Inflation Reduction Act
EgyptERA Expected to Issue Guidelines for the Renewable FiT Program - With a Plot Twist!
Egypt's Egyptian Electric Utility and Consumer Protection Regulatory Agency is expected to issue long-awaited guidelines on special purpose vehicle incorporation. In recent days it has emerged that these guidelines will be more flexible than previously expected. This is expected to...
West Africa "“ a role for off-grid renewable energy?
West Africa is a land of opportunity, home to some of the richest oil and mineral resources in the world. The rush for the region's oil, gold, iron and other commodities has driven economic growth at a faster rate than...
Around the Corner: How Drones Are Changing the Energy Industry
Drones "“ or, in Federal Aviation Administration parlance, Unmanned Aircraft Systems ("UAS") are proliferating everywhere. In the past few weeks an unmanned drone landed on the White House grounds and the federal government had to issue warnings not to fly...
Kenya's Lake Turkana Wind Power Project Lights the Way for the East African Power Market
Kenya is East Africa's largest economy, yet it faces a power supply crisis. Per capita, it generates barely 4% of the power generated by South Africa. Only 18% of the population has access to electricity and, even for this fortunate...
Has the Sun been Shining too Brightly in the UK?
Last week (13 th May) the Department of Energy & Climate Change (" DECC ") unveiled proposals to " maintain the growing momentum behind renewable electricity investment in the UK, while continuing to deliver value for money for consumers. "...
EPA Issues NPDES Permit that Includes Limited Chemical Disclosure Requirements for Oil and Gas Operations Offshore California
Region 9 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency yesterday made available the finalized National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) general permit applicable to discharges from oil and gas exploration facilities offshore Southern California. NPDES General Permit No. CAG280000 (2014 NPDES...
Are you on South African Santa's naughty or nice list?
A flood of bids reportedly delayed the announcement on the South African Government's announcement on its final list of preferred bidders in the Round 3 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) from the originally scheduled date...
Vestas Completes Factory Testing of World's Most Powerful Wind Turbine
Interesting developments for the offshore wind market are on the horizon with Vestas today having completed its extensive testing of what will be the world's most powerful wind turbine "“ the Vestas V164 "“ 8 MW with the nacelle weighing...
Coast Guard Looks to Expand Safety and Environmental Management Systems to Vessels on the OCS
On September 10, 2013, the U.S. Coast Guard published an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (APNRM) in the Federal Register stating its intent to propose regulations that will require vessels engaged in exploration, development or production activities on the Outer...
CFTC Exercises Disruptive Trading Authority for the First Time
By order dated July 22, 2013, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission ("CFTC" or "Commission") settled charges against Panther Energy Trading LLC and its principal Michael Coscia for engaging in the disruptive trading practice known as "spoofing." The CFTC charged that...
What's in Store for Offshore Energy After the 2012 Election
President Obama describes his energy policy as an "All of the Above" approach that encourages production of traditional fossil fuels while supporting the growth of renewables. Despite an increase in overall U.S. energy production over the past four years, output...
Prepping for CFIUS: Understanding and Managing Foreign Investments in the U.S.
In late September 2012, the Obama Administration blocked plans by a Chinese company to build wind projects in Oregon, citing national security considerations due to the close proximity of a U.S. Navy site near the proposed site. This recent order...
Top 12 Energy Issues for '12
With the 2012 election year upon us, it promises to be an interesting year in energy politics and policy. Here are 12 (really 13 because of some creative headline writing) issues that will keep the sector hopping this year. 1...
Big Brother Is Watching: FERC Proposes to Increase Market Surveillance
Citing the ever-increasing volume and complexity of physical and financial trading in the regional transmission organizations (RTO) and independent system operators (ISO), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) on October 20, 2011. If...
Offshore Winds Blowing in New Directions
In the aftermath of the offshore wind industry's recently completed annual get-together in Baltimore last week, there are many signs of success on the ocean blue's horizon. While those possibilities shine brightly in a number of key areas, the industry...