Speaking Energy

We are pleased to share a recording of Akin’s recently presented “FERC Order No. 2023-A: What’s New and What’s Next?” webinar, along with the program materials.

On October 23, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order that will permit Trailblazer Pipeline Company LLC (Trailblazer) to convert its approximately 400-mile-long natural gas pipeline system to carbon dioxide (CO₂) transportation. Trailblazer intends to use the pipeline, which originally entered service in the 1980s to bring natural gas from constrained Rocky Mountain supply basins in Wyoming across Colorado and into Nebraska, to transport CO₂from ethanol plants and other emissions sources in Nebraska and Colorado to Wyoming for permanent sequestration in geologic formations (the Trailblazer Conversion Project). FERC has no jurisdiction over the siting, construction, or operation of CO₂pipelines. However, Trailblazer required FERC’s authorization under section 7(b) of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) before it could “abandon” natural gas service on its pipeline facilities. The order also authorized Rockies Express Pipeline LLC (Rockies Express or REX) under NGA section 7(c) to construct additional facilities and lease to Trailblazer existing capacity that will be used to continue service to Trailblazer’s natural gas transportation customers. Trailblazer also intends to contract for capacity on Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission, LLC (TIGT) to serve its firm customers. All three pipelines are operated by a subsidiary of Tallgrass Energy Partners.

We are pleased to share a recording of Akin’s recently presented “FERC’s Interconnection Rule: What’s In, What’s Out and Does It Matter?” webinar, along with the presentation materials.

In Fore River Residents Against the Compressor Station v. FERC,¹ decided on July 21, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ended long-running litigation over the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or “Commission”) approval of the Weymouth Compressor Station in Norfolk, Massachusetts. The Weymouth Compressor Station is part of the Algonquin Gas Transmission, LLC and Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, L.L.C. Atlantic Bridge Project, which received a certificate under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA) from FERC in 2017 (Docket No. CP16-9).² In Fore River, the court found that the petitioners, local residents, municipalities, and an environmental organization lacked Article III standing to challenge two orders issued by FERC after the certificate issued (1) a December 26, 2018, delegated order granting Algonquin a two-year extension of time to construct the facilities (the “Extension Order”)³ that was subsequently upheld by a full Commission order on February 21, 2020 (the “2020 Rehearing Order”);⁴ and (2) a January 20, 2022, denial of rehearing (the “2022 Rehearing Order”)⁵ of a September 24, 2020, order authorizing Algonquin to place the facilities in service (the “In-Service Extension Order”).⁶ It also dismissed the petitions as moot. 

Akin partners Matt Kapinos, Shariff Barakat and Sam Guthrie will be moderating panels and presenting at Infocast’s joint conferences CCS/Decarbonization Project Development, Finance & Investment and RNG & SAF Capital Markets that will explore current market perspectives, the latest developments, and what is on the horizon for carbon capture and renewable natural gas projects. The conference will take place July 24-26, 2023, in Houston, TX. Matt, Shariff and Sam would like to invite our Akin friends to receive a 15% discount to attend.

On Thursday, May 4, 2023, the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, led by Chair Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Ranking Member John Barrasso (R-WY), held a Full Committee Hearing to Conduct Oversight of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). All four sitting FERC Commissioners, including Acting Chairman Willie Phillips, James Danly, Allison Clements and Mark Christie, testified before the Committee, with most of the Committee members present. The reliability of the U.S. power grid, and FERC’s role in designing markets and approving projects that promote reliability, was a primary focus of the hearing. Senators Manchin and Barrasso, who both hail from coal-producing states, elicited testimony from all four Commissioners that the elimination of coal-fired generation would hinder grid reliability.  The Commissioners also agreed with the Senators’ contentions that reliability provided by coal-fired and natural gas-fired generation cannot currently be replaced with renewable generation. Commissioner Phillips also testified that FERC must be resource neutral and agreed with questions from Senator Barrasso that delayed natural gas pipeline projects undermine efforts to integrate wind and solar facilities into the grid. Commissioner Danly explained that the operational characteristics of thermal generation resources support frequency and voltage in a manner that intermittent resources currently do not.  Commissioner Christie, consistent with comments he has made during FERC’s open meetings, testified that retirements of dispatchable resources, not the addition of renewable energy resources, threatened grid reliability. The Senators also sought follow up on FERC’s natural gas pipeline certification policy, which was the subject of a heated oversight hearing in March 2022, and for information on hydropower licensing reform.

In March 2023, Indonesia’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources, Arifin Tasrif, announced the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources Regulation No. 2 of 2023 concerning Implementation of Carbon Capture and Storage, as well as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage in Upstream Oil and Gas Business Activities (the “MEMR 2/2023”). Indonesia, which has geological formations well suited to the development of carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) as well as carbon capture, utilization and storage (“CCUS”) projects, has become one of the first countries in Southeast Asia to promulgate regulations to support the integration of CCS/CCUS projects within upstream exploration and production activities with the goal of helping to decarbonize the industry.

Earlier this year, our article “Singapore Green Energy Transition – Recent Developments” discussed some of the steps that Singapore has been taking to build a sustainable future and address climate change. In this update, we focus on two new developments in South Korea and Singapore, which showcase the region’s efforts to accelerate the green energy transition and reach our net-zero targets.