up for the construction phrase. Offshore wind will likely feature here sooner rather than later.

Never before experienced growth is also anticipated in the solar market, with an auction for around 750 MW of new capacity in 2018. This exceeds by a few times the capacity of all solar installations existing so far in Poland.

The auctions are bound to bring the country closer to meeting the 15% target of renewables’ share in electricity generation. The Polish renewable generation will finally get a much needed boost after the delays experienced on the EU 2020 path.

It is therefore our pleasure to present this quick guide on the auction system for renewables – a compendium of knowledge prepared by the Polish Wind Energy Association and one of the association’s members

– K&L Gates law firm.

We hope that you will find the guide interesting.

Powering America: The Role of Energy Storage in the Nation’s Electricity System

Jul 18 2018

By Kathleen Nicholas and Tim Peckinpaugh

Today, the House Energy and Commerce Committee convened its eleventh hearing in its “Powering America” series. The series goal is to examine all aspects of the U.S. electricity sector, and today the focus was on energy storage. Members on both sides of the political divide agreed utilization of battery and other storage systems presents an opportunity to better optimize the country’s electricity system, and help bolster vulnerable places like Puerto Rico and rural areas.

The witnesses today were:

Dr. Keith E. Casey, Vice President, Market and Infrastructure Development, California ISO (Opening Statement)
Mr. Mark Frigo, Vice President and Head of Energy Storage, E.ON North America (Opening Statement)
Mr. Kiran Kumaraswamy, Market Applications Director, Fluence (Opening Statement)
Dr. Zachary Kuznar, Director, CHP Microgrid and Energy Storage Development, Duke Energy Corporation (Opening Statement)
Mr. Kushal Patel, Partner, Energy and Environmental Economics, Incorporated (Opening Statement)

A variety of topics were broached during the hearing, including ways the federal government can be helpful to the storage industry and how large-scale storage can be applied to the grid in ways that increase resiliency and reliability, and are beneficial to ratepayers.

You can view an archived video of the webcast here.

Women in Power event: Indentifying and Innovating through Points of Resistance in Renewables

Mar 28 2018

3 April 2018
8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

K&L Gates
925 Fourth Avenue
Floor 29
Seattle, WA 98104

Presenters: Elizabeth Thomas, Jessica C. Tsao, Elizabeth C. Crouse, Elisabeth Yandell McNeil

The Seattle office is hosting a series of exciting discussions about the innovations driving the renewables industry into the future. A diverse range of women panelists from across the industry will discuss methods that industry participants are currently developing to move through known constraints and collaboratively identify additional points of resistance and possibilities for pushing through them.

8:30 a.m. Registration & Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Morning Updates
12:15 p.m. Keynote Panel & Lunch
1:30 p.m. Conclusion

Morning Updates
Regulatory Considerations
Moderator: Liz Thomas, K&L Gates LLP, Seattle
Mariah Kennedy, Puget Sound Energy
Rachel Brombaugh, King County

Technological Advances
Moderator: Jessica Tsao, K&L Gates LLP, Seattle
Jennifer Worrall, Iteros
Kristine Parra, Washington Clean Energy Testbeds
Laura McCarty, Local-E and Energy Trading Technology, Inc.

Finance and Strategy of Expansion
Moderator: Elizabeth Crouse, K&L Gates LLP, Seattle
Corey Camacho, Vestas
Karin Berardo, SIRES Advisors
Kate McGinnis, Fluence

Keynote Panel Discussion and Lunch
Moderator: Elisabeth Yandell McNeil, K&L Gates LLP, Seattle
Vanessa Miler Fels, Microsoft
Tess Williams, Doosan GridTech
Christina Page, Page Sustainability Consulting

Senate’s Version of the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” Is Good News for Energy Renewables – UPDATE

Nov 18 2017

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse and Rachel D. Trickett

Late on November 16, 2017, Senate Finance Committee (“SFC”) Chair Orrin Hatch released amendments to the Senate Republicans’ tax reform proposal. Similar to the original version and the first amendment (released late on November 14, 2017), the amended proposal does not include provisions concerning the PTC or the ITC. In addition, the Enhanced Oil Recovery Credit, the Credit for Producing Oil and Gas from Marginal Wells, and the New Markets Tax Credit would all remain intact. Also similar to the prior version, the SFC proposal does not address expired energy credits for qualified fuel cell and small wind energy property, qualified microturbine property, or production from advanced nuclear power facilities. Recently, however, Senator Chuck Grassley announced publicly that Senate Republicans would address certain of those expired energy credits in a separate “extenders bill” apart from the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” at the end of the year.

Today’s House vote in Favor of H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Nov 17 2017

By: Elizabeth C. Crouse

Earlier today, the U.S. House of Representatives voted in favor of H.R. 1, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. As expected, the limitations on the Production Tax Credit and Incentive Tax Credit that we discussed in our post on November 3 remain in the House bill: the House Republicans would dramatically curtail the PTC, leave the ITC in respect of solar energy installations largely intact, and renew the ITC in respect of several “orphan” renewable energy technologies. However, as discussed in our post on November 15, the Senate Republicans would not change the existing PTC or ITC provisions in the Senate tax reform package. (According to recent news reports, the Senate Republicans intend to renew the ITC in respect of the “orphan” technologies in an extenders bill later this year.) The Senate has not yet voted on its separate tax reform proposal and, at this point, it is not clear whether a conference committee bill will include any provisions regarding the PTC or ITC.

Author: Carly Feliciani