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The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI): Everything You Need to Know, Part II: How Will TCI Work?
February 4, 2020 | Blog | By Sahir Surmeli, Thomas R. Burton, III
In Part I of our series on the Transportation Climate Initiative TCI, we provided an overview of this innovative program. Here in Part II, we will delve into how the initiative will work. As a regional policy, TCI will provide a framework for each state jurisdiction to implement in its own way. The recently released Framework for a Draft Regional Policy Proposal provides important insights into the way that the TCI could be structured in each state.
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Energy Tax Extenders Passed in Washington
January 8, 2020 | Blog | By Thomas R. Burton, III
On December 17, 2019, the United States House of Representatives voted to pass a $1.4 trillion spending package as an amendment to the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2020 (H.R. 1865). The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2019 amendment, which included several energy-related tax provisions and extensions, was added to the end of the bill and unveiled just days before Congress was set to adjourn for the year.
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The Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI): Everything You Need to Know, Part I: What Is the TCI?
January 7, 2020 | Blog | By Thomas Burton, Sahir Surmeli
On December 17, 2019, thirteen jurisdictions in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic United States officially issued an ambitious plan to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and investing in sustainable transportation infrastructure. The plan, entitled the Transportation and Climate Initiative (TCI), which has taken nearly a year to be drafted, is the first inter-state initiative of its kind and, if implemented, would drastically change the face of transportation along the East Coast.
In this first installment of a four-part series on the TCI, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the initiative and explain its aims. Subsequent installments will cover the initiative’s structure, the plan for Massachusetts, and potential challenges to implementation.
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In this first installment of a four-part series on the TCI, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the initiative and explain its aims. Subsequent installments will cover the initiative’s structure, the plan for Massachusetts, and potential challenges to implementation.
New York Permits 316 MW Battery Storage Project, Trading Gas Plant for World’s Largest Battery
December 2, 2019 | Blog | By Thomas R. Burton, III, Sahir Surmeli
New York’s utility regulator has approved construction on a 316-megawatt battery storage plant, a facility that, if built, would provide emissions-free power to New York City and the surrounding region while replacing a significant portion of the city’s fossil-fueled energy. Known as the Ravenswood Development, the project aims to provide 2,528 MWh of power and would operate during peak hours, with enough storage capacity to discharge 8 hours of power during the hours of highest demand.
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Offshore Wind Turbine Blade Set to Be Tested in Boston
November 22, 2019 | Blog | By Sahir Surmeli, Thomas R. Burton, III
On November 5, 2019, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center (MassCEC) and GE Renewable Energy together announced the arrival of a powerful offshore wind turbine blade in Boston.
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Blockchain in Energy: Regulatory Sandboxes and the Clean Peak Standard
November 6, 2019 | Blog
On September 20, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) filed a Notice of Public Review of the proposed 225 CMR 21.00, the Clean Peak Energy Portfolio Standard regulation. DOER seeks public comment on the proposed regulation. Originally part of An Act to Advance Clean Energy, which was signed into law in 2018, the Clean Peak Energy Portfolio Standard, or Clean Peak Standard (CPS), is designed to reduce demand at peak times and to shift energy use at these times to clean energy source.
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Mintz Sponsors Horizon18
October 25, 2019 | Blog | By Thomas Burton
Mintz is excited to sponsor Horizon18, a new global event for the clean energy economy taking place October 10-11 in Boston.
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Blockchain in Energy: A Review of the Current Landscape
October 1, 2019 | Blog
At the recent Blockchain in Energy conference hosted by Greentech Media (GTM), the theme was entirely clear: the perception of blockchain in the energy industry has matured from proclaiming blockchain a disruptive panacea that would completely vault a heavily regulated industry into the transactive grid of the future to placing blockchain as a tool in the firmament of the technology stack for the currently transitioning grid
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MassCEC Upcoming Programs
September 27, 2019 | Blog | By Sahir Surmeli
Blockchain in Energy: An Argument for a Regulatory Sandbox
September 24, 2019 | Blog
Internet of Things Strategies for the Energy Sector
September 18, 2019 | Blog
Whether thinking about managing oil and gas, water or other infrastructure facilities, or considering industrial efficiency, robotics and automation, you may be pondering how the Internet of Things (IoT) can be used to leverage resources. Forward thinking strategies include not just staying on top of regulatory changes that affect the IoT ecosystem, but also influencing them.
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New York Approves Major Offshore Wind Energy Deal
August 12, 2019 | Blog
As the latest step in New York’s hard-driving clean energy agenda, Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the approval of a major offshore wind energy deal while signing the state’s Green New Deal into law on July 18.
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Blockchain in Energy: Smart Legal Contracts on the Rise
July 26, 2019 | Blog
Smart contracts are an integral part of blockchain and distributed ledger technologies; the latter has seen a dramatic increase in mainstream commercial use. We explore the rise of the smart legal contract.
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Sustainable Investing Will Change the World
May 31, 2019 | Blog | By Sahir Surmeli
In the past several years, green bonds, sustainability bonds, social bonds, and bank loans with environmental, social and governance (ESG) principles embedded in loan pricing have been finding their way to market. Find out more about the importance and prevalence of these bonds here!
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Blockchain in Energy: A Practical Path to Standardization
May 15, 2019 | Blog
The Impact Terms Project: Defining the Standard for Impact
April 23, 2019 | Blog
The Impact Terms Project (“ITP”) was launched as a platform intended to provide guidance on best practices to entrepreneurs, investors and other stakeholders in the rapidly-evolving social enterprise space. To this end, the ITP covers a broad range of topics from corporate formation and financing to exit terms, building a foundation of resources on “what’s market” for those involved in impact. This article discusses the ITP's effort to build institutional knowledge for both entrepreneurs and potential investors in the impact space.
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Blockchain in Energy: Recent SEC Guidance on Tokenization
April 12, 2019 | Blog
Update on Energy Storage and Offshore Wind Initiatives in New York
April 11, 2019 | Blog | By Thomas R. Burton, III
In early 2019, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the introduction of the Green New Deal, a nation-leading clean energy and jobs agenda that statutorily mandates New York’s power to be 100 percent carbon-free by 2040. This article summarizes efforts and initiatives that will be made to realize the state's energy storage and offshore wind targets.
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How to Value a Solar Development Pipeline (Part 4 of 4)
April 8, 2019 | Blog
In this four-part series, we explore how to value and diligence a solar development pipeline in commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility scale contexts. This is the fourth installment of the series.
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How to Value a Solar Development Pipeline (Part 3 of 4)
April 5, 2019 | Blog
In this four-part series, we explore how to value and diligence a solar development pipeline in commercial and industrial (C&I) and utility scale contexts. This is the third installment of the series.
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Viewpoint Editors
Thomas R. Burton, III
Member / Chair, Energy & Sustainability Practice
Sahir Surmeli
Member / Co-chair, Energy & Sustainability Practice
Paul H. Dickerson
Member
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