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Kimberly R. Nason

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SolarPanelPiggySmall.jpgLast week, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s office announced the first transactions of the New York Green Bank (“NY Green Bank”).  Among those transactions is a four-megawatt solar project by BQ Energy’s Steel Sun, LLC on the former site of the Bethlehem Steel Plant in Lackawanna, N.Y.

The NY Green Bank is a financial institution that lends at market rates and is funded by ratepayer fees on utility bills that are specifically allotted towards renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in New York State.
Continue Reading Phillips Lytle – Part of New York State’s First Green Bank Transactions

Earlier this week, Senators Mary Landrieu (D-La.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) lent their support to a revamped version of the Master Limited Partnerships Parity Act.  The bill was reintroduced earlier this year by Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.).  The bill would expand the master limited partnership business structure to renewable energy projects, and “level the playing field.”  Currently, the structure is available to traditional fossil-fuel based energy projects, but specifically excludes renewable projects.
Continue Reading Additional Support for Opening Up MLP Structure to Renewables

Last week, a group of U.S. Senators submitted a letter requesting swift clarification by the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) of language regarding the wind production tax credit (“PTC”) under Internal Revenue Code Section 45 (“Section 45”). The letter addressed the recent change in the Section 45 language that was added when the PTC was extended for a year by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (“Taxpayer Relief Act”). 
Continue Reading Bipartisan Group of Senators Wants Clarification of “Commencement of Construction” Under the Wind PTC

The D.C. Circuit delivered a mixed decision recently regarding an American Petroleum Institute (“API”) challenge to the 2012 EPA Rule (“2012 Rule”) outlining blending requirements for cellulosic biofuels.  Cellulosic biofuel is an advanced biofuel that comes from sources such as switchgrass and agricultural wastes.
Continue Reading D.C. Circuit Issues Mixed Ruling on Biofuels Targets

State Supreme Court Justice Ferris D. Lebous recently overturned a local ordinance adopted by the Binghamton City Council in 2011 to ban activities associated with gas drilling and exploration for a period of two years. Justice Lebous’ decision is the first in New York State to overrule a local ordinance pertaining to the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Continue Reading State Supreme Court Overrules Local Fracking Ordinance