Climate Change and Clean Technology Blog : Climate Change Lawyer & Attorney : Sheppard Mullin Law Firm : Clean Technology, Greenhouse Gas

By Lindsay Young

On July 14, 2010, California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a lawsuit against Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (California v. Federal Housing Finance Agency, N.D. Cal., No. 10-3084), claiming that the government-sponsored enterprises are thwarting the State’s PACE (Property Assessed Clean Energy) programs, which encourage homeowners to make their homes more energy and water efficient. Under PACE programs, local governments lend money to homeowners who then use the funds to install solar panels, better insulation and other energy efficiency improvements. The homeowners pay for the improvements through special property tax assessments over a period of 10 years or more. The PACE programs, which have already created thousands of jobs, have additionally attracted over $150 million in stimulus money for the State of California. 
 

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By Daniel Yannuzzi

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has expanded its Green Technology Pilot Program to allow more categories of technology to be eligible for expedited examination.   Under the Green Technology Pilot Program, applications pertaining to environmental quality, energy conservation, development of renewable energy, or greenhouse gas emission reduction, will be considered without meeting all of the usual requirements of the accelerated examination program (e.g., examination support document). Applications accorded special status will be placed on the examiner’s special docket and advanced out of turn prior to the first Office action, and will have special status in any appeal to the Board of Patent Appeals and Interferences and also in the patent publication process.  Applications having special status under this program, however, will be placed on the examiner’s amended docket, after the first Office action.
 

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By Adrienne Lee

Yesterday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued its decision that stationary sources will not be required to get federal permits under the Clean Air Act for greenhouse gases (GHGs) before January 2011. According to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, “This is a common sense plan for phasing in the protections of the Clean Air Act. It gives large facilities the time they need to innovate, governments the time to prepare to cut greenhouse gases.”  Jackson also announced that during the latter half of 2011 and 2013, the threshold for permitting will be raised “substantially higher” than the originally proposed 25,000-ton limit, with the smallest sources exempted from Clean Air Act permitting requirements until at least 2016.
 

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by Kyndra Joy Casper

Due to the current economic challenges facing businesses and local governments in Southern California, the AQMD adopted Rule 310, Amnesty for Unpermitted Equipment on March 5, 2010. The new rule provides a temporary opportunity to obtain permits for equipment that should have permits without incurring late fees or violations penalties when certain conditions are met. The penalty holiday will last for six months, from February 5, 2010-August 4, 2010.
 

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By Misti M. Schmidt

In 2007, the Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted a regulation to reduce diesel particulate matter (PM) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions from in-use (existing) off-road heavy-duty diesel vehicles in California. With the March 1, 2010 deadline looming over the construction industry for complying with the off-road regulation, ARB issued a statement yesterday postponing any enforcement actions for noncompliance with the regulation. Because of the faltering economy, reduced construction activity, and associated reduced emissions, "effective immediately, and until further notice, no enforcement action will be taken for noncompliance."
 

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by Daniel P. Bane

At the end of the 2009 legislative session, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a remarkable potpourri of "green" legislation into law. While some of these measures are new edicts, others supplement or amend existing statutory schemes in hopes of catalyzing swift growth in the area of private renewable energy generation to help California achieve its ambitious clean energy goals as well as the goals of the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (Health & S C §§ 38500-38598 ("AB 32"). Specifically, this article addresses the following recent bills signed by the governor: SB 32, AB 920, AB 758, SB 104, AB 881, and AB 1366.
 

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The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 appropriated nearly $800 billion to stimulate the U.S. economy out of recession. Included in the Recovery Act is billions of dollars for cleantech, including $16.8 billion for the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Approximately $2.5 billion was allocated to support research, development and deployment activities. These are significant opportunities for companies involved with developing new clean technologies. However, companies should be aware of strings attached to these new funding opportunities.

The following article by Daniel Yanuzzi and Christopher Noon was originally published in the San Diego Daily Transcript. To read the article please click here.

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By Misti M. Schmidt

In 2008, a superior court judge placed a moratorium on certain aspects of the emissions trading program administered by the South Coast Air Quality Management District ("District"), instructing the District to complete an environmental impact report regarding its 2007 amendments to District Rule 1315 and District Rule 1309.1. See Natural Resources Defense Council v. South Coast Air Quality Management District, Case No. BS110792 (C.D. Cal., Nov. 3, 2008). Rule 1315 sets forth procedures for tracking emissions credits, while Rule 1309.1 establishes a priority reserve to more easily provide credits to certain preferred sources. Perhaps unexpectedly, the decision with respect to Rule 1309.1 had a large impact on small businesses and public services which have not been permitted to expand because the District has been unable to issue any emissions credits to these entities.
 

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By Kyndra Joy Casper

In a move certain to fuel the debate over climate change legislation in Congress, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") recently revealed a new proposal to regulate greenhouse gas ("GHG") emissions from power plants, factories and refineries, which are considered large GHG emitters.  The regulations being developed would, for the first time, require the use of best available control technology (“BACT”) to compel large emitting sources to curb GHG emissions whenever a new facility is constructed or a major modification takes place. The proposal would require large industrial facilities that emit at least 25,000 tons of GHGs a year to obtain construction and operating permits. Small businesses such as farms, restaurants, and many other types of small facilities would not be included in these requirements. The EPA’s proposal signals that it will act under the existing authority provided by the Clean Air Act, meaning that if Congress does not pass a climate change bill, the EPA will act on its own to curb emissions.
 

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Cleantech companies will be looking for market share in 2009.

Despite record high investment in the cleantech sector -- $4.1 billion in 2008, up from $1.4 billion in 2006 -- the credit market contraction has severely tested the sector with the usual sources of financing for large-scale solar, wind and alternative fuels projects -- tax equity investors -- taking a pass.

The following article by Stephanie Brecher was originally published in the Daily Deal. To read the article please click here.

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