Tag Archives: biofuels

CARB Attempts to Contain LCFS Credit Prices

By Latham & Watkins on January 13, 2020 Posted in California, Environmental Regulation

In recent LCFS amendments, CARB introduced a new price cap on all LCFS credit transfers and authorized limited future credit borrowing. By Joshua T. Bledsoe, Brian F. McCall, and Kevin A. Homrighausen On November 21, 2019, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) passed Resolution 19-27, approving several amendments to the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) … Continue Reading

Dismissal of Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Case Appealed Amidst Program Extension

By Latham & Watkins on April 3, 2018 Posted in Environmental and approvals, Permitting

Appeal in POET II could complicate California Air Resources Board’s proposed LCFS amendments. Joshua T. Bledsoe, Kimberly D. Farbota In the case commonly referred to as POET II, petitioner POET, LLC, a biofuels manufacturer, challenged the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) and Alternative Diesel Fuels (ADF) regulations which the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted … Continue Reading

California Air Resources Board Clarifies 2018 LCFS Targets and POET II Case Approaches Major Milestone

By Latham & Watkins on December 21, 2017 Posted in Environmental and approvals, Permitting

By Joshua Bledsoe and Kimberly Farbota Recent guidance published by the California Air Resources Board (ARB) clarifies the treatment of diesel fuels under the Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) in light of the Court of Appeals’ May 30, 2017 decision in POET I. Meanwhile, in POET II, ARB recently filed a Motion for Judgment on … Continue Reading

California’s Supreme Court Denies ARB Petition To Review LCFS Case

By Latham & Watkins on August 29, 2017 Posted in Finance and project development, Permitting

By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Kimberly Farbota In a previous post, we described how potential delays in the resolution of the case commonly known as POET I could create uncertainty regarding the future of the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). On August 23, 2017, the Supreme Court of California issued an order: (1) denying California … Continue Reading

Uncertainty Looms with Delays to Resolution of California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program Challenges

By Latham & Watkins on July 24, 2017 Posted in Environmental and approvals, Finance and project development, Permitting

By Joshua Bledsoe and Kimberly Farbota Two recent developments in the interrelated legal challenges commonly known as POET I and POET II may create additional uncertainty for the future of the Low Carbon Fuel Standard Program (LCFS). Earlier this year, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District (Court of Appeal) issued two … Continue Reading

Court Reissues LCFS Opinion Per ARB Petition For Reconsideration

By Latham & Watkins on June 8, 2017 Posted in Finance and project development, Permitting

By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Max Friedman As discussed in a previous post, the California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate District (Court of Appeal) ruled on April 10, 2017 that the California Air Resources Board (ARB) had failed to properly follow a writ of peremptory mandate (the Writ) requiring ARB to remedy violations … Continue Reading

California Court Rules Against Air Resources Board over LCFS but Preserves 2017 Status Quo

By Latham & Watkins on April 13, 2017 Posted in Environmental and approvals, Finance and project development

By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Max Friedman In two recent posts, we discussed how California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) had been thrown into a state of potential upheaval by two interrelated legal challenges commonly known as POET I and POET II, including a recent oral argument before the California Court of Appeal for the … Continue Reading

California State Court Poised to Destabilize Low Carbon Fuel Standard

By Latham & Watkins on March 28, 2017 Posted in Environmental and approvals, Finance and project development, Permitting

By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Max Friedman Big changes appear to be imminent for California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS). As discussed in greater detail in our recent post, the LCFS currently is the subject of two interrelated legal challenges commonly known as POET I and POET II. Here we provide an update on recent proceedings before … Continue Reading

Twin Challenges to LCFS Advance in California Courts, With Potential Implications for State’s Overall Climate Stabilization Strategy

By Latham & Watkins on March 2, 2017 Posted in Environmental and approvals, Finance and project development

By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Max Friedman Two related cases, advancing in parallel, have the potential to upend California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), whether via full suspension of the LCFS or carving out diesel fuels from the deficit and crediting regime.[1] Both cases involve challenges by POET, LLC (POET), a South Dakota-based ethanol producer, … Continue Reading

Low Carbon Fuel Standard Challenged (Again) in California State Court

By Latham & Watkins on December 8, 2015 Posted in Emerging companies, Energy storage, Environmental and approvals, Finance and project development, Tax and incentives

By Joshua Bledsoe and Max Friedman After a lengthy process of policy review and revision, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) re-adopted the state’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) on September 25, 2015. The LCFS is expected to contribute approximately 20% of the statewide greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions required by 2020 under Assembly Bill 32. … Continue Reading

