Project Finance

  • February 06, 2024

    DC Circ. Unsure FERC Can't Order NextEra To Cover Plant Costs

    NextEra Energy's request to be made whole for upgrades to its New Hampshire nuclear power plant's circuit breaker seemed to get a frosty reception from the D.C. Circuit during oral arguments Tuesday.

  • February 06, 2024

    ​​​​​​​FCC Says School Bus Wi-Fi Challengers Can't Zoom To Court

    The Federal Communications Commission urged the Fifth Circuit on Tuesday to toss a challenge from two individuals to the agency's plan to subsidize school bus Wi-Fi, saying they can't go straight to court after failing to lodge a protest with the FCC.

  • February 06, 2024

    Report Shows Fragile US Solar Growth Under Safeguard

    The U.S. solar energy industry has grown despite bumpy conditions since 2020 and is on track to expand into photovoltaic cell production before the end of the year, according to a report released Tuesday by the U.S. International Trade Commission.

  • February 06, 2024

    Suncor Energy Must Pay $10.5M For Air Pollution, Colo. Says

    The state of Colorado said Suncor Energy Inc. must dish out at least $10.5 million toward penalties and improvement projects as a result of its Commerce City refinery's air pollution violations between July 2019 and June 2021.

  • February 06, 2024

    ​​​​​​​Top Groups Lobbying The FCC

    The Federal Communications Commission heard from companies and interest groups more than 100 times in January on a wide variety of topics, from net neutrality proposals to cybersecurity to planned new rules to revamp spectrum.

  • February 06, 2024

    NC Panel Backs $5M Win For Developers In Water Fee Fight

    The North Carolina state appeals court on Tuesday backed a $5.3 million judgment developers won in their suit accusing the city of Greensboro of imposing illegal pre-service water fees, finding the fees were charged late in the construction process but before volume-measuring water and sewer services were available on the properties.

  • February 06, 2024

    Builders Ask Judge To Rethink Monetary Relief For Fees Suit

    Builders urged a Florida state judge to reconsider two "'overarching'" rulings that they claim denied monetary relief for their proposed class action against the city of Miami over allegedly illegal building permit and inspection fees.

  • February 06, 2024

    Ex-Contech Exec Asks 4th Circ. To Toss More Convictions

    The U.S. Department of Justice and the former Contech executive who was convicted of bid-rigging both agree that the Fourth Circuit should rethink the decision that wiped out that conviction, but for different reasons — one wants the conviction reinstated, while the other says the panel didn't go far enough.

  • February 06, 2024

    Nev. Teachers Union Sues To Upend Oakland A's Stadium Deal

    A Nevada teachers' union has sued in state court to block a measure lawmakers approved in June to provide $380 million in public money to a new ballpark for the Oakland A's on the Las Vegas Strip, arguing the package passed in a special session last summer wasn't vetted for flaws.

  • February 06, 2024

    Legato Merger's Third SPAC Prices $175M Offering

    Legato Merger Corp. III, a special-purpose acquisition company targeting infrastructure and construction-related industries, was slated to begin trading Tuesday after raising $175 million in an initial public offering, represented by Graubard Miller and underwriters' counsel Loeb & Loeb LLP.

  • February 06, 2024

    Construction Group Of The Year: King & Spalding

    King & Spalding LLP secured a $1.9 billion arbitration award in June in a case stemming from cost overruns at a Colombian oil refinery and is defending the award in forums on three continents, earning a spot among Law360's 2023 Practice Groups of the Year for Construction.

  • February 05, 2024

    Groups Urge 9th Circ. To Overturn Alaskan Willow Project

    The Bureau of Land Management should have looked before it leaped in reapproving ConocoPhillips' planned Willow drilling project in Arctic Alaska, the Center for Biological Diversity said Monday, arguing that the agency refused to evaluate the effects of any alternative plans that stranded economically viable oil on the company's land leases.

  • February 05, 2024

    Justices Urged To Turn Away $392M Arbitrator Bias Suit

    An oil company has urged the U.S. Supreme Court to deny a petition asking it to overturn the Second Circuit standard for vacating arbitral awards over apparent arbitrator bias, arguing that any differences in the federal appeals courts over the evident partiality standard are "academic."

