U.S. Law Watch » Energy http://www.uslawwatch.com U.S. Legal & Regulatory Headlines Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:07:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 Energy Department Waives Requirement to ‘Buy American’ for Certain Products http://www.uslawwatch.com/2012/01/05/environment/energy-department-waives-requirement-buy-american-products/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2012/01/05/environment/energy-department-waives-requirement-buy-american-products/#comments Thu, 05 Jan 2012 17:49:12 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=4209

By Ari Natter

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Department of Energy Dec. 29 said it will waive “Buy American” requirements contained in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for several products after determining the goods were unavailable in satisfactory quantity in the United States.

In two separate notices of limited waivers published in the Federal Register, the Energy Department waived Buy American requirements.

The first notice (76 Fed. Reg. 81,922) applies to the following products:

• 28 watt and 30 watt, 180 degree LED replacement bulbs for high intensity discharge street lights;

• high-speed electronic governors with actuators to replace existing mechanical UG8 and UG40 engine governors, upgraded fuel injectors and regulators, and replacement engine pistons and cylinder liners for energy efficiency upgrades in an existing Mitsubishi 52/55B or 40/54A diesel generator engine;

• absorption chillers rated at 205 and 250 tons;

• thermostatic regulator valves that regulate the flow of hot water or low-pressure steam through freestanding radiators, baseboards, or convectors in hot water and two-pipe steam systems;

• 100 percent oil-free rotary screw variable speed drive water cooled air compressors with a factory installed dryer capable of supplying air at less than -20 degree dew point temperature; and

• universal control modules for use with Novar proprietary communication protocols…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2012/01/05/environment/energy-department-waives-requirement-buy-american-products/feed/ 0 Greater Authority for FERC on Transmission Siting Praised by Clean Energy, Opposed by States http://www.uslawwatch.com/2011/10/13/environment/greater-authority-ferc-transmission-siting-praised-clean-energy-opposed-states/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2011/10/13/environment/greater-authority-ferc-transmission-siting-praised-clean-energy-opposed-states/#comments Thu, 13 Oct 2011 19:43:36 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=4077

By Lynn Garner

WASHINGTON, D.C.—An idea floated by the Obama administration to consolidate electricity transmission siting authority within the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission as a way to overcome obstacles hindering construction of interstate transmission lines has renewed the long-running debate over federal-state jurisdiction.

Clean energy advocates are enthusiastic about the plan and see it as a simple bureaucratic consolidation. State utility regulators see it as a crafty maneuver to expand the federal role over siting electricity transmission at the expense of states.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu has a difficult decision to make—whether to delegate to FERC the Energy Department’s authority to conduct transmission congestion studies and to designate national transmission corridors. In effect, FERC would be in complete charge of the federal role.

FERC’s current role is to approve construction of a transmission project once DOE has designated a national corridor.

The federal role over transmission siting is extremely limited, and almost all siting decisions still remain the province of state regulators, regional grid operators, and local utilities.

Draft Proposal by FERC Staff

Driving the renewed debate is a draft FERC Staff Preliminary and Conceptual Transmission Siting Proposal issued this summer with a Sept. 9 deadline for making comments to DOE.

The draft proposal from the commission provides background information on the federal “backstop transmission authority” established by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct 2005) and discusses the possible delegation to FERC of authority given to DOE under the 2005 law. The paper also lays out a “theoretical framework” for FERC implementation of delegated authority.

An Energy Department spokeswoman said the department is continuing to consider comments from the public on the proposal, “and no decisions have been made yet.”

What the comments show is that the U.S. electricity industry is in a simultaneous state of transformation and entrenchment.

DOE would like to make a decision within the next few weeks so that work can begin on the next congestion study due in 2012. The first study was done in 2006 and a second in 2009.

If Chu decides to delegate DOE’s responsibilities to FERC, then the commission would conduct a rulemaking to lay out the new guidelines.

Clean Energy Goals

In the administration’s view, the goals of the delegation plan are to:

  • expedite the president’s clean energy goals by building more transmission lines linking wind farms and solar parks to major cities and businesses;
  • eliminate costly transmission congestion that costs consumers billions of dollars; and
  • transform the nation’s fragmented electricity grid into an efficient 21st century system.

The FERC staff delegation proposal, under review by an interagency task force, appears to have sprung initially from a paper by Joseph Kelliher, former FERC chairman in the Bush administration and currently a lawyer for NextEra Energy, a Florida utility with the largest wind and solar generation capability in North America.

Kelliher, a former energy staffer for House Republicans, champions a stronger federal role in siting transmission lines.

