The EPA on July 1, 2011 issued a final rule deferring for three years application of the Clean Air Act’s Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) and Title V permitting requirements to carbon dioxide (“CO2”) emissions from biogenic stationary sources.  EPA and the Science Advisory Board will use the three-year deferral period to conduct an analysis of the impacts of emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic stationary sources prior to a final determination of how such emissions should be regulated.

On July 1, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) rejected an appeal brought forth by the attorneys general of Washington and South Carolina alleging that the United States Department of Energy (“DOE”) violated the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (“NWPA”).  The attorneys general claimed that the DOE violated the NWPA by seeking to withdraw their license application to build and operate the Yucca Mountain nuclear disposal site in Nevada, under the direction of President Obama, thus effectively killing the nuclear disposal project. 

On July 1, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued an order confirming the Midwest Independent Transmission System Operator, Inc.’s (“Midwest ISO”) interpretation of the Joint Operating Agreement (“JOA”) between it and the Southwest Power Pool (“SPP”).  FERC declared that the JOA allows for the sharing of available transmission capacity between the Midwest ISO, Entergy Arkansas, Inc. (“Entergy Arkansas”), and SPP in the event that Entergy Arkansas becomes a transmission-owning member of the Midwest ISO.

On June 28, 2011, two business women with the assistance of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (“CEI”) and Americans for Prosperity filed a lawsuit against the state of New York for participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”) program because the interstate compact was never approved by the state legislature.  

On June 20, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) denied the joint request of Sempra Generation (“Sempra”) to make affiliate sales to San Diego Gas & Electric Company (“SDG&E”) pursuant to a competitive solicitation due to concerns over potential for affiliate abuse. 

On June 20, 2011, the Supreme Court spoke for the second time on climate change. Observing that the Supreme Court “endorses no particular view of the complicated issues related to carbon-dioxide emissions and climate change,” a unanimous Court, in a decision written by Justice Ruth Ginsburg, held that Congress, through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) – and not a group of states and cities using federal common law – should decide national policy on climate change.

On June 16, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) allowed three utilities to terminate their mandatory purchase obligations that would have required new contracts with qualifying cogeneration and small power production facilities (“QF”) with over 20 MW of net capacity under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”).

On June 13, 2011, the United States Department of Energy (“DOE”) Secretary, Steven Chu, took part in a White House Grid Modernization event titled “Building the 21st Century.”  At the event, Chu announced that more than five million smart meters have been installed across the U.S. as part of efforts to increase modernization of the electric grid.  Secretary Chu stated that “to compete in the global economy, we need a modern electricity grid.”