The University of Texas at Austin   School of Law

This course will cover federal legislative initiatives regarding climate change, renewable energy standards, and transmission policy from a renewable project developer's perspective.  We will discuss the impact of provisions of The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 intended to encourage the development of renewable energy.  These incentives include federal income tax incentives, Department of Energy loan and grant programs.  Finally, we will examine the development of requirements for utilities to purchase renewable electricity as a percentage of the power they supply, potential changes to federal transmission regulation designed to encourage development of renewable power projects, and the potential impact of climate change legislation on renewable energy projects.  The primary focus of the course will be on practical (rather than theoretical) consequences of policy choices in the renewable energy business, but we will also cover portions of the history of the electric utility industry by way of background.

Energy Law