The underlying problem is that Congress’s attempt to provide limited federal authority over transmission siting for the first time, through Section 1221 of EPAct 2005 (Pub. L. No. 109-58), has been a dismal failure…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2011/10/13/environment/greater-authority-ferc-transmission-siting-praised-clean-energy-opposed-states/feed/ 0 Obama Signs Energy Funding Bill into Law http://www.uslawwatch.com/2011/01/10/environment/obama-signs-energy-funding-bill-law/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2011/01/10/environment/obama-signs-energy-funding-bill-law/#comments Mon, 10 Jan 2011 12:18:45 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=3478

WASHINGTON, D.C.—President Obama Jan. 4 signed into law legislation that authorizes funding for several research programs within the Department of…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2011/01/10/environment/obama-signs-energy-funding-bill-law/feed/ 0 House Passes Temporary Spending Freeze, Allows Adjustments for Energy Technology http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/12/09/environment/house-passes-temporary-spending-freeze-adjustments-energy-technology/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/12/09/environment/house-passes-temporary-spending-freeze-adjustments-energy-technology/#comments Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:09:29 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=3377

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The House of Representatives Dec. 8 approved a continuing resolution that would freeze spending for discretionary programs in fiscal 2011 but would allow flexibility for the Energy Department to spend more on…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/12/09/environment/house-passes-temporary-spending-freeze-adjustments-energy-technology/feed/ 0 Representatives Critical of EPA Could Assume Key House Committee Posts with Republican Victory http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/21/environment/representatives-critical-epa-assume-key-house-committee-posts-republican-victory/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/21/environment/representatives-critical-epa-assume-key-house-committee-posts-republican-victory/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:15:14 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=3070

WASHINGTON, D.C.—If Republicans take over the House of Representatives after the Nov. 2 general election, it likely would elevate some of the Environmental Protection Agency’s harshest critics to…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/21/environment/representatives-critical-epa-assume-key-house-committee-posts-republican-victory/feed/ 0 EPA Greenhouse Gas, Air Pollution Rules Likely Targets if Republicans Take over House after November Election http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/21/environment/epa-greenhouse-gas-air-pollution-rules-targets-republicans-house-november-election/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/21/environment/epa-greenhouse-gas-air-pollution-rules-targets-republicans-house-november-election/#comments Thu, 21 Oct 2010 14:12:03 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=3068

WASHINGTON, D.C.—With Republicans expecting large gains in Congress in general elections Nov. 2 and possible control of the House of Representatives, the party is readying a laundry list of…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/21/environment/epa-greenhouse-gas-air-pollution-rules-targets-republicans-house-november-election/feed/ 0 Obama Administration Supports Global Development of Smart Grid, Commerce Secretary Says http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/19/environment/obama-administration-supports-global-development-smart-grid-commerce-secretary/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/19/environment/obama-administration-supports-global-development-smart-grid-commerce-secretary/#comments Tue, 19 Oct 2010 13:44:46 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=3052

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Obama administration is committed to participating actively in the international development of smart…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/10/19/environment/obama-administration-supports-global-development-smart-grid-commerce-secretary/feed/ 0 Obama Signs Small Business Bill That Includes $30 Billion Lending Fund http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/09/28/finance/obama-signs-small-business-bill-includes-30-billion-lending-fund/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/09/28/finance/obama-signs-small-business-bill-includes-30-billion-lending-fund/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 13:12:19 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=2907

President Obama signed a small business bill Sept. 27 that enables small businesses to take advantage of new and extended tax incentives, including an extension of…

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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/09/28/finance/obama-signs-small-business-bill-includes-30-billion-lending-fund/feed/ 0 California Clean Energy Plan Seeks Increase in Renewables, Efficiency, Carbon Capture http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/09/22/environment/california-clean-energy-plan-seeks-increase-renewables-efficiency-carbon-capture/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/09/22/environment/california-clean-energy-plan-seeks-increase-renewables-efficiency-carbon-capture/#comments Wed, 22 Sep 2010 18:06:43 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=2882

LOS ANGELES—California Sept. 21 unveiled new clean energy targets for 2020 and a plan to achieve them.
The plan, “California’s Clean Energy Future”, called for…
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]]> http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/09/22/environment/california-clean-energy-plan-seeks-increase-renewables-efficiency-carbon-capture/feed/ 0 Senate Votes on Oil Spill, Energy Legislation Cancelled after Some Democrats Break Ranks http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/08/04/environment/senate-votes-oil-spill-energy-legislation-cancelled-democrats-break-ranks/ http://www.uslawwatch.com/2010/08/04/environment/senate-votes-oil-spill-energy-legislation-cancelled-democrats-break-ranks/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 14:09:18 +0000 admin http://www.uslawwatch.com/?p=2608

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) decided Aug. 3 to cancel upcoming procedural votes on oil spill and energy legislation (S. 3663) after he became concerned about possible Democratic defections from the party’s offshore drilling reform proposal.

Reid’s decision, which came four days before the Senate leaves for its August recess, means the Senate will not cast any votes, procedural or…

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