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Energy & Climate Counsel

Your one-stop resource for timely analysis of legal and policy developments affecting the energy and climate sectors. We focus on the issues that matter most to you, from federal and state policy and judicial decisions to business trends and financing news.

Load Growth and the Demand Side Revolution
Blog July 30, 2026
Load Growth and the Demand Side Revolution
Trillions of dollars of AI capital are chasing roughly 100 gigawatts (“GW”) of electric power, and the nation’s electric-sector regulators – the policymakers at the federal and state levels, as well as the administrators of the various RTOs/ISOs – have a critical role to play in helping them secure it…
What Regulators Can’t See: The American Efficient Case and the Future of Demand-Side Oversight
Blog May 28, 2026
What Regulators Can’t See: The American Efficient Case and the Future of Demand-Side Oversight
On April 15, 2026, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) imposed a $722 million civil penalty against American Efficient, LLC (“American Efficient”) and its affiliates in one of the largest enforcement actions in FERC’s history…
Navigating the Challenges of Data Center Growth – Focus Issue: Off World Compute, Earthly Laws: Comments on Service Interruptions, Collision Risk, and Data Processing for Extraterrestrial Data Centers
Blog December 23, 2025
Navigating the Challenges of Data Center Growth – Focus Issue: Off World Compute, Earthly Laws: Comments on Service Interruptions, Collision Risk, and Data Processing for Extraterrestrial Data Centers
The exponential demand for data center capacity—along with competition for terrestrial electricity capacity, constraints on land use, and cooling requirements—are generating increasing interest in placing data centers in outer space…
Navigating the Challenges of Data Center Growth—Part II: Water, Siting, and E-Waste
Blog December 18, 2025
Navigating the Challenges of Data Center Growth - Part II: Water, Siting, and E-Waste
In this post, we dive into three other major challenges: reducing water use, site selection and community engagement, and electronic waste generation…
New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Meeting Summary: Wholesale Markets and the Clean-Energy Transition
Blog March 26, 2024
New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable Meeting Summary: Wholesale Markets and the Clean-Energy Transition
On March 22, 2024, Foley Hoag hosted the latest gathering of the New England Electricity Restructuring Roundtable. The Roundtable, which has been meeting regularly since 1995, was originally organized to contemplate the changes wrought by the restructuring of the electric power industry. Nearly three decades later, the Roundtable continues to feature leading industry thinkers, regulators, policymakers, and businesspeople from across the Northeast and across the country…
Massachusetts Implements a Clean Peak Standard
Blog August 14, 2020
Massachusetts Implements a Clean Peak Standard
On July 23, 2020, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (“DOER”) filed final regulations implementing a “Clean Peak Energy Standard,” which formally went into effect on August 7, 2020.  The final regulations are the latest step towards making reality out of an idea enacted through the 2018 Act to Advance Clean Energy and make Massachusetts the first state to adopt such a program…
Massachusetts DPU Issues Decisions on Energy Storage and Capacity Rights
Blog February 07, 2019
Massachusetts DPU Issues Decisions on Energy Storage and Capacity Rights
On February 1, 2019, the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities issued two long-awaited orders in docket D.P.U. 17-146. The orders address a number of issues related to pairing energy storage systems (“ESS”) with net metering facilities and the rights to the capacity associated with net metering and SMART facilities. There are too many issues in these orders to address each fully here, but below are some high-level highlights…
DOER Energy Storage Target Misses the Mark
Blog July 14, 2017
DOER Energy Storage Target Misses the Mark
On June 30, 2017, the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (“DOER”) announced an “aspirational” target for Massachusetts' utilities to procure 200 MWh of energy storage by January 1, 2020.  While solar targets are typically expressed in MW, the capabilities of energy storage facilities are often measured both in terms of power (MW) and energy (MWh), reflecting the multiple applications for which energy storage can be used…
Cybersecurity 2017 – The Year in Preview: Energy and Security
Blog December 09, 2016
Cybersecurity 2017 – The Year in Preview: Energy and Security
In 2015, a sophisticated cyberattack hit six of Ukraine's energy providers simultaneously, causing a blackout for hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians.  The U.S. has thus far evaded similar attacks, but the energy sector remains of vital strategic importance.  Because it has long been considered a prime target for cyber threats, from cybercriminals and foreign states alike, regulators, especially at the federal level…
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Foley Hoag’s Energy & Climate Counsel blog aims to be your one-stop resource for timely analysis of legal and policy developments affecting the energy and climate sectors. We focus on the issues that matter most to our readers, from federal and state policy and judicial decisions to business trends and financing news.

Our authors, comprised of attorneys from the firm’s Energy & Climate practice, have been active in the energy and climate space for decades, counseling clients across the spectrum – from new, innovative technology companies to large utility-scale power projects. Recognizing early on the common concerns of the renewable and traditional energy fields, we established one of the first integrated practices to serve all segments of the energy and clean technology sectors. We believe this tight integration provides us with the insight to analyze the pressing issues, trends and opportunities that those in this industry have come to expect.

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