  • February 05, 2024

    US Backs Spain In $386M Solar Award Cases

    The Biden administration is urging the D.C. Circuit not to enforce some $386 million in arbitral awards issued to investors after Spain dialed back its renewable energy incentives, arguing that courts need not defer to arbitrators when deciding whether an arbitration agreement exists.

  • February 05, 2024

    'Just Good Enough' Won't Cut It With BEAD Plans, Gov't Told

    Cable industry groups want the U.S. Department of Commerce, which is in charge of disbursing billions in broadband deployment aid, to reject states' efforts to build out other technologies at the expense of the fiber-optic projects the government has said they should prioritize.

  • February 05, 2024

    FERC Says It Followed Court's Orders With LNG Reapproval

    The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission defended its reapproval of a Texas liquefied natural gas terminal Monday, telling the D.C. Circuit it addressed the appeals court's concerns after the court ordered the agency to revise its environmental reviews of the project.

  • February 05, 2024

    State Telecom Roundup: The States With The Worst Internet

    The Biden administration has said it expects to start releasing some of the $42 billion in Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment program state broadband funding in early 2024. The idea is for the funds to be used to narrow the digital divide that prevents millions of Americans from having access to affordable and high-quality internet, but some states have more to do than others.

  • February 05, 2024

    States, Businesses Push To Sink Feds' Amended WOTUS Rule

    Texas, Idaho and more than a dozen industry groups are asking a Texas federal judge to throw out the U.S. government's latest rule to define the "waters of the United States," arguing that it oversteps federal authorities under the Clean Water Act, is overly vague and flies in the face of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling.

  • February 02, 2024

    Clean Energy Can Revive Fossil Fuel Sites, But Risks Abound

    Building clean energy projects on the sites of shuttered or aging coal- and gas-fired power plants is a multibillion-dollar opportunity to accelerate the U.S. energy transition, but there are steep legal and practical hurdles to clear. Here's a rundown of what developers must grapple with if they want to build green on fossil fuel sites.

  • February 02, 2024

    Youths Say DOJ Using Extreme Tactics To Delay Climate Trial

    Young people who claim the U.S. government is violating their rights with energy policies that are worsening climate change hit back against the Justice Department's latest bid to pause their suit before it can go to trial, saying courts should not tolerate its extreme delay tactics and shocking conduct.

  • February 02, 2024

    Infrastructure Co. Cuts Deal To Resolve DOL Equal Pay Probe

    An infrastructure consulting company has agreed to pay roughly $122,000 to shutter a U.S. Department of Labor investigation into allegations that the company paid women less than their male counterparts despite the workers having the same levels of experience and skill, the DOL said.

  • February 02, 2024

    Troutman Pepper Nabs FERC Pro From Steptoe

    Troutman Pepper has nabbed a former Steptoe LLP partner to lead its enforcement practice in its energy practice group, further strengthening its over 20-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission team.

  • February 02, 2024

    Mich. Electric Co. Can't Put Upgrade Delay Cost On Customers

    An electric company cannot pass the extra costs of construction delays during a power plant upgrade onto customers, an appellate panel said Thursday, affirming a Michigan regulator's decision that the utility must eat the loss.

  • February 01, 2024

    Colo. Climate Case May Be Stuck In 'Catch-22,' Judge Says

    A Colorado state judge asked Exxon on Thursday whether its argument would put local governments seeking to hold it responsible for the effects of climate change in a "Catch-22," since the oil giant maintains that its emissions were too widespread to be subject to state law while federal law doesn't give the plaintiffs an opportunity to sue.

  • February 01, 2024

    Kirkland Under Chancery Fire In Space Biz Merger Suit

    Scant disclosures from Kirkland & Ellis LLP about its partners' potential financial stake in a $1.2 billion deal the firm was advising drew sharp scrutiny from Delaware's Court of Chancery at a hearing in Wilmington on Thursday.

Expert Analysis

  • UN Climate Summit: What To Watch For In Dubai

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    The upcoming 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP28, may be remembered as a turning point in the emerging low-carbon economy — but only if conference commitments are successfully translated into new laws, business practices and financial support, say attorneys at DLA Piper.

  • New FCC Broadband Label Rules Should Be Read Carefully

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    A recent order from the Federal Communications Commission clarifies standardized broadband label requirements that are pending final approval — and while compliance should be manageable, the rules impose new risk, particularly with regard to speed and latency disclosures, say Craig Gilley and Laura Stefani at Venable.

