On February 12, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) issued an order adopting two pilots to test two frameworks for procuring distributed energy resources (DERs) to avoid or defer utility distribution investments by the state’s three investor-owned utilities.  The first framework, coined as the Partnership Pilot by the CPUC, is a five-year pilot establishing a DER distribution deferral tariff with a tiered payment structure open to any DER customer type. The Standard-Offer-Contract Pilot, the second…

The gears of the administrative state are whirling as President Biden refocuses federal agencies on fighting climate change.  Yesterday’s Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis (“EO”) shows just how seriously the incoming Administration views this reorientation, and it identifies a tool central to its strategy: enlarging the Social Cost of Greenhouse Gases (“GHGs”).…

As of January 5, 2021, all EU suppliers of articles containing a REACH Candidate List substance in a concentration above 0,1% must submit a notification to the European Chemicals Agency (“ECHA”).  The new notification requirement – so-called “SCIP notification” – may apply to virtually all types of “objects” supplied in the EU, and is an additional step in the EU’s implementation of its Circular Economy strategy.  It is intended to help ECHA create a database…

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has opened the door for fuel cell systems with integrated hydrocarbon reformation equipment to be certified as Qualifying Facility cogenerators under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA).  The agency adopted a final rule that amends the definition of the useful thermal output of a QF cogenerator so that such fuel cell systems may qualify.…

In a recently adopted final rule, the Department of Energy (DOE) revised its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) implementation procedures to include LNG exports by marine vessel within a categorical exclusion from NEPA review.  DOE finds that the only source of potential environmental impacts within its authority to review are those associated with transporting natural gas by ship, which DOE determined does not pose the potential for significant environmental impacts. Accordingly, LNG exports qualify…

On November 30, 2020, emergency temporary COVID-19 workplace standards (“ETS”) issued by the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) took effect.  The ETS, which requires stringent workplace protocols intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, applies to all California employers, other than those subject to the Cal/OSHA Aerosol Transmissible Disease standard or those with only one employee at the workplace who does not have contact with others.  Under the ETS, employers must adopt…

On 2 December 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) announced a market study (the “study”) into the UK’s bourgeoning electric vehicle charging sector. This blog post considers the scope of the study, and may be of interest to Electric Vehicle market participants across the supply chain.…