Energy law
Encyclopedia
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, both renewable
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
and non-renewable. These law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
s are the primary authorities
Primary authority
A primary authority is a document that establishes the law on a particular issue, such as a case decision or legislative act. The search for applicable primary authority is an important part of the process of legal research....
(such as caselaw, statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
s, rules, regulations and edict
Edict
An edict is an announcement of a law, often associated with monarchism. The Pope and various micronational leaders are currently the only persons who still issue edicts.-Notable edicts:...
s) related to energy. In contrast, energy policy
Energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
refers to the policy
Policy
A policy is typically described as a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcome. The term is not normally used to denote what is actually done, this is normally referred to as either procedure or protocol...
and politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
of energy.
In the twentieth century, energy law focused mostly on natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
regulation, but was expanded to include other areas of energy regulation as well. It also includes the legal provision for oil, gasoline, and "extraction taxes." The practice of energy law includes contracts for siting, extraction, licenses for the acquisition and ownership rights
Property law
Property law is the area of law that governs the various forms of ownership in real property and in personal property, within the common law legal system. In the civil law system, there is a division between movable and immovable property...
in oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
and gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
both under the soil before discovery and after its capture
Rule of capture
The rule of capture or law of capture is common law from England, adopted by a number of U.S. jurisdictions, that establishes a rule of non-liability and ownership of captured natural resources including groundwater, oil, gas, and game animals. The general rule is that the first person to...
, and adjudication
Adjudication
Adjudication is the legal process by which an arbiter or judge reviews evidence and argumentation including legal reasoning set forth by opposing parties or litigants to come to a decision which determines rights and obligations between the parties involved....
regarding those rights.
International law
There is a growing academic interest in International energy law, including continuing legal education
Continuing Legal Education
Continuing legal education is professional education of lawyers that takes place after their initial admission to the bar. In many states in the United States, CLE participation is required of attorneys to maintain their license to practice law...
seminars, treatise
Treatise
A treatise is a formal and systematic written discourse on some subject, generally longer and treating it in greater depth than an essay, and more concerned with investigating or exposing the principles of the subject.-Noteworthy treatises:...
s, law reviews, and graduate courses.
Africa
Africa does not have a significant energy law.Nigeria
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
's government owns the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation is the state oil corporation through which the federal government of Nigeria regulates and participates in the country's petroleum industry.-History:...
.
Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
has adopted a new nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
law, which it hopes "will boost technical cooperation between the country and the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
," according to "a senior agency official" from that Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
n country.
Australia
Energy is big business in Australia. The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association
Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association
The Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, known as APPEA, is an Australian industry association representing companies which explore and produce oil and gas in Australia. APPEA is a non-profit organisation....
representes 98 % of the oil and gas producers in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Canada
CanadaCanada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
has an extensive energy law, both through the federation
Federation
A federation , also known as a federal state, is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central government...
and the province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...
s, especially Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
. These include:
- Alternative Fuels Act ( 1995, c. 20 )
- Cooperative Energy Act ( 1980-81-82-83, c. 108 )
- Energy Administration Act ( R.S., 1985, c. E-6 )
- Energy Monitoring Act ( R.S., 1985, c. E-8 )
- Nuclear Energy Act ( R.S., 1985, c. A-16 )
- Canada Oil and Gas Operations Act ( R.S., 1985, c. O-7 )
- Canada Petroleum Resources Act ( 1985, c. 36 (2nd Supp.) )
- National Energy Board Act ( R.S., 1985, c. N-7 )
- Electricity and Gas Inspection Act ( R.S., 1985, c. E-4 )
There is some academic interest in the energy law of Canada, with looseleaf periodical services, monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
s, and consultation with lawyers specializing in that practice, available.
The Supreme Court of Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
The Supreme Court of Canada is the highest court of Canada and is the final court of appeals in the Canadian justice system. The court grants permission to between 40 and 75 litigants each year to appeal decisions rendered by provincial, territorial and federal appellate courts, and its decisions...
has had issued some Canadian energy case law.
Canada's energy laws are so extensive and complicated in large part because of its government-owned energy resources:
Canada and the Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
province also own extensive hydroelectric dam facilities, which have generated not only power but controversy.
China
European Union
European energy law has been focused on the legal mechanisms for managing short-term disruptions to the continent's energy supplyEnergy supply
Energy supply is the delivery of fuels or transformed fuels to point of consumption. It potentially encompasses the extraction, transmission, generation, distribution and storage of fuels...
, such as Germany's 1974 Law to Secure the Energy Supply. The European integrated hydrogen project
European integrated hydrogen project
The European integrated Hydrogen Project was a European Union project to integrate United Nations Economic Commission for Europe guidelines and create a basis of ECE regulation of hydrogen vehicles and the necessary infrastructure replacing national legislation and regulations...
was a European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
project to integrate United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe was established in 1947 to encourage economic cooperation among its member states. It is one of five regional commissions under the administrative direction of United Nations headquarters. It has 56 member states, and reports to the UN Economic and...
