Insights

Washington – August 17, 2023: The 2024 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 47 firm lawyers as "Best Lawyers" and 41 lawyers as “Ones to Watch.”

Washington – June 1, 2023: Crowell & Moring earned 82 rankings for 68 lawyers across 48 categories, as well as 37 national and statewide practice area rankings, in the Chambers USA 2023 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and lawyers at peer firms.

Washington – February 17, 2023: Chambers and Partners has ranked eight Crowell & Moring practice groups and 15 individual lawyers in the Chambers Global 2023 guide. The rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and members of the legal community.

On June 16, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NOPR) proposing significant reforms to the procedures under which electric generators obtain interconnection to the transmission grid and which are intended to address the current interconnection queue backlogs and delays. FERC proposes to mandate that transmission providers study interconnection requests in clusters, rather than the current inefficient serial study process used by many utilities, and to take a first step toward addressing the uncertainty caused by inconsistent procedures for neighboring “affected systems” to make a claim for the generator to pay for transmission upgrades on its system by creating a standardized process for affected system participation in the interconnection study process. But the proposal also could create new, unnecessary obstacles to interconnection, and it fails to address some significant barriers to interconnection such so-called participant funding rules under which interconnection customers can be saddled with the full cost of system expansions, ignoring the fact that other system users benefit from these expansions.

On June 6, 2022, President Biden issued a White House Fact Sheet (“Fact Sheet”) outlining President Biden’s “Bold Executive Action to Spur Domestic Clean Energy Manufacturing” along with five related Defense Production Act (“DPA”) Presidential Determinations[1] (“Presidential Determinations”) and a Declaration of Emergency and Authorization for Temporary Extensions of Time and Duty-Free Importation of Solar Cells and Module from Southeast Asia (the “Declaration”).  The Fact Sheet states the President is (1) authorizing use of the DPA to accelerate domestic production of clean energy technologies; (2) encouraging domestic solar manufacturing capacity through the use of master supply agreements with enhanced domestic preferences; and (3) creating a two-year trade regulation bridge as domestic manufacturing for solar products scales up.  The White House stated that these actions are being taken to lower energy costs, reduce risks to the power grid, and mitigate climate change.  The Department of Energy (“DOE”) also released a statement on June 6 about the DPA Presidential Determinations which describes DOE’s concerns with regard to each material or technology for which a determination was issued.  The statements made by the White House and DOE also make clear that these actions to employ the DPA are part of the Administration’s broader “all of government” approach to addressing Environmental Justice, with the intention to “strongly encourage projects with environmental justice outcomes that empower the clean energy transition in low income communities historically overburdened by legacy pollution.”

Distributed energy resources (DER) are often too small on their own to meet participation requirements of the energy and capacity markets of Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs).  To encourage greater DER participation, FERC's Order No. 2222 requires that RTOs/ISOs allow DER to participate in RTO/ISO markets through an aggregator that would register as the market participant.  Importantly, Order No. 2222 turns the long-running debate over DER market participation from one of whether it should be done into one about how best to achieve it. 

The transmission industry faces huge challenges and a growing need for investment. A new Trump Administration has called for trillions in infrastructure investment, but it isn’t clear where electric transmission fits in those plans. Renewable energy is replacing fossil generation on an accelerating basis, increasing system peaks while fueling integration concerns. Regional solutions could enhance system resiliency and economic performance, but the effectiveness of FERC Order 1000 processes is under examination. One thing is certain: both transmission operations and the opportunities for investment will radically change.

Energy storage is poised for exponential growth! The demands of the modern electric system, featuring massive infusions of renewable energy and DERs, are driving states, markets and utilities to spur investment in storage systems and technologies. California-style state procurement mandates are emerging in other states, C&I customers are installing storage as part of their energy management and sustainability initiatives, RTOs and ISOs are working on storage products and services, and utilities are adding storage assets to their grid management toolkit. Hundreds of megawatts of storage projects are in the pipeline, rivaling the early growth rate of solar.

This three-day program features two distinct events:  The Transmission Executive Forum will address Transmission’s Role in the Grid of the Future. Transmission systems, and the business models of their owners and operators, face their largest fundamental challenges in over 100 years. From responding to the demands of rapidly expanding renewable energy and the outside-in pressures of distributed assets, to the practical need to increase capacity without drastically expanding the use of rights of way, the stakes for transmission planners and policy-makers have never been higher. This program will discuss the technologies, techniques and business strategies that will drive success with senior utility and grid technology executives.  At Transmission Summit 2016, senior executives from the largest and most active transmission owning and developing companies in North America will meet to discuss the biggest challenges and opportunities facing the electric transmission industry.