EPIC Energy Blog A New Post by Joe Kaatz Blog #1 on Energy Policy Conservation Act (“EPCA”) Preemption Lawsuit filed Against State of Colorado and City of Denver On April 22, 2024, the Colorado Apartment Association, Apartment Association of Metro Denver, Colorado and Lodging Association, Inc., and NAIOP Colorado Chapter filed a complaint in federal district court against the State of Colorado and City of Denver challenging building performance standard regulations designed to decrease energy use and consequent GHG emissions in new and existing covered buildings (Colorado Apartment Association, et. all v. Ryan, et. all, Case No. 1:24-cv-01093 (Filed 4/22/24). This litigation follows the same legal challenge used against the City of Berkeley that overturned the City of Berkeley’s new construction natural gas plumbing ban in the 9th Circuit alleging violation of the Energy Policy Conservation Act (“EPCA”) (previous blogs on this issue can be accessed here). Importantly, the 9th Circuit opinion is only persuasive authority in the 10th Circuit and is not binding on the District Court for the District of Colorado. This may result in a different outcome both because of the circuit and because Colorado and the City of Denver took a different approach from the City of Berkeley. This is the first in a series of blogs that will shed light on several EPCA questions specific to this line of litigation: -Does the EPCA preempt all state and local authority to regulate energy use (City of Denver) and GHG emissions (State of Colorado) of buildings by setting performance standards for new and existing buildings? * And if not, what is the limit of building performance standards under the EPCA for both new and existing buildings? - Finally, what is the extent of EPCA “concerning energy efficiency, energy use, or water use of a covered product” preemption over state and local government authority to regulate GHG emissions from sources? *Is there a distinction between criteria and toxic pollutants and GHG emissions? This will focus on the complaint itself to then discuss the Colorado statutory language creating the benchmarking and energy reduction regulations and the City of Denver’s adoption of standards that apply across more buildings. This blogs will give an overview of the statutory and regulatory differences between California and Colorado to discuss the litigation approach. Future blogs will discuss how these questions shape local government action in California and look at the only two other unpublished cases on the topic of building performance standards and the EPCA. To read the full Blog post, click below. https://lnkd.in/g-7b9uX7
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America’s power needs increase by the day, and interconnection constraints remain one of the largest barriers to meeting this demand. By reforming our permitting process and enacting common sense reforms to engender thoughtful interregional transmission planning, we can unlock transmission and energy projects that will strengthen our electric grid.
Big news in energy policy: last week, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This bipartisan legislation will accelerate the permitting process for energy projects across the country. The biggest gamechanger? The transmission reforms, which will help unlock new transmission capacity in energy-rich regions of the United States, while making the interconnection process more predictable and cost-effective. We look forward to continued discussions on this bill, and applaud members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee for their leadership.
Energy and Natural Resources Committee Clears Manchin-Barrasso Permitting Reform Legislation, Pending Nomination
energy.senate.gov
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President at Peak Growth Ventures - Woman Owned Business - Electrical & Instrumentation / Pipeline Pigging / Pig Tracking / Survey / ILI Tools / Caliper Tools / Laser Scanning
A step in the right direction no matter which side of the fence you are on.
Big news in energy policy: last week, the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 was approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. This bipartisan legislation will accelerate the permitting process for energy projects across the country. The biggest gamechanger? The transmission reforms, which will help unlock new transmission capacity in energy-rich regions of the United States, while making the interconnection process more predictable and cost-effective. We look forward to continued discussions on this bill, and applaud members of the Senate Natural Resources Committee for their leadership.
