Power & Pipes

In our final dispatch from the CERAWeek conference by S&P Global, Felipe Alice shared some insights and key takeaways from a luncheon and dialogue session featuring tech entrepreneur, investor, and philanthropist Bill Gates.

Our coverage of the CERAWeek conference by S&P Global in Houston, running from March 18 to March 22, continues with more updates. Today’s missive comes from the Innovation Agora, which is connected to the Executive Conference at CERAWeek. The Innovation Agora is described as a “vibrant and interactive marketplace of ideas on energy innovation and emerging technologies.” It includes several amphitheaters or “hubs” that are designed for presentations and conversations involving the latest trends in climate change, carbon, hydrogen, and emerging energy technologies.

We’re back with another update from CERAWeek 2024 by S&P Global to highlight some key takeaways from day two of the conference. Many of the sessions on this day were dedicated to infrastructure development and highlighted the opportunities and the challenges facing energy project developers.

On January 1, 2023, newly constructed standalone energy storage facilities became eligible for an investment tax credit (ITC) under Section 48 of the Internal Code of 1986, as amended (Code), pursuant to provisions of the recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA). Storage facilities placed in service before 2023 generally were only eligible for an ITC when constructed as part of a combined renewable generation (typically solar) plus storage facility and the storage system was charged by the paired renewable generation system at least for the 5-year initial operating period. Storage developers and owners will now be able to take advantage of new and significant tax credit opportunities, whether or not the storage system is paired with a renewable generation energy facility.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC or the Commission) released its enforcement results for fiscal year 2022 on October 20, 2022. The enforcement results detail the 82 enforcement actions the CFTC filed in 2022 and show that orders secured by the Commission imposed more than $2.5 billion in restitution, disgorgement, and civil monetary penalties, either through settlement or litigation.

Authored by litigators from our energy team, the Not Just Boilerplate series on Power & Pipes provides real-world examples of the impact that certain contract clauses can have on energy companies. Whether in repeat form agreements, employment agreements, or heavily negotiated one-off deals or mergers, there can sometimes be a tendency to just “grab” clauses from prior agreements, with the thinking that “it has always worked before . . .”

On March 24, FERC granted a public utility’s petition for declaratory order regarding the treatment of a master license agreement for communications equipment under the public utility’s previously approved revenue sharing mechanism (Revenue Sharing Mechanism).