Posts from — May 2009

On May 22, 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) approved the funding arrangement for the construction of a 1,200 MW high-voltage direct current transmission line that will connect Hydro-Québec with ISO New England’s backbone 345 kV transmission system. [Read more →]

Last week, two separate pieces of proposed legislation from Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), one on cyber security (“Cyber Security Legislation”) and one on renewable electricity standards (“RES Legislation”), continued to make their way through the United States Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (“Senate Energy Committee”). [Read more →]

On May 18, 2009, DOE Secretary Steven Chu announced that the Department is increasing the maximum award available under the Recovery Act for Smart Grid programs. Secretary Chu and Department of Commerce Secretary Gary Locke also announced the first set of 16 interoperability standards for the Smart Grid. [Read more →]

Today, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) announced that it will convene regional conferences to determine whether transmission providers’ planning efforts can meet the “challenges posed by wider integration of regional energy resources into the nation’s power grid for the benefit of consumers.” [Read more →]

In another step towards regulating greenhouse gas emissions (“GHG”) under the Clean Air Act, the President on Tuesday unveiled agreement on new automobile fuel economy standards that include regulation of automotive GHG emissions. The proposal would be jointly implemented by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (“DOT”). [Read more →]