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May 25, 2012
American Tank & Vessel Deals Blow To Contractor's $20M Suit
A Texas state judge ruled Tuesday that a former contractor’s claim for $20 million in consulting fees from American Tank & Vessel Inc. is likely offset to some degree because he caused the company to lose an oil pipeline contract with the Ghanaian government.
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May 25, 2012
Ohio OKs Fracking Bill Requiring More Insurance, Disclosures
The Ohio legislature gave final approval Thursday to legislation that calls for oil and gas companies to reveal chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing and requires horizontal well owners to obtain at least $5 million in insurance coverage.
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May 25, 2012
Reopened Uranium Mine At Odds With DOI Ban, 9th Circ. Told
Groups opposed to the 2009 reopening of a defunct uranium mine asked the Ninth Circuit on Friday to revive their claims against federal land regulators in a case that will test the strength of a recent federal ban on uranium mining near the Grand Canyon.
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May 25, 2012
NRG Rival Sues To Halt $120M Calif. Car-Charging Deal
Electric vehicle charging company ECOtality Inc. on Friday sued to block a $120 million settlement between NRG Energy Inc. and California regulators that would create electric car-charging stations across the state, saying the deal gives NRG a statewide monopoly.
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May 25, 2012
China Greenlights $11B Baosteel Plant Project
The Chinese government on Friday reportedly approved a long-awaited $11 billion Shanghai Baosteel Group Corp. project to build a steel plant in the southern province of Guangdong, ending years of delay because of overcapacity in the steel industry.
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May 25, 2012
Shell Keeps $2B Offer Open In Bidding War For Cove Energy
Royal Dutch Shell PLC on Thursday extended its $1.8 billion offer for Cove Energy PLC, giving itself room to evaluate its options after the East Africa-focused company earlier this week instead accepted a rival bid from Thailand's PTT Exploration & Production PCL.
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May 25, 2012
Senate Skips DOI Nominee Amid Energy Confirmations
The U.S. Senate on Thursday confirmed two new members of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, as well as a nominee for a Department of Energy post, but failed to act on a nominee for a key administrative job in the Department of the Interior who has faced Republican opposition.
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May 25, 2012
IFC Makes First Clean Energy Loan To Central America
The World Bank's financing arm signed its first loan to support clean energy in Central America on Friday, providing $50 million to Honduras' Banco Atlantida SA to fund small-scale renewable power and energy efficiency projects.
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May 25, 2012
Kyrgyz Gold Project Restarts After Violence On Site
British miner Orsu Metals Corp. will resume its search for gold in Kyrgyzstan, the company said Friday, seven months after villagers on horseback set fire to a camp where project geologists were staying.
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May 25, 2012
Saudi Aramco, Sumitomo Plot $7B Petrochemical Expansion
Japan's Sumitomo Chemical Co. Ltd. and state-owned Saudi Aramco on Friday unveiled plans for a $7 billion expansion to their jointly owned petrochemical plant on the Red Sea coast in Saudi Arabia.
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May 24, 2012
Goldman Commits $40B To Clean Energy Over 10 Years
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. plans to finance $40 billion in renewable-energy projects over the next decade, an area it considers at a “momentous point” of growth, the investment bank said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Calif. Clears Faster Review Of K Road's Solar Project
California Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed into law a bill that would allow K Road Power Holdings LLC's 663-megawatt solar project facing environmental suits to apply directly to a state board for permits, bypassing an often longer review process by local land use authorities.
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May 24, 2012
Obama Throws Weight Behind Wind Tax Credit Extension
President Barack Obama on Thursday made his strongest pitch yet for renewing federal tax credits for wind power projects, which are set to expire at the end of the year.
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May 24, 2012
LA's $890M Railcar Contract Award Meets Buy America Regs
The Federal Transit Authority on Tuesday told the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority that its $890 million contract with a Japanese firm for the manufacture of up to 235 light-railcars met Buy America requirements, over the objections of labor and economic advisory groups.
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May 24, 2012
Foe Says Blackstone's Green Power Line Could Cost Ratepayers
An enemy of Blackstone Group LP's bid to bring green power from Quebec to New York City insisted Thursday that ratepayers could be on the hook for the project despite the private equity firm's vows that it will succeed or fail on the open market.
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May 24, 2012
Ill. Asks FERC To Deny $178M PJM Upgrade Requests
The Illinois Commerce Commission on Wednesday called for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to dismiss $178 million worth of PJM Interconnection LLC electricity upgrade projects, arguing that PJM used an inappropriate cost allocation mechanism.
