On January 21, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) won an initial victory as the D.C. Circuit refused to grant opponents a stay of the Clean Power Plan (CPP or Rule).
The Rule, promulgated pursuant to section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), limits carbon dioxide emissions from existing fossil fuel fired electric generating plants (generating units). The CPP’s goal is to cut emissions by 32 percent from 2005 levels by 2030, and each state is provided an emissions reduction target. Qualifying state emissions reductions under the Rule generally prompt the retirement of coal plants and the greater adoption of natural gas and renewable resources. States must submit their implementation plans (SIP) in 2016 demonstrating that they will achieve the requisite emissions reduction by 2022, or request a two-year extension. However, if a state fails to submit an adequate implementation plan by the 2016 due date or request an extension for plan development until 2018, U.S. EPA will assign a federal implementation plan (FIP) that will enable that state to meet its emissions reduction target.
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Topics:
Carbon Emissions,
CPP,
Clean Power,
clean power plan,
Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA,
State of West Virginia v. EPA,
EPA Victory,
West Virginia,
Stay of the Rule,
Climate change,
Clean Air Act,
Section 111(d),
Global Warming,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions,
Stay
Co-author Morgan M. Gerard
Despite the low price of oil throughout the year, 2015 may have been an inflection point for renewable energy as a competitive generation source in the U.S. Deutsche Bank has noted that renewable sources, like solar, have reached, or will soon reach, grid parity with fossil fuel sources in many states. As non-fossil energy has become more economically viable, the industry has responded by standardizing and streamlining project processes, and by accessing financing vehicles like yieldcos and public bonds. Despite growth, the past year has also been a tumultuous one full of unexpected developments and policy shifts including the COP 21 agreement and the Clean Power Plan (CPP), and the formation of intriguing grassroots coalitions, like the green tea party. All of these developments were, of course, set against the specter of a potential step-down of the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), and its surprising last-minute revival. The following is a breakdown of some of the major developments impacting renewables in 2015.
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Topics:
NY REV,
Energy Policy,
Energy Finance,
Distributed Energy,
YieldCo,
Solar Energy,
Renewable Energy,
Wind,
COP21,
Renewable Energy 2015,
Distributed Energy Resources,
CPP,
Green Tea Party,
Net Metering,
Net Energy Metering,
NEM,
DG,
Energy Project Finance,
Renewable 2015,
Green Energy,
Green Energy 2015,
Solar Energy 2015,
DER,
Offshore Wind,
Clean Power,
clean power plan,
Georgia Solar,
2015,
energy,
Wind Energy,
Energy Project,
Green 2015,
California DRP
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