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Inflation Reduction Act
Performance Bonds – Call Me?
On-demand performance bonds are commonly used in international energy construction projects. They take the form of an undertaking by an issuing bank or financial institution, on behalf of an obligor, typically the contractor, to pay on demand a specific amount to a named beneficiary, typically the employer. Read the factors that an employer should consider when deciding whether to call a bond.
FTC Announces 2023 Increase in HSR Notification Thresholds and Effective Date for Increased Filing Fees
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (HSR Act) thresholds, which will become effective on Monday, February 27, 2023. The revised thresholds will apply to any merger or acquisition closing on...
Nigeria’s Energy Sector: Looking Back at 2022 and Looking Ahead in 2023
We review the key events of 2022 in Nigeria’s energy sector – a year that saw significant steps in the implementation of PIA, intermittent M&A activity and the continuing effects of crude theft. We also consider what we can expect...
Looking Ahead With Erin Chancellor
In this episode of the Environmental Law Monitor, host Daniel Pope is joined by Erin Chancellor, the interim executive director of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Can you tell us a little bit about what the transition from...
Department of Energy Seeks Public Input on Implementation of $760 Million Transmission Siting Grant Program
On January 13, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) launched its Transmission Siting and Economic Development (“TSED”) Grants program, which will provide $760 million in investment authorized by the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) to support states and local communities in...
Treasury Department and IRS Release Guidance With Respect to the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Credit
On December 19, 2022, the Treasury Department and the IRS released Notice 2023-6 (the Notice), which provides guidance with respect to the credit for sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA) enacted Section 40B of...
FTC Pursues Crackdown on Employee Noncompetes
Earlier this month, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched unprecedented challenges to noncompete provisions in employment contracts through both rulemaking and individual enforcement actions. Proposed Rule to Ban Noncompetes Most significantly, on January 5, 2023, the FTC released a sweeping...
Mallinckrodt Ruling Holds Creditor Lessons for IP Sellers
In late December, the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware issued an opinion in In re: Mallinckrodt PLC affirming the Mallinckrodt[1] bankruptcy court's November 2021 decision that the debtor could discharge certain post-petition, post-confirmation royalty obligations for the...
BOEM Proposes to Modify its Offshore Renewable Energy Regulations
On January 12, 2023, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) announced a proposed rule (the “Modernization Rule”) to modernize its regulations for renewable energy development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (“OCS”). The announcement...
Co-location, Co-location, Co-location
UK grid constraints and delays to new grid connections are forcing sponsors to look at maximizing existing grid connections via BESS and renewables project co-location. Bracewell’s Ro Lazarovitch, Nicholas Neuberger and Sam Phillips outline the corporate structures being employed in co-located projects and their pros and cons to bankability.
Fifth Circuit Rules Just Energy Bankruptcy Court Erred in Exercising Jurisdiction to Redetermine ERCOT Pricing During Winter Storm Uri
In a January 5, 2023 opinion from the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the panel held the Just Energy bankruptcy court erred in exercising jurisdiction over the debtor’s suit to recover Winter Storm Uri payments made...
Smarter Contracts on the Blockchain: A Conversation with Bracewell’s Jeonghoon Ha
On this episode of Crypto Bits, New York associate Jeonghoon Ha joins hosts Seth DuCharme and David Shargel to discuss smart contracts, a central feature of the crypto and blockchain ecosystem. What is a smart contract? Smart contracts are computer...
New Climate Guidance Issued to Federal Agencies Conducting Environmental Impact Analyses
Overview On January 9, 2023, the Council for Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) published interim National Environmental Policy Act Guidance on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Change (hereafter, “guidance” or “GHG Guidance”).1 CEQ intends for agencies to apply the guidance...
My Crypto's Gone: Cryptocurrency in Earn Accounts Belong to Celsius Not Customers
Cryptocurrency in Celsius’ Earn Accounts belongs to the bankruptcy estate, and not to the depositors who placed it there, according to a January 4 memorandum opinion from Judge Martin Glenn of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the Southern District of...
New Protections for Pregnant and Nursing Workers in 2023
On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) and the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act (PUMP Act), expanding federal protections for both pregnant and nursing workers. Pregnant Workers Fairness Act...