Energy & Sustainability

On May 9, 2014, President Obama announced new executive actions that aim to create jobs and cut carbon pollution through the expanded use of solar power.

President Obama announced on Friday several executive actions to advance clean energy.  Among them, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will publish new regulations on May 14th clarifying that certain solar generating assets may be eligible for inclusion under Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) corporate structures.

In the latest edition of Clean-Tech Law Alert published by Clean Edge, Mintz Levin lawyers and members of our ML Strategies government relations team provide insights on energy topics.

The Senate is scheduled to take up the much-anticipated Shaheen-Portman energy efficiency legislation (S. 2262) early this week, potentially coupled with another vote on the Keystone XL pipeline.

Check out New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE) panel on LNG and CNG from 4-6pm at Brattle Group on May 15.

On Tuesday, Mintz Levin sponsored New England Women in Energy and the Environment's (NEWIEE) Fourth Annual Achievement Awards, which recognized and celebrated the accomplishments of women leaders in the fields of energy and the environment.

Mintz Levin is proud to be a part of the Clean Edge 2014 Clean Energy Trends Report. The annual report, now in its 13th year, provides substantive data analysis of happenings in the cleantech marketplace and insights into issues which will be impactful in the near future.

Congress is increasingly likely to complete the appropriations process this year, in part because committee leaders in both houses, led by Senate Appropriations Chair Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and House Appropriations Chair Hal Rogers (R-KY), are determined to finalize the bills before the 2015 fiscal year begins in the fall.

With the reintroduction of energy efficiency legislation and a first move on comprehensive tax reform, energy issues received significant attention in Washington last week.

On February 21st and 22nd, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology will host its 9th annual Energy Conference, bringing together thought-leaders in energy from technology, policy, industry, and finance to formulate powerful, productive ideas in the face of a rapidly changing industry.

President Obama used his annual State of the Union address January 28 to call for a year of action on a broad array of issues, highlighting energy efforts and his climate action plan amongst 12 executive actions he hopes to undertake this year to increase “opportunit[ies] for all.”

While Congress was in recess last week, many Obama Administration and Congressional officials traveled to Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the annual World Economic Forum.

Following a week during which energy and climate issues garnered significant national attention, via both Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-AK) energy export white paper and the Environmental Protection Agency’s release of greenhouse gas rules for new power plants, Washington will focus on budget and tax issues this week, while policymakers also nod toward a continued focus on energy issues.

On January 5, 2014, CBS news program 60 Minutes aired a segment featuring correspondent Lesley Stahl, titled “The Cleantech Crash.” The news program asserted that “despite billions invested by the U.S. government in so-called ‘Cleantech’ energy, Washington and Silicon Valley have little to show for it.”

When the President outlined his Climate Action Plan on June 25, he stressed the importance of federal leadership on emissions reduction efforts.  A little over five months later, he signed a presidential memorandum directing the federal government to obtain 20 percent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020.

The MIT Clean Energy Prize Competition awards over $350,000 to new businesses and aims to help develop a new generation of energy entrepreneurs and great new companies. 

Startups were kick-started at Wednesday’s engaging panel discussion at Grant Thornton.  The panel, “Kick-Start Your Startup,” was a collaborative effort between Grant Thornton, New England Clean Energy Council (NECEC), New England Women in Energy and the Environment (NEWIEE), and Mintz Levin.

Renewable electricity standards were the hot topic in Congress last week with the introduction of not one, but two bills establishing such a mandate.

Mintz's own Tom Burton, chair of the firm's Energy & Clean Technology Practice, will moderate a panel at a Boston College symposium titled "Energy: From the Last to the Next 150 Years" on Friday, October 25.

As the federal government shutdown continued last week, Congressional debates continued over a continuing resolution and the debt ceiling.  The impact of the shutdown continues to progress at the agency level with the Energy Information Administration and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission announcing that they would furlough employees as leftover funding was spent last week.