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Law and the Environment

Our blog provides perspective on developments in environmental law and policy - which developments may matter to you, and how and why they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, this blog offers commentary on current issues that are important to your business.

IRS Releases Guidance on SAF Tax Credit and Signals Forthcoming Revisions to GREET Model for Determining Lifecycle GHG Emissions Reductions
Blog December 20, 2023
On December 15, 2023, IRS published Notice 2024-06, a brief but important guidance on Section 40B, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) tax credit for sustainable aviation fuel (“SAF”). The guidance establishes a safe harbor for SAF that generates RINs under the federal Renewable Fuel Standard program (“RFS”). It also announces that the Department of Energy (“DOE”) will release an updated GREET model in early 2024 that meets Section 40B's requirements for determining SAF's lifecycle……
Department of Energy Chooses Seven Regions for $7 Billion in Hydrogen Hubs Funding
Blog October 13, 2023
This morning, the Department of Energy decided how it will allocate up to $7 billion of Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (“BIL”) funding set aside for establishing regional Hydrogen Hubs. The funding could be critical to jump-starting the country’s clean hydrogen economy. It will support projects for clean hydrogen production, distribution, and end-use within the Hub regions…
Energy Department Launches Hydrogen Interagency Task Force, But Few Details Emerge on Status of Federal Hydrogen Programs
Blog August 21, 2023
The Department of Energy (“DOE”) held a webinar on Friday, August 18, 2023 on the U.S. government’s national hydrogen strategy. The main announcement was the formation of the Hydrogen Interagency Task Force, or “HIT,” but…
Tackling the Cost of Clean Hydrogen under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act
Blog May 23, 2023
[This is the third post in our Hydrogen Blog Series. Read the first post here and the second post here] One of the biggest hurdles for clean hydrogen is high costs.  The Department of Energy graph below says it all.  Today, a kilogram of hydrogen produced by electrolysis costs around $5 to $7…
Clean Hydrogen: How It's Produced and What We Can Do with It
Blog May 04, 2023
[This is the second post in our Hydrogen Blog Series. Read the first post here.] In the first post, I alluded to the technical issues hydrogen developers are considering. Here we'll look at how hydrogen is produced and what it will be used for. How is hydrogen produced today…

ABOUT

In today’s fast changing world, almost all of us get our news – including our news about developments in environmental law and policy – electronically. This blog is not intended to be a substitute for the BNA™, or Greenwire™, or Google™, although we do hope that we will be able on occasion to let you know about issues that haven’t yet come to your attention.

What we really want to accomplish is to be able to provide some perspective on those developments. We’ll try to tell you which developments may matter to you. And why they matter. And how they matter. Whether you are a manufacturer or a power plant developer, whether you are a renewable energy developer or hoping to be a renewable energy consumer, whether you are a municipality or public agency or university, we want to comment on current issues in a way that is useful to you in your business.

Frankly, this blog also provides us with the opportunity to introduce you to Foley Hoag’s Environmental Practice Group. Our practice has been New England’s preeminent environmental practice for the past twenty years. We have the depth and capacity to handle the wide array of environmental issues that can arise in the course of your business. We will work with you to resolve any environmental issues that must be addressed in order for you to achieve your business goals – from permitting new projects to cost-effective cleanup of urban Brownfields properties to implementation of cost-effective due diligence in the support of acquisitions to navigating the emerging world of climate change regulations.

We will also assist you in the defense and prosecution of environmental litigation. As a result of our service to our clients, we have attained a national reputation in environmental matters. Our lawyers have built an impressive record resolving environmental disputes at the negotiating table and in the courtroom, and a number of our cases have produced precedents of national importance.

The scope of this blog will be commensurate with the scope of our practice. We’ll cover climate change, renewable energy, hazardous and solid waste, clean air and water, sustainability and green design. You name it, if it’s got an acronym attached to it, we’ll cover it.

As the headline indicates, we want to inform, update, comment, and discuss. In other words, while we’re going to enjoy posting, we’ll enjoy the blog more – and its usefulness will increase – if we hear from you also. Please comment on the blog entries. Let us know about developments we missed or implications of our discussions that we did not consider.

We look forward to the conversation.