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Jon Micah brings together in-house experience with a multinational power generation development and operations company with his background as local regional counsel for the Environmental Protection Agency to guide clients with utility-scale energy projects through a diverse set of permitting, compliance, product safety, remediation, liability management, litigation, and transactional challenges.

The momentum behind offshore wind has continued to grow since our February 2021 post on the topic. Last week, the U.S. Department of the Interior announced plans to open seven more offshore wind leases by 2025 off both coasts of the U.S. These potential leases will cover projects in federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico, Gulf of Maine, and off the Mid-Atlantic, the Carolinas, California, and Oregon. The agency’s announcement follows a March 2021 commitment by the Biden Administration to deploy 30 gigawatts (30,000 megawatts) of offshore wind by 2030. The agency’s announcement also came on the same day the Department of Energy set aside $13.5 million to support continued research on the impact of offshore wind on birds, bats, and marine mammals.
Continue Reading From Sea to Shining Sea, U.S. Continues Renewable Energy Push with Biden Administration’s Latest Commitment to Offshore Wind

Renewable energy accounted for 11% of all energy generated in Illinois last year. That may sound low at first glance, but that percentage ranks Illinois second in the Midwest for installed renewable energy power and fifth in the nation for installed wind power with almost 4,000 MW of wind and 60 MW of solar. Nonetheless, the State of Illinois needs to increase the pace of renewable development and generation if it wants to maintain its reputation as a renewable energy leader in the U.S.  The State took steps last week to do just that.  On Wednesday, September 15, Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker signed SB 2408, known as the Climate and Equitable Jobs Act (“Act”), establishing one of the most comprehensive state-level renewable energy initiatives to date. The Act’s highlights include $580 million a year for wind and solar development to increase Illinois’ renewable energy standard to 40% by 2030 and 50% by 2045.

Continue Reading New Illinois Climate and Equitable Jobs Act Adds Fuel to Renewable Energy Development in Illinois