  • How To Protect Atty-Client Privilege While Using Generative AI

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    When using generative artificial intelligence tools, attorneys should consider several safeguards to avoid breaches or complications in attorney-client privilege, say Antonious Sadek and Christopher Campbell at DLA Piper.

  • What FERC-PJM Negotiations Mean For The Energy Industry

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    Following the aftermath of Winter Storm Elliot, disputes associated with the PJM Interconnection settlement negotiations taking place at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission have brought to the fore a potential legal minefield arising out of extreme weather events that could lead to commercial risks for power generating companies, say attorneys at Hogan Lovells.

  • Kentucky Tax Talk: Taking Up The Dormant Commerce Clause

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    Attorneys at Frost Brown examine whether the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to review Foresight Coal Sales v. Kent Chandler to consider whether a Kentucky utility rate law discriminates against interstate commerce, and how the decision may affect dormant commerce clause jurisprudence.

  • How New Lawyers Can Leverage Feedback For Growth

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    Embracing constructive criticism as a tool for success can help new lawyers accelerate their professional growth and law firms build a culture of continuous improvement, says Katie Aldrich at Fringe Professional Development.

  • Series

    ESG Around The World: Australia

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    Clive Cachia and Cathy Ma at K&L Gates detail ESG-reporting policies in Australia and explain how the country is starting to introduce mandatory requirements as ESG performance is increasingly seen as a key investment and corporate differentiator in the fight for global capital.

  • Bat's Newly Endangered Status Likely To Slow Development

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    A recent change in the classification of the northern long-eared bat from "threatened" to "endangered" could have significant effects on development in large portions of the Eastern and Southeastern U.S. — and in the absence of straightforward guidelines, developers will have to assess each project individually, says Peter McGrath at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Corporate Compliance Lessons From FirstEnergy Scandal

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    Fallout from a massive bribery scheme involving Ohio electric utility FirstEnergy and state officeholders — including the recent sentencing of two defendants — has critical corporate governance takeaways for companies and individuals seeking to influence government policymaking, say attorneys at Wilson Sonsini.

  • Twitter Legal Fees Suit Offers Crash Course In Billing Ethics

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    X Corp.'s suit alleging that Wachtell grossly inflated its fees in the final days of Elon Musk’s Twitter acquisition provides a case study in how firms should protect their reputations by hewing to ethical billing practices and the high standards for professional conduct that govern attorney-client relationships, says Lourdes Fuentes at Karta Legal.

  • Offshore Wind Auction Results Portend Difficulties In Gulf

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    Results of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's recent auction of the Gulf of Mexico lease areas tell different stories about the future of offshore wind in the U.S., with the Gulf’s low interest suggesting uncertainty and the Mid-Atlantic’s strong interest suggesting a promising market, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

  • ABA's Money-Laundering Resolution Is A Balancing Act

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    While the American Bar Association’s recently passed resolution recognizes a lawyer's duty to discontinue representation that could facilitate money laundering and other fraudulent activity, it preserves, at least for now, the delicate balance of judicial, state-based regulation of the legal profession and the sanctity of the attorney-client relationship, say attorneys at Ballard Spahr.

  • Regulators Must Get Creative To Keep Groundwater Flowing

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    Even as populations have boomed in Sun Belt states like Arizona, California and Texas, groundwater levels have diminished due to drought and overuse — so regulators must explore options including pumping limits, groundwater replenishment and wastewater reuse to ensure future supplies for residential and commercial needs, says Jeffrey Davis at Integral Consulting.

  • Issues To Watch As Biochar Carbon Project Demand Heats Up

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    Entities considering financing, constructing or operating biochar projects should evaluate the increasing demand for biochar as a soil amendment, the potential to generate revenue from carbon credits and produce other byproducts, and a variety of legal hurdles in this rapidly emerging market, say Mackenzie Schoonmaker and Astrika Adams at Beveridge & Diamond.

  • Law Firm Professional Development Steps To Thrive In AI Era

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    As generative artificial intelligence tools rapidly evolve, professional development leaders are instrumental in preparing law firms for the paradigm shifts ahead, and should consider three strategies to help empower legal talent with the skills required to succeed in an increasingly complex technological landscape, say Steve Gluckman and Anusia Gillespie at SkillBurst Interactive.

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