Roderick Devlin

Following two rounds of public consultations, Romanian Energy Regulatory Authority has adopted significant changes to the grid connection process that are split into two phases: (i) immediate changes, addressing critical issues with current rules (including artificial grid blockage) and (ii) changes applicable starting January 1, 20206, introducing an auction-based capacity allocation mechanism for all projects of 5 MW or higher. The new regulation positively responds to key concerns raised by the industry in the public consultations process. Top 5 Immediate Changes: 1.         Financial Guarantee: Now required before ATR issuance and set at 5% of the connection tariff. This applies to all ongoing applications without issued ATRs. 2.         Redo of Grid Calculations: New rules prevent "line skipping" concerns and ensure stable ATR conditions by also allowing temporary use of available capacity by “faster” investors, with potential limitations/disconnection if/once earlier projects are commissioned. 3.         Extension of Building Permit Issuance Term: A 12-month extension is available if delays are beyond the investor's control and a 5% financial guarantee is provided. 4.         Grid Applications Ongoing on January 1, 2026: Any ongoing application without an issued ATR by this date will be terminated, with grid operators reimbursing investors for solution study and ATR issuance expenses. 5.         Delay Penalties for Reinforcement Works: Grid operators face 0.01% daily penalties for delays in completing reinforcement works, though applicability may be limited by interpretative wording.

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Benjamin Chee will participate in a panel discussion titled “Challenges in Renewable Electricity Supply in Wholesale and Voluntary Markets” on 17 September. The panel will examine limitations and barriers in the supply of renewable electricity in wholesale and voluntary markets, specifically focusing on the Western Electricity Coordinating Council region and New York. The discussion will explore the distinctive supply constraints in the regions and their impact on the procurement of voluntary renewable energy and compliance markets. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4g85t33

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1920 last week, directing reforms intended to improve the nation’s transmission planning processes by requiring planning on a longer-term and more comprehensive basis to, among other things, better support the nation’s changing resource mix, reliability needs and demand. Order No. 1920 is an important step toward more forward-looking transmission planning, but it leaves for further action some potentially significant issues, such as methods for allocating associated costs. Read more below and connect with members of our Energy & Infrastructure team for additional insight: Ron Erlichman, Marius G. and Diana Jeschke.

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Taken together, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) provided an unprecedented level of financial assistance to climate change responses of every stripe, including battery manufacture, critical minerals development, carbon capture, methane control, and industrial decarbonization. Monthly, if not weekly, since 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has issued funding opportunities and made awards to competitively selected projects that not only advanced the Biden Administration climate goals, but also promoted U.S. clean energy innovation and domestic manufacturing. Additional IRA funding supports the DOE loan guarantee program. What will happen to those awards and loan guarantees under the Trump Administration? Read on: https://rebrand.ly/ra2onir #CleanEnergyLoans #CleanEnergy #EnergyTransition #TrumpAdministration #ClimateGoals

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Great analysis from our Clifford Chance Americas Energy & Infrastructure team. We have been seeing more focus on renewable energy in the real estate space over the past few years (including solar panels and leases), so I will be interested to see how these impacts may play out in the #realestate market.

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In his Financier Worldwide Magazine article, Baker Botts partner Richard Guit discusses electricity grids and #carbon capture and storage and their accelerating pace of change due to the climate race:

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Looking forward to this discussion on structuring bankable Power Purchase Agreements hosted by the Insitute for Energy Law and the Center for American and International Law.

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In Macquarie Infrastructure Corp. v. Moab Partners, the U.S. Supreme Court recently resolved a split among U.S. Circuit Courts of Appeal when it unanimously held that a “pure omission”—failing to disclose information in the absence of an inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading statement—cannot support a private right of action under the U.S. securities law anti-fraud provisions, Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 and its implementing regulation, Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 10b-5(b). The case background: Macquarie Infrastructure Corporation operates terminals to store bulk liquid commodities, including No. 6 fuel oil, which contains a sulfur content close to 3%. In 2016, the United Nations International Maritime Organization adopted IMO 2020, which capped the sulfur content of fuel oil used in shipping at 0.5%. Macquarie never disclosed the provisions or its potential impact in its public offering documents in the following years. In February 2018, however, Macquarie announced a drop in demand for fuel storage at its subsidiary, in part, due to IMO 2020’s impact. As a result, Macquarie’s stock price dropped 41%, with investors Moab Partners, L.P. suing Macquarie alleging Macquarie violated Section 10(b) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 (1934 Act), and its implementing regulation, SEC Rule 10b-5(b). Moab argued Macquarie’s public statements were false and misleading given it hid from investors that No. 6 fuel oil would be significantly—and negatively—impacted by IMO 2020. The District Court dismissed Moab’s complaint, but the U.S. Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion vacating and remanding the Second Circuit’s decision, holding simply that pure omissions are not actionable under Rule 10b-5(b). Read the full details and how the ruling compares to Canadian case law: https://bit.ly/3QmcuCb #litigation #disputeresolution #capitalmarkets #boardadvisory #governance Erica Goldman | Andrew Gray | Glen Johnson

