Despite the uncertainty surrounding the immediate future of the U.S. offshore wind industry after the re-election of Donald Trump, industry participants including the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) are cautiously moving forward with development activities.Continue Reading BOEM Announces Comment Period on California Offshore Wind Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement

The offshore wind space in the U.S. is set for a period of uncertainty following the re-election of Donald J. Trump on November 5th. While there is still a lack of clarity around his future plans and potential outcomes, Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail and, importantly, actions undertaken during his previous administration, suggest that development in the space could be headed for a slowdown due to executive action, instability due to the threat of such action, or both.Continue Reading Offshore Wind in the Second Trump Administration

On October 29, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held an auction for offshore wind areas in the Gulf of Maine. Although BOEM leased an offshore wind area in the Gulf of Maine for a research installation last August, the October auction was the first commercial offshore wind lease sale in the region. Of eight available areas, four were bid on and awarded. The areas in the Gulf of Maine are expected to require floating technology, a first for the east coast.Continue Reading First Commercial Offshore Wind Lease Sale in the Gulf of Maine Completed

On August 14, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held an auction for two offshore wind areas in the Central Atlantic off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. While seventeen companies were qualified to bid on the areas in the Final Sale Notice, only six companies made bids during the auction, continuing a recent trend of considerably fewer bidders than qualified entities in offshore auctions. After seven rounds of bidding, both areas were awarded for a total of $92.6M.Continue Reading Central Atlantic Auction – Key Takeaways and Next Steps

The solar industry is starting to get whiplash. Over the past year in particular, the industry has experienced a whirlwind of regulatory changes making solar tariffs some of the most complex tariffs in all of U.S. importing history. We should not expect the changes to lessen as the solar industry remains a focus for policymakers, industry stakeholders, and consumers. Given this frenetic pace (plus the upcoming June 28 deadline for public comments on the recent Section 301 duty increases), we provide this guide to current tariff and trade actions as a guide to help those in the industry keep afloat.Continue Reading Navigating the Solarscape: Our Handy Solar Tariffs Cheat Sheet

Tax season is here. As a result, many companies may be seeking to claim the increased tax credits and deductions available under the Inflation Reduction Act (the “IRA”). As we discussed in previous posts you can read here and here, many of the IRA’s tax credits and deductions for various clean energy projects are available only to taxpayers whose projects complied with nuanced and complex prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (the “PWA Requirements”). These requirements must be met before a taxpayer files a return claiming credits and deductions under the IRA.Continue Reading Claiming Inflation Reduction Act Tax Credits and Deductions on Your 2024 Return? Make Sure You Complied with the Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Requirements

In line with the goals set forth in the Federal Government’s Federal Sustainability Plan, the General Services Administration (“GSA”) recently issued a Request for Information (“RFI”) stating its intent to acquire approximately 2,700,000 MWh of carbon pollution-free (“CFE”)[1] retail electricity supply annually for a term of up to 10 years in the PJM Interconnection/Regional Transmission Operator (“PJM/RTO”)[2] region. The RFI sought information from companies capable of providing CFE, including Bundled CFE[3], to Federal Government agencies and facilities in the PJM region. The RFI noted that a solicitation could be released in the next couple of months and award(s) could be made as early as September 2024, with the first electricity flowing by mid-December 2024.Continue Reading 6 Key Considerations for Selling Carbon Pollution-Free Electricity to the Federal Government

As we enter 2024, we once again review the most significant legislation, policy changes and regulatory actions with respect to climate change taken by California in the past year. In contrast to 2022, which brought a revamp of California’s timeline to complete its transition to zero-emission energy sources and the finalization of a $54 billion climate funding package, the headline grabber in 2023 was the passage of three bills related to corporate emissions and accountability.Continue Reading California Climate Change Legislation, Policy and Regulation – 2023 in Review