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May 24, 2012
China Says US Clean Energy Grants Break WTO Rules
China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that U.S. support for renewable energy projects constituted a barrier to trade that violated World Trade Organization rules, a move that followed last week's decision by the U.S. to support stringent anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panel imports.
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May 24, 2012
GE Kicks In $300M For EBX Brazil Port, Mining Projects
General Electric Co. will pour $300 million into a private investment fund belonging to project developer EBX Group Ltd., part of the Brazilian conglomerate's initiative to invest $50 billion in port infrastructure, oil and gas, mining, and technology over the next decade, the companies said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Australian LNG Project Nails Down $8.5B In Financing
Origin Energy Ltd., ConocoPhillips Co. and China Petrochemical Corp., known as Sinopec, have landed $8.5 billion in financing for their landmark joint venture, a sprawling coal-to-natural-gas operation aiming to profit from Australia's vast resource-rich coal deposits, the group said Thursday.
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May 24, 2012
Clean Line Gets FERC Approval For $1.7B Electric Grid
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved an application by clean energy transmission company Clean Line Energy Partners to negotiate service agreements for a $1.7 billion electricity grid project in Iowa and Illinois, Clean Line said Wednesday.
Expert Analysis
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FERC's Call For Comments On Interconnection Facilities
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued a notice of inquiry on open access and priority rights with regard to interconnection facilities. Increased certainty as to the feasibility and cost of building interconnection facilities could have a positive impact on financing for generation projects, including the development of additional renewable projects, say attorneys with Paul Hastings LLP.
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Best Practices For Corporate Social Responsibility
As with many industries, the legal services industry has adapted to the demand for sustainability practices. An effective Corporate Social Responsibility program will manifest itself in all strategic planning, from best firm employee practices and environmental sustainability to providing legal services, recruiting and retention of employees, business development, marketing and philanthropy, says Howard Dakoff of Levenfeld Pearlstein LLC.
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EPA's Fair Air Rules For Fracking Emissions
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released final rules to reduce by 95 percent certain air emissions from hydraulically fractured wells. Because the EPA has fashioned a rule that works for both sides of the fracking debate, the air quality issues that have surrounded hydraulic fracturing for the past several months now should be off the table, say James Pardo and Brandon Barnes of McDermott Will & Emery.
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Forging Public-Private Partnerships In Turkey
The Turkish government has embarked on an ambitious program of large landmark pathfinder projects done as public-private partnerships, and it is especially keen to encourage foreign sponsor and foreign lender participation, say attorneys with Chadbourne & Parke LLP.
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New FERC-Approved Standards For Critical Assets
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has approved the North American Electric Reliability Corporation's eight modified critical infrastructure protection reliability standards. While the Version 4 CIP standards seek to bring clarity and consistency to the identification of cyber assets, the industry is awaiting NERC's proposal of the Version 5 CIP standards, say attorneys with Blank Rome LLP.
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State Of The Tax Equity Market: Part 3
Parts 1 and 2 of this series followed the discussion of a group of veteran tax equity investors — including managing directors at Bank of America, JPMorgan Capital Corp., Citigroup, Credit Suisse and consultancy CP Energy — regarding wind energy project financing in the tax equity market. Moderated by Keith Martin of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, the final article in this series covers life after 1603, new issues in deals and lessons learned.
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A 1st For Fracking: EPA's Air Emissions Regulations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final rule regulating the emission of volatile organic compounds and certain other pollutants emitted by hydraulic fracturing, marking the first time that the EPA will regulate air emissions from fracking operations. The rule is likely a harbinger of further greenhouse gas regulation of the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
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FWS's 'Eagle' Eye On Renewable Energy Development
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a proposed rule to extend programmatic eagle take permits for up to 30 years to accommodate the development of renewable energy projects. While this step raises concerns that the number of eagles taken will increase significantly, the benefits of the proposed permit changes by the FWS outweigh any burdens to the environment, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.
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Where Rubber Hits Road: Examples Of Alternative Fees
Creating new approaches to fee agreements is something to embrace rather than fear — and when structured and managed correctly, it can be financially advantageous. Take, for example, fixed-fee arrangements, result-based billing and portfolio billing, say Bill Rudnick and Keith Maziarek of DLA Piper.
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State Of The Tax Equity Market: Part 2
Picking up where part 1 of this series left off, a group of veteran tax equity investors — including managing directors at Bank of America, JPMorgan Capital Corp., Citigroup, Credit Suisse and consultancy CP Energy — continue discussing the state of the wind energy market. Moderated by Keith Martin of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, part 2 of this discussion covers deal structures, layers of capital and pay-go structures.