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Energy transition for non-energy companies - Womble Bond Dickinson’s Energy Survey report takes a detailed and nuanced look down the road to net zero, identifying opportunities and complications as companies in a range of sectors grapple with the energy transition. #WBD #energytransition #netzero #womblebonddickinson

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A group of seven U.S. solar manufacturers filed antidumping and countervailing duty petitions with the U.S. International Trade Commission and the Department of Commerce, alleging unfair trade practices by producers in Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam. The petitions were filed approximately six weeks before an existing moratorium on AD/CVD duties on solar cells and modules from the same countries is set to expire. The intersection of these two events creates significant tariff risk, including potential retroactive liability for U.S. importers, as discussed by this Covington & Burling LLP alert. https://okt.to/qLWyxt

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Pleased to be part of the U.S. industry delegation to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Conference. All of the governments and many industry participants that have pledged to triple #nuclearenergy in support of #netzero are here this week and the focus is all on implementation. Unsurprisingly, in all of our meetings thus far, a significant focus has been on #finance: 🟢 what policy mechanisms are necessary to create optimal markets for new nuclear projects? 🟢 how can nuclear projects be integrated into industrial hubs? 🟢 what can incentivize industrial consumers to back nuclear projects? 🟢 how can cross-border collaboration, including multiple export finance capabilities be best leveraged? 🟢 what is the role of new institutions like the International Bank for Nuclear Infrastructure in catalyzing nuclear at scale? Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP #advancednuclear #atoms4climate #netzeroneedsnuclear

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1920 last week, directing reforms intended to improve the nation’s transmission planning processes by requiring planning on a longer-term and more comprehensive basis to, among other things, better support the nation’s changing resource mix, reliability needs and demand. Order No. 1920 is an important step toward more forward-looking transmission planning, but it leaves for further action some potentially significant issues, such as methods for allocating associated costs. Read more below and connect with members of our Energy & Infrastructure team for additional insight: Ron Erlichman, Marius Griskonis and Diana Jeschke.

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The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued Order No. 1920 last week, directing reforms intended to improve the nation’s transmission planning processes by requiring planning on a longer-term and more comprehensive basis to, among other things, better support the nation’s changing resource mix, reliability needs and demand. Order No. 1920 is an important step toward more forward-looking transmission planning, but it leaves for further action some potentially significant issues, such as methods for allocating associated costs. Read more below and connect with members of our Energy & Infrastructure team for additional insight: Ron Erlichman, Marius Griskonis and Diana Jeschke.

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On April 16, Ameek Ashok Ponda, with assistance from Paul Decker, Sarah Wellings and Connie Lee, submitted a comment letter to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding his recommendations for the 2024-2025 Priority Guidance Plan, pursuant to Notice 2024-28, I.R.B. 2024-13. The comment letter incorporates a March 2024 thought piece (updated from time to time) published by Ameek, Paul, Sarah and Connie, titled "Enabling REITs to Deploy Renewable Energy: Toward a Workable Legal Standard," in a request to the IRS and the Department of Treasury to issue precedential guidance that confirms that revenue generated by a REIT from a renewable energy source is not “impermissible tenant service income,” as well as guidance that enables a REIT to deploy renewable energy infrastructure during periods of ramp up or tenant vacancies. To learn more or read the comment letter, click here: https://lnkd.in/eRchyzNw #WhatsYourNext

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The Ministry of Energy published today the clarifications to the #ModernizationFundGuide for electricity production through RES projects. Very helpful and addressing many of the industry concerns!

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