The D.C. Circuit, 2-1, denied petitions to review FERC's orders requiring a generator to upgrade its circuit breaker in order for another power source to safely connect to the regional transmission grid and requiring the new source to compensate the generator for direct costs of the upgrade. The gen...
The D.C. Circuit dismissed a petition to review DOE's decision to remove a free-trade restriction on liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports. An environmental group challenged the removal, arguing a Texas LNG terminal's increased flexibility to select export countries will cause its actual exports to in...
A district court granted BLM's motion to dismiss tribes' and environmental groups' challenge to the Bureau's approval of a 550-mile transmission line route through the San Pedro Valley. Plaintiffs argued BLM violated the National Historic Preservation Act by failing to identify the San Pedro Valley ...
A district court denied policy groups' request to preliminarily enjoin construction of a wind energy project off the coast of Virginia. The groups argued the project should be enjoined until NMFS updates its biological opinion to include an analysis of the cumulative effects of other offshore wind p...
The Seventh Circuit reversed a district court's preliminary injunction prohibiting approval of a proposed land exchange in Wisconsin for construction of a high-voltage electric transmission line that would run through the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge. The appellate court...
The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and NMFS in a challenge to BOEM's approval for construction of a wind power project off the coast of Massachusetts. A group of Nantucket residents argued NMFS violated the ESA by issuing a deficient biologic...
The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for NMFS in a challenge to the Service's issuance of an incidental harassment authorization (IHA) for construction of a wind power project off the coast of Massachusetts. A part-time Martha's Vineyard resident argued NMFS' determination that the IHA, which...
A district court denied tribes' and conservation groups' request to preliminarily enjoin construction of a transmission line through the San Pedro Valley in Arizona. The plaintiffs argued BLM violated the National Historic Preservation Act when it authorized construction to begin without assessing t...
The Third Circuit granted petitions to review FERC orders allowing the administrator of a 2024/2025 capacity auction to apply a new rule retroactively to a pending action to avoid a spike in electricity prices. Electric suppliers and their trade groups argued the orders violated the filed rate doctr...
The Fifth Circuit granted several states' petition to review DOE's 2022 rule repealing two 2020 rules concerning efficiency standards for dishwashers and washing machines. The states argued the repeal rule, which deleted the appliance categories for shorter-duration dishwashers and washing machines ...