Governor Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force, charged with making recommendations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions originating in Louisiana, recently took another step towards that goal.
Continue Reading Renewable Energy Efforts Highlighted in Draft Plan to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Louisiana
On July 1, 2021, the Internal Revenue Service published Revenue Ruling 2021-13, which provides guidance on three important issues related to the income tax credit for carbon oxide sequestration found in section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code. Recall that section 45Q provides for a credit against a taxpayer’s income tax liability based on the amount of carbon oxide (a) captured using carbon capture equipment, (b) placed in service at a qualified facility and (c) disposed of, injected, or utilized in a specified manner. For more information on carbon capture and section 45Q tax credits, see here, here and here.
Continue Reading New IRS Revenue Ruling Provides Opportunities for Financing Carbon Capture Equipment
On June 29, 2021, the United States Supreme Court, in a 5-4 vote, held that a natural gas company’s right to condemn property for a pipeline under the Natural Gas Act includes the right to condemn state-owned property. In PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey,[1] the divided Court held that a certificate from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) entitled PennEast Pipeline Company (PennEast) to use the federal government’s power of eminent domain to seize property owned by the State of New Jersey.
Continue Reading United States Supreme Court Blocks New Jersey’s Sovereign Immunity Challenge to FERC Certificate Holder’s Condemnation of State-Owned Land
As the number of solar projects continues to grow in Louisiana, a chief concern among Louisiana taxpayers is ensuring that these projects are properly decommissioning upon their abandonment. Solar development is largely in its infancy in Louisiana, with only a handful of projects having been constructed to date. However, lawmakers are acting now to ensure
Last week, the Louisiana Governor’s Office hosted Louisiana Wind Week 2021 to assess Louisiana’s future in offshore wind energy development. Louisiana Wind Week followed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)’s first Gulf of Mexico Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force meeting, which was held on June 15.
Continue Reading Louisiana’s Future in Offshore Wind: Takeaways from Louisiana Wind Week
Perhaps the most important right granted in a solar development agreement is the right of the solar developer to use the surface of the property to evaluate, construct, and operate the solar farm. But how can the solar developer ensure that its right to use the surface of the property is not encumbered by or inferior to the rights of others? Or, more specifically, how can the solar developer ensure that a mineral estate owner will not be able to locate a well in the middle of its solar farm? This issue is at the forefront of the minds of the renewables industry and was the subject of a recent Texas Court of Appeals decision. As renewable energy projects continue to multiply, clashes between solar developers and mineral interest owners will increase as well.
Continue Reading Solar Leasing in Louisiana: The Accommodation Doctrine
On June 9, 2021, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1284 (“HB 1284”), which was introduced along with its Senate companion, SB 450, during the state’s 87th legislative session. HB 1284 grants the Texas Railroad Commission (“RRC”), the governmental agency that regulates the state’s oil and gas industry, sole jurisdiction over Class VI Injection Wells and carbon capture, use, and sequestration (“CCUS”) activities in Texas.
Continue Reading New Legislation Signals Strong Support for CCUS in Texas
On June 8, 2021, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issued a Request for Interest (RFI) to assess interest in possible commercial wind energy leasing in the Gulf of Mexico OCS. BOEM will consider the information received in response to the RFI to determine whether to schedule a competitive lease sale or issue a noncompetitive lease for any portion of the area descried in the RFI. The area covered by the RFI comprises the entire Central Planning Area and Western Planning Area of the Gulf of Mexico, excluding portions of those areas located in water depths greater than 1,300 meters.
Continue Reading BOEM Assessing Interest in Wind Energy Leasing in the Gulf of Mexico
On February 5, 2021, the Fish Wildlife Service (“FWS”), under the Biden administration, announced that it was delaying the effective date of a rule promulgated by the Trump administration regarding “incidental takes” and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (“MBTA”). On January 7, 2021, the Trump administration published a final rule interpreting the MBTA as not
Governor Edwards’ Climate Initiatives Task Force published the Louisiana Climate Initiatives Interim Report earlier this month, which outlines the process by which the Task Force plans to develop climate actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Louisiana.
In February 2020, Governor Edwards committed to forming a Climate Initiatives Task Force for the purpose of developing