By Carter Hall—November 20, 2014 at 11:03 a.m. On June 30 of this year the Court of Appeals of New York issued its final ruling in Wallach v. Town of Dryden, holding that municipalities in New York State have the authority to exclude hydraulic fracturing from their borders through zoning.[1] Although the case hinged upon the interpretation of a New York statute with no reach … [Read more...] about Wallach v. Town of Dryden and Local Control of Hydraulic Fracturing
energy regulation
Upholding Clean Energy in Colorado—and Hopefully Beyond
By Samantha Caravello—November 17 at 7:26 a.m. Acting as laboratories for energy policy, some states have been much more effective than the federal government in promoting renewable energy development, often through the enactment of Renewable Portfolio Standards (“RPS”). RPSs require electricity-selling companies to generate a minimum percentage of their electricity from … [Read more...] about Upholding Clean Energy in Colorado—and Hopefully Beyond
Exploring the EPA’s New Power Plant Regulations with Professor Jody Freeman and Professor Richard Lazarus
By Samantha Caravello -— October 14 at 12:11 p.m. [Update: a video of Professor Freeman and Professor Lazarus's talks at the Harvard University Center for the Environment is available here.] In June, EPA released a proposed rule for regulating greenhouse gas emissions from existing power plants pursuant to its authority under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (“CAA”). … [Read more...] about Exploring the EPA’s New Power Plant Regulations with Professor Jody Freeman and Professor Richard Lazarus
Toward Greener FERC Regulation of the Power Industry
By Christopher J. Bateman and James T.B. Tripp America’s electricity industry is at the heart of some of the nation’s and world’s biggest environmental challenges, including climate change. Yet the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), which has regulatory jurisdiction over wholesale sales and transmission of electricity in interstate commerce and is charged with … [Read more...] about Toward Greener FERC Regulation of the Power Industry
The Uncertain Future of the Northern Pass
By Ted Hamilton -- Dec. 3, 2013 at 12:11pm With the recent announcements that the Vermont Nuclear Power Station will go off-line next year and that Brayton Point, the region’s large coal plant, is ceasing operations by 2017, the face of New England energy is going through a rapid transformation. As environmentalists call for a greener grid and policymakers search for new … [Read more...] about The Uncertain Future of the Northern Pass