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Energy & Climate Counsel

Your one-stop resource for timely analysis of legal and policy developments affecting the energy and climate sectors. We focus on the issues that matter most to you, from federal and state policy and judicial decisions to business trends and financing news.

PJM Board Directs FERC Filing on Reliability Backstop Procurement and Interim Resource Adequacy Service
Blog July 30, 2026
PJM Board Directs FERC Filing on Reliability Backstop Procurement and Interim Resource Adequacy Service
On July 27, the PJM Board of Managers issued a “decisional letter” that directed PJM to file proposals for a Reliability Backstop Procurement and Connect and Manage—renamed “Interim Resource Adequacy Service”—with FERC in the next few days…
30 Years of New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
Blog December 15, 2025
30 Years of New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable
On December 5, 2025, Foley Hoag hosted the 30th Anniversary of the New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable (“Roundtable”), convening leading regulators, executives, and policy experts in the region’s electric power industry to reflect on three decades of market evolution and to chart its future…
Wading Into New York’s 2025 NYS Wetlands Permitting Changes
Blog October 30, 2025
Wading Into New York’s 2025 NYS Wetlands Permitting Changes
Over the last year, the New York State (“NYS”) wetlands permitting and statutory regime has been flooded with activity as the impacts of the 2022 statutory amendments ripple outward…
RGGI Third Program Review Concludes: New Model Rule and Strengthened Emission Caps Unveiled Amid Federal Scrutiny
Blog July 22, 2025
RGGI Third Program Review Concludes: New Model Rule and Strengthened Emission Caps Unveiled Amid Federal Scrutiny
Earlier this month, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) announced the completion of the RGGI Third Program Review, which resulted in several major changes to the RGGI Model Rule that will shape the program through 2037…
A Look Ahead: Capacity Contracts under the U.S. Department of Energy's Transmission Facilitation Program
Blog July 12, 2022
A Look Ahead: Capacity Contracts under the U.S. Department of Energy's Transmission Facilitation Program
Among the panoply of clean energy-related programs currently being implemented under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”), one in particular – for which a solicitation is set to issue soon – will infuse significant capital into the country's bulk transmission system. In May 2022, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Notice of Intent (“NOI”) regarding the new Transmission Facilitation Program (“TFP”), authorized under the IIJA…
State Programs to Encourage Zero-Emitting Generation Are Constitutional
Blog July 24, 2017
State Programs to Encourage Zero-Emitting Generation Are Constitutional
Late last month, the 2nd Circuit Court of appeals rejected a challenge to Connecticut laws intended to encourage use of renewable energy.  Earlier this month, Judge Manish Shah, of the Northern District of Illinois, issued a companion decision, rejecting challenges to the Illinois Future Energy Jobs Act, which grants “Zero Emission Credits” to certain facilities, “likely to be two nuclear power plants owned by Exelon in Illinois.” (Caveat:  This firm represents…
Massachusetts Energy Bill Emerges from Senate Committee on Ways and Means
Blog June 27, 2016
Massachusetts Energy Bill Emerges from Senate Committee on Ways and Means
Last Friday, the Senate Committee on Ways and Means released its version of the energy bill that passed the House earlier this month. Whereas the House bill would require distribution companies to procure 1,200 MW of offshore wind power by 2027 and 9,450,000 MWH of hydroelectric power by 2022, the Senate's version would require 2,000 MW of offshore wind by 2030 and 12,450,000 MWH of “clean energy generation” by 2018…
Draft Released of Highly Anticipated Massachusetts Energy Bill
Blog May 25, 2016
Draft Released of Highly Anticipated Massachusetts Energy Bill
This week a draft of the long-awaited Massachusetts energy bill was reported out of the Joint Committee on Telecommunications, Utilities and Energy. The bill would require the Commonwealth's distribution companies to competitively solicit long-term, fifteen- to twenty-year contracts for large-scale offshore wind and hydroelectric power. Notably absent from the bill are provisions addressing resources such as solar, onshore wind, nuclear, energy storage, and energy efficiency. The bill…
FERC Signals Interest in Expanding Market Policies to Support Energy Storage
Blog April 22, 2016
FERC Signals Interest in Expanding Market Policies to Support Energy Storage
Last week, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) initiated a proceeding regarding the applicability of wholesale electricity market rules to energy storage resources. At this point, FERC is only gathering information. The agency requested data from Independent System Operators (ISOs) and Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) on “whether barriers exist to the participation of electric storage resources in the capacity, energy, and ancillary service markets in the RTOs and…
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Foley Hoag’s Energy & Climate Counsel blog aims to be your one-stop resource for timely analysis of legal and policy developments affecting the energy and climate sectors. We focus on the issues that matter most to our readers, from federal and state policy and judicial decisions to business trends and financing news.

Our authors, comprised of attorneys from the firm’s Energy & Climate practice, have been active in the energy and climate space for decades, counseling clients across the spectrum – from new, innovative technology companies to large utility-scale power projects. Recognizing early on the common concerns of the renewable and traditional energy fields, we established one of the first integrated practices to serve all segments of the energy and clean technology sectors. We believe this tight integration provides us with the insight to analyze the pressing issues, trends and opportunities that those in this industry have come to expect.

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