EPA Proposes Renewable Fuel Standards for 2014-2016

By Latham & Watkins on June 1, 2015 Posted in Environmental and approvals

By Ann Claassen and Eli Hopson On May 29, EPA took long-awaited action on the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), with the unusual step of proposing standards for several years at once. EPA is reproposing the 2014 RFS—its original proposal of November 2013 having been heavily criticized—and is proposing, for the first time, the 2015 and … Continue Reading

EPA Issues 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard Limits, Hints at Blend Wall Reductions for 2014

By Latham & Watkins on August 13, 2013 Posted in Energy regulatory, Environmental and approvals

By Ann Claassen and Eli Hopson Last week EPA finalized the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) levels for 2013.[1] Although EPA missed the statutory deadline of November 30, 2012, for setting levels for the 2013 RFS, EPA notes that the statute does not provide any penalty for missing the deadline, nor does it remove the general … Continue Reading

California Appellate Court Signals Low Carbon Fuel Standard Will Remain in Effect Despite CEQA Violation

By Latham & Watkins on June 10, 2013 Posted in Emerging companies, Environmental and approvals

By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Aron Potash California’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS), a core component of the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction strategy, likely will survive a legal challenge and remain in effect despite an appellate court’s order indicating that the regulation was improperly adopted. The California Court of Appeal for the Fifth Appellate … Continue Reading

California Energy Commission Releases Proposed Rules Allowing Biomethane to Qualify for the Renewables Portfolio Standards

By Latham & Watkins on March 20, 2013 Posted in Energy regulatory, Environmental and approvals, Tax and incentives

By Marc Campopiano and Tim Henderson On March 11, 2013, the California Energy Commission (CEC) released a proposed Seventh Edition of the Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Eligibility Guidebook (proposed Guidebook). As we discussed in a previous blog entry, on March 28, 2012, the CEC suspended the RPS eligibility of power plants generating electricity using biomethane. … Continue Reading

California Appellate Court Signals that Adoption of Low Carbon Fuel Standard May Have Violated CEQA

By Latham & Watkins on March 19, 2013 Posted in Environmental and approvals

By Michael Dreibelbis, Eli Hopson, and Aron Potash A California appellate court signaled on February 26, 2013, that it might find that California’s low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) was improperly adopted. The court sent a request for supplemental briefing in POET, LLC et al. v. Goldstene, et al. indicating that the California Air Resources Board … Continue Reading

California Energy Commission Clarifies Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Eligibility Requirements

By Latham & Watkins on October 10, 2012 Posted in Energy regulatory, Environmental and approvals

By Marc T. Campopiano and Tim B. Henderson On August 9, 2012, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a revised Sixth Edition of the Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook (RPS Guidebook) to clarify changes to the RPS Guidebook Fifth Edition, which was recently adopted on May 9, 2012, as described in our prior blog discussion. … Continue Reading

California Energy Commission Updates Renewables Portfolio Standard Eligibility Guidebook

By Latham & Watkins on June 13, 2012 Posted in Environmental and approvals

By Marc Campopiano and Tim Henderson On May 9, 2012, the California Energy Commission (CEC) adopted a revised Renewables Portfolio Standard (RPS) Eligibility Guidebook. The update implements several key modifications to the RPS eligibility criteria, including but not limited to: Incorporating changes required by Senate Bill X1-2, which raised the RPS to 33 percent by … Continue Reading

The California Energy Commission Abruptly Suspends Eligibility of Biomethane Under California’s Renewables Portfolio Standard

By Latham & Watkins on April 4, 2012 Posted in Energy regulatory, Environmental and approvals

By: Marc T. Campopiano On March 28, 2012, the California Energy Commission voted unanimously to suspend the Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) eligibility guidelines for certification of power plants generating electricity using biomethane. In 2011, California’s Legislature passed Senate Bill X1-2 that raised the RPS to 33% by 2020, one of the most aggressive renewable energy … Continue Reading

Roadblock to California Greenhouse Gas Cap and Trade Program Removed, but Others Remain

By Latham & Watkins on December 15, 2011 Posted in Emerging companies, Energy regulatory, Environmental and approvals, Finance and project development, Tax and incentives

By Michael Feeley and Aron Potash A lawsuit which delayed and once threatened to dismantle California’s greenhouse gas (GHG) cap and trade scheme was largely resolved last week, removing one roadblock to California’s plan to be the first state to impose an economy-wide GHG trading program. Under modified regulations adopted by the California Air Resources … Continue Reading