On January 23, 2009 the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“DC Circuit”) upheld FERC’s decision denying Connecticut’s challenge to the current “hybrid” electricity market. The DC Circuit decided the current hybrid market is just and reasonable as an interim solution whereas the alternative proposed by Connecticut was not adequately supported.

On January 21, 2009, FERC determined that the city of Corona, California must pay costs associated with its interconnection to Southern California Edison (“SoCal Edison”) even though SoCal Edison failed to provide the invoice within the twelve-month deadline in its Interconnection Facilities Agreement (“Facilities Agreement”).

On Monday, January 26th, President Obama directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to review the agency’s 2007 denial of California’s waiver request, which prevented California and thirteen other states from enacting tailpipe emission standards that are more stringent than the federal regulations.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works released a report this month calling for a variety of actions to be taken by the EPA in advance of comprehensive federal legislation regulating greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions. The “Report on the Tools Available Under the Clean Air Act to Immediately Reduce Global Warming Pollution” presents the results of the Committee’s September 23, 2008 hearing on the extent of EPA’s current authority with respect to GHG regulation.

On January 15, 2009, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) approved the Sparrows Point Project in Baltimore County, Maryland despite objections from Commissioner Jon Wellinghoff. The project includes a liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) terminal that will have a send-out capacity of 1.5 billion cubic feet per day and 88 miles of newly constructed natural gas pipeline.

On Thursday, both the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Ways and Means Committee separately passed their respective portions of the economic stimulus bill, committing billions of dollars to upgrading the nation’s electric grid and increasing investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy.

On January 15, FERC issued an order approving a small solar thermal generating facility to be designated as a Qualifying Facility (“QF”) under section 210 of the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”) despite the fact that portions of the same facility are at times used to generate electricity using natural gas.

On January 14, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) approved an order granting Waste Control Specialists, LLC (“WCS”) licenses to operate a new low-level radioactive waste (“LLRW”) disposal facility in West Texas. The Commissioners voted 2-0 to allow WCS to build the facility in Andrews County, near the New Mexico state line. A third commissioner abstained from the vote.

On Wednesday, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina held that SO2 and NOx emissions from four of TVA’s coal-fired power plants constitute a public nuisance. Specifically, the court agreed with the claims made by the State of North Carolina that the pollution from TVA’s Bull Run, Kingston, John Sevier, and Widows Creek facilities “clouds its scenic vistas, poisons its wildlife, and sickens its people.”