Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 27, 2023

Michigan legislators recently passed a series of energy-related bills that Gov. Gretchen Whitmer is expected to sign into law tomorrow. Additionally, SB 271 requires utilities to achieve a “clean energy” portfolio of at least 80 percent in 2035 and 100 percent in 2040. What Still Needs to be Done?

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 19, 2022

Minnesota needs substantial investments now to build toward an equitable clean energy future. The bad news is, they have to find a compromise between two vastly different clean energy bills—by Monday. With such a wide gulf to cross, Minnesota could miss another opportunity to advance many key clean energy programs.

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PA Environment Daily

MARCH 21, 2025

Another in-person event took place in Western Pennsylvania, where supporters rallied in support of community-centered clean energy at the Homestead Steel Mill Stacks. I applaud Governor Shapiros continued support for Community Solar and look forward to working with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to get it signed into law.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 23, 2025

At present, California effectively has a ban on new nuclear power plants, but some California legislators are interested in rolling that back ostensibly to advance California towards its clean energy goals. In 1976, the California legislature passed a law that effectively bans new nuclear power plants.

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Legal Planet

JUNE 27, 2024

In choosing the top environmental laws, I wanted to focus on those with the largest impacts on the environment, not just those that are most important to environmental lawyers or best known. I included all laws passed in the U.S., not just federal regulatory laws, and some of my selections may not be what you expected.

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Legal Planet

OCTOBER 30, 2024

Achieving climate goals requires significant investments in clean energy, transportation, and other climate technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere. The report develops thematic policy recommendations for local project planners to employ these tools to realize equitable outcomes.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

DECEMBER 22, 2022

Since 2019, the Department of Energy’s ReCell Center has been researching effective and affordable battery recycling technology. The US government is also committed to bolstering domestic recycling.

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Legal Planet

AUGUST 25, 2022

On Monday, I explained why this is an especially urgent time for new law students to be thinking about the climate crisis and how they can contribute as lawyers. If you become an IP lawyer, there’s work to be done on clean energy technologies. One important area for work involves the energy sector. Land Use Law.

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Legal Planet

MAY 18, 2023

New York has enacted what may be the country’s most stringent environmental justice law. The law is so broadly worded, however, that it may have the potential to prevent economic development that would aid those communities, or even new facilities like hospitals that are urgently needed by the community.

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Legal Planet

DECEMBER 16, 2021

Energy law used to be an obscure niche subject. Energy law is a hot topic. Law students are thronging to the field, seeing an opportunity to combine social relevance with good-paying jobs. Top law schools are responding by competing for faculty. Energy use accounts for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 14, 2025

Merners research and expertise has informed climate litigation across the globe, as she connects legal teams with technical experts and leads trainings for scientists working at the intersection of climate science and law. That intersection between science and law is what makes this work so fascinating and impactful.

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Law and Environment

AUGUST 11, 2022

5060 ), titled An Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind, into law on Thursday August 11, 2022. The law keeps the required procurement total at 5.6 Renewable Energy. The post Massachusetts Passes Climate Bill Focused on Clean Energy and Offshore Wind first appeared on Law and the Environment.

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Vermont Law

NOVEMBER 12, 2024

Bridging the Gap: Ensuring a Just Transition for Rural Communities in the Clean Energy Revolution by Olivia Moulton As we begin transitioning from fossil fuels to renewable energy, we must be mindful of the disproportionate effects that the existing energy system has had on certain communities.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

NOVEMBER 13, 2024

Energy storage, or the storing of electricity for later use on the power grid, plays an important role in the clean energy transition. Illinois is currently considering policy proposals to establish a statewide energy storage target. Illinois needs policies in place now to jump-start development for our 2030 needs.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 9, 2024

Municipal zoning laws, meanwhile, allowed companies to build power plants and other industrial facilities in those same neighborhoods. VY: Clean energy sources will be absolutely pivotal for an equitable and reliable grid. How can we make sure the decisionmaking process for a clean grid transition is equitable?

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 24, 2023

The progress in the numbers The new numbers are from the federal Energy Information Administration (EIA), which collects data from power plant operators from across the country. They offer a lot of good news about clean energy progress. Renewables up, coal down More renewable energy is desirable for a lot of reasons.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 16, 2024

Much of our electricity system is 50 to 70 years old, yet current plans for domestic manufacturing, electric vehicle fleets, community solar gardens and more clean energy all depend on a modern grid. In some states, when the legislature created new clean energy goals they also started transmission planning to help meet those goals.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JULY 8, 2024

Massachusetts is laser focused on passing new legislation to streamline the building of new energy infrastructure to clean the electric grid and electrify buildings and transportation. Unfortunately, the Massachusetts Senate has missed the mark in its just-passed climate and energy bill.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MARCH 26, 2024

Something I really care about is to make sure the benefits of clean energy are reaching everyone in our society,” García said. She wanted her technical expertise to inform venues where decisions about the clean energy transition are being made at both large and local scales.