Energy and Natural Resources Committee Clears Manchin-Barrasso Permitting Reform Legislation, Pending Nomination
energy.senate.gov
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The Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 accelerates renewable energy development by expediting permitting, streamlining environmental reviews, and supporting offshore and onshore energy projects. It also reforms transmission planning, requiring joint regional efforts and customer-based cost allocation to improve electric reliability and ensure interregional connections. This is a crucial step towards a cleaner, more efficient energy future. https://lnkd.in/gGC85rx9
Energy and Natural Resources Committee Clears Manchin-Barrasso Permitting Reform Legislation, Pending Nomination
energy.senate.gov
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Via PV Mag: " U.S. Senators introduce comprehensive energy permitting reform act: Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY) released the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024, promising to accelerate the permitting processes for energy and mineral projects of all types in the U.S. U.S. Senators Joe Manchin (I-WV) and John Barrasso (R-WY), chair and ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024. Find the full bill text here. The Act is designed to shorten timelines, before, during, and after litigation on federal authorizations for energy and mineral projects. Manchin called the legislation “a commonsense, bipartisan piece of legislation that will speed up permitting and provide more certainty for all types of energy and mineral projects without bypassing important protections for our environment and impacted communities.” The bill establishes 150-day statute of limitations from the date of the final agency action on a project; requires courts to expedite review of legal challenges; and sets a 180-day deadline for federal agencies to act on remanded authorizations. The bill sets deadlines and doubles production targets for renewable energy permitting on federal lands. It also streamlines environmental reviews for low-disturbance renewable, electric grid, and storage projects. It also makes several changes to accelerate the permitting processes for fossil fuels projects. The act also reforms existing backstop siting authority for interstate electric transmission lines sets requirements for interregional transmission planning. The provisions are designed to provide two pathways for transmission development that include clear standards for cost allocation among customers that benefit from a project. The legislation creates an interregional planning requirement that ensures regions jointly address needs and a process that allows individual applicants to propose national-interest projects. Find a section-by-section breakdown of the legislation here. “We have the technology, workforce, and financial capital to build great things, but we lack a governing process that is designed to succeed. This legislation changes that,” said Jason Grumet, chief executive officer, American Clean Power. The Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) welcomed the legislation. “For years, SEIA has been calling for a fundamental shift in the way we build transmission capacity and has long advocated for reforms that fairly allocate costs. While we’re still reviewing the details, this is a conversation worth having,” said Abigail Ross Hopper, president and chief executive officer, SEIA. The Center for Biological Diversity warned that too many important environmental review processes are stripped in the legislation, particularly for the development of new fossil fuels infrastructure. In a… " #EnergyStrorage #BatteryStorage #Energy
U.S. Senators introduce comprehensive energy permitting reform act
https://pv-magazine-usa.com
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The Massachusetts Energy Efficiency Advisory Council has proposed a three-year, $5 billion energy efficiency plan, with an emphasis on widespread heat pump installation to transition residential utility customers from gas to electric-based heating. In Rhode Island as in Massachusetts, transitioning to a clean energy system requires transformation at every level, from renewable power generation to electrification and weatherization at the individual customer level. State regulators and advisory groups like the Rhode Island Energy Efficiency Council have a key role in pushing the large scale transformations that will be required to meet our 2050 net-zero climate mandate.
Massachusetts utilities file $5B efficiency plan with focus on ‘thoughtful electrification’
utilitydive.com
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Driving Decarbonisation & Net Zero Innovation | Helping Places Unlock Sustainable Growth | Senior Business Development Lead | Energy | ESG | Sustainability
Great insight from our resident expert on Local Area Energy Planning. Net Zero Action and investment starts with a data driven, evidence based plan - we believe LAEP is the answer and more places creating good (or even great energy plans) will springboard the next steps of driving investment and action!
Over the last few years I have been supporting places on their Local Area Energy Planning journeys. Starting with Greater Manchester, more recently with Welsh Government, where we are nearing the end of a programme to produce Local Area Energy Plans (LAEPs) for all of Wales and now at the start of an exciting project in Leicestershire. It's been a brilliant experience and it's encouraging to see the conversation and focus moving from planning into the 'plan into action' space. I've shared some of my experiences in this blog 'Local Area Energy Planning – What does good look like?' with the intention of helping other places that are thinking about producing LAEPs or turning their plans into action. https://lnkd.in/dcSpFxSV
Local Area Energy Planning – What does good look like? - Richard Leach
https://es.catapult.org.uk
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Agrivoltaics Project Manager and Solar Energy Sales Consultant ATTENDING SOLAR FARM SUMMIT 2025
Great news for Mountain West + South West States: Biden administration releases plan to expand US West solar development The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is considering making 31 million acres of public lands across the western U.S. available for potential solar energy development, according to a proposal published on Thursday. The Western Solar Plan, which would significantly revise existing 2012 guidelines, would seek to bring such projects to 11 states — bringing development closer to transmission lines or previously disturbed lands, per the proposal. “The updated Western Solar Plan is a responsible, pragmatic strategy for developing solar energy on our nation’s public lands that supports national clean energy goals and long-term national energy security,” BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement. Chief among the changes was the identification of five new states beyond the original six as prime areas for solar energy. In addition to Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah, the updated version includes Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming... https://lnkd.in/gU8v_GFT
Biden administration releases plan to expand US West solar development
https://thehill.com
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Under Colorado's Building Performance Standards (BPS) program, all commercial properties in Colorado over 50,000 sq ft are required to make measurable improvements to their energy usage by 2026 - with further improvements by 2030. Installing a solar program that provides energy savings to local tenants is a low (and sometimes no) cost way to meet the BPS requirements, while also increasing long-term property value. https://lnkd.in/dVS_BY3f
Using Solar to Satisfy the Colorado Building Performance Standards (BPS) Program
https://www.kingenergy.com
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The 2024 Energy Efficiency Policy Forum is coming up soon! Join us as we explore what the election results mean for energy efficiency policy from the next administration and Congress. Learn more and register⬇️
2024 Energy Efficiency Policy Forum
aceee.org
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Navigating the seas of legislation and change in the industry is difficult, but necessary. Battery storage is for sure the future of renewable energy, needed for grid stabilization and off-peak use. We must implement smart ways of proceeding with the best interest of consumer protection in mind. California has always been a leader in the transition to renewable energy; we can all learn from their successes and failures. #RenewableEnergy #BatteryStorage
A new front in California’s solar wars: Who’s allowed to install…
canarymedia.com