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Law and Environment

AUGUST 11, 2022

Based on numerous sources, Governor Baker has now signed an Act Driving Clean Energy and Offshore Wind. This bill includes a number of key advancements for increased adoption of zero emission vehicles and clean transportation throughout the Commonwealth. Stay tuned for Foley Hoag’s continuing zero emission transportation series.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

FEBRUARY 16, 2023

Last week, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed into law a standard that will make the North Star State’s electricity 100 percent carbon-free by 2040. Stay tuned for more updates as Minnesota and its climate and clean energy champions move closer to a healthier, equitable energy future for the state and its residents.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 23, 2022

An ambitious law that promises to accelerate the state’s clean energy transition, CEJA provides a detailed framework for greater utility transparency and accountability to update electricity distribution infrastructure to ensure a clean energy future. Starting with stakeholders.

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Law and Environment

NOVEMBER 3, 2022

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) and Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) announced that proposed amendments to the state’s Clean Energy Standard (CES) were finalized earlier this month without substantive changes from draft language initially proposed by the agencies in April 2022.

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Law and Environment

JULY 1, 2022

The decision focuses on EPA’s authority under a specific section of the Clean Air Act. But a closer read suggests more sweeping, longer-term implications for incentivizing the development of clean energy projects nationwide. What does this mean for clean energy projects? What is the case about? .

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Union of Concerned Scientists

MAY 31, 2022

The kicker is that conference committee members had managed to come to an agreement on a $40-million climate and energy omnibus that fell reasonably in between the House’s $120-million “go big” proposal and the Senate’s $12-million “go small” version. Minnesota has the tools to build a clean energy future.

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Law Columbia

OCTOBER 16, 2023

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is chock-full of tax incentives for climate and clean energy projects. But these kinds of new players in the clean energy space face significant barriers as they pursue credit amounts beyond the base ITC credits, and some of these barriers are written right into the IRA itself.

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PA Environment Daily

JULY 20, 2024

On July 18 and 19, RE+ Mid-Atlantic took place at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia, bringing together hundreds of clean energy industry leaders to enhance innovation and business opportunities in the region. MW of solar energy, enough solar panels to power 287,874 homes.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 3, 2023

Along with interim goals and priorities for pollution reduction in environmental justice areas, the law provides authorization and resources for state agencies to enable the transition to clean, renewable energy. Illinois legislators and clean energy advocates celebrate CEJA’s signing in September 2021.

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Yale E360

AUGUST 23, 2022

government is set to spend nearly $80 billion annually on climate technology and clean energy, more than triple the amount spent yearly during the Obama administration, under three new laws, a new analysis finds.? Read more on E360 ?.

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Legal Planet

MAY 7, 2024

Centralizing wholesale electricity transactions across a broader territory would improve grid reliability, lower costs for consumers, and increase use of clean energy technologies – even without building new generation or transmission infrastructure. Cost saving from improving market coordination could add up to $1.2 renewables).

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A Greener Life

NOVEMBER 14, 2024

By Liu Lican On November 8, China issued its first Energy Law , which aims to support the development and utilisation of renewable energy and increase the proportion of non-fossil energy consumption. However, the law also states that there will be “rational development and clean and efficient use” of fossil fuels.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 10, 2023

And, while a historic level of federal funding for climate action is on its way via the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, too many bad actors and opposition forces are working hard to stall and stop the help Californians need. This summer was a wild period of extreme heat waves , floods , and fires.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

OCTOBER 28, 2022

6 , the notorious law the Legislature passed in 2019 that slapped Ohio ratepayers with a monthly surcharge to bail out two struggling nuclear plants. 6 is still driving up Ohioans’ electricity bills—and undermining the state’s prospects for a clean energy future. 6 was signed into law by Ohio Gov. Since H.B. Mike DeWine.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 4, 2023

The state’s grid reliability is also inextricably linked to issues of improving energy affordability and achieving California’s ambitious clean energy goals. The impacts of a robust transmission system are numerous and critically important to reach a clean energy future. What is Western grid regionalization?

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Union of Concerned Scientists

SEPTEMBER 7, 2022

Consumers, clean energy developers and state governments have all warned about a looming crisis of inadequate energy infrastructure. The benefits of updated transmission are obvious: greater reliability, lower energy costs, and a resilient modern power system with new clean energy sources.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

APRIL 3, 2023

Last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) included a clean hydrogen production tax credit (known as “45V”) that is one of a slew of new incentives intended to help catalyze the next and necessary phase of advancing the nation’s clean energy transition as a whole. The costs will be too great otherwise.

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Union of Concerned Scientists

JANUARY 30, 2023

On January 26, the Minnesota House of Representatives passed House File 7 —the 100% Clean Energy Bill. Now, with climate and clean energy majorities in both chambers, Minnesota is poised to join other leading states in updating its clean energy policies equitably with benefits for all residents.

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