(ECE) guidelines and create a basis of ECE regulation of hydrogen vehicle
Hydrogen vehicle
A hydrogen vehicle is a vehicle that uses hydrogen as its onboard fuel for motive power. Hydrogen vehicles include hydrogen fueled space rockets, as well as automobiles and other transportation vehicles...
s and the necessary infrastructure
Infrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
replacing national legislation
Legislation
Legislation is law which has been promulgated by a legislature or other governing body, or the process of making it...
and regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
s. The aim of this project was enhancing of the safety of hydrogen vehicles and harmonizing their licensing and approval process.
Germany
GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
's Renewable Energy Law
Renewable energy law
Renewable Energy Law is a part of energy law, and relates primarily to the transactional legal and policy issues that surround the development, implementation and commercialization of renewable sources energy, namely solar, wind, geothermal and tidal...
mandates the use of renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
through its taxes and tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s. It promotes the development of renewable energy sources via a system of feed-in tariffs. It regulates the amount of energy generated by the producer and the type of renwable energy source. It also creates an incentive to encourage technological advancements and costs.
The German government has abandoned "its planned phase-out of nuclear energy to help rein in surging electricity prices and protect the environment, according to proposals drawn up by
an energy taskforce under Economy Minister Michael Glos." The German Green Party has opposed nuclear energy, as well as the market power
Competition law
Competition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
of German utilities, claiming the "energy shortfall" has been artificially created.
There is significant academic interest in German energy law.
United Kingdom
Other European countries
AlbaniaAlbania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
has an oil and gas institute.
Iraq
Technically, IraqIraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
has no energy law, but proposed legislation has been pending for two and a half years.
Japan
The United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action PlanUnited States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan
The United States-Japan Joint Nuclear Energy Action Plan is a bilateral agreement aimed at putting in place a framework for the joint research and development of nuclear energy technology. The agreement was signed on April 18, 2007...
is a bilateral agreement
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
aimed at putting in place a framework for the joint research and development of nuclear energy
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
technology, which was signed on April 18, 2007. It is believed that the agreement is the first that the US has signed to develop nuclear power technologies with another country, although Japan has agreements with Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Under the plan, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
will each conduct research in to fast reactor technology, fuel cycle technology, advanced computer simulation and modeling, small and medium reactors, safeguards and physical protection; and nuclear waste management, which it to be coordinated by a joint steering committee.
Philippines
Philippines law has provisions concerning energy, fossil fuels, and renewable energy. Energy law in the PhilippinesPhilippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
is important because that nation is one of the fastest growing in Asia, and has over 80 million residents.
The earliest Philippine energy law dates from 1903, during the American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Commonwealth, Act No. 667, concerning franchise
Franchising
Franchising is the practice of using another firm's successful business model. The word 'franchise' is of anglo-French derivation - from franc- meaning free, and is used both as a noun and as a verb....
s for utilities
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
, and Act No. 1022, which allowed such to have mortgages. A uniform law in 1929 allowed for new utilities.
The first coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
law, known as the Coal Land Act, dates to 1917. Oil exploration
Oil exploration
Hydrocarbon exploration is the search by petroleum geologists and geophysicists for hydrocarbon deposits beneath the Earth's surface, such as oil and natural gas...
was allowed in a 1920 law. The Mining Act (1936) has been amended several times by acts and decrees.
The first hydroelectric power law dates from 1933, and have been updated since, including one that created the National Power Corporation, and has been amended several times through 1967. The Renewable Energy Law (2009) encourages the development and use of non-traditional energy sources.
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia has some laws concerning energyEnergy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
, especially oil and gas law. Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
is the largest oil producer in the world and therefore its energy law has great influence over the world's overall energy supply.
Under the Basic Law of Saudi Arabia
Basic Law of Saudi Arabia
The Basic Law of Saudi Arabia is a constitution-like charter divided into nine chapters, consisting of 83 articles...
, all its oil and gas wealth belongs to the government: "All Allah's bestowed wealth, be it under the ground, on the surface or in national territorial waters, in the land or maritime domains under the state's control, are the property of the state as defined by law. The law defines means of exploiting, protecting, and developing such wealth in the interests of the state, its security and economy." Energy taxes are also specifically allowed; Article 20 of the basic law states, "Taxes and fees are to be imposed on a basis of justice and only when the need for them arises. Imposition, amendment, revocation and exemption is only permitted by law."
Two ministries of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia share the responsibility of the energy sector: the Ministry of Oil and the Ministry of Water and Electricity. The country's laws have also established other agencies that have some legal powers, but are not strictly regulatory. These include Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco
Saudi Aramco , officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia.Saudi Aramco is the world's largest and most valuable privately-held company, with estimates of its value in 2011 to be $7 trillion USD.Saudi Aramco has both the largest proven crude oil reserves,...
, originally a joint venture
Joint venture
A joint venture is a business agreement in which parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity. They exercise control over the enterprise and consequently share revenues, expenses and assets...
between the Kingdom and the California-Arabian Standard Oil, but now a wholly owned by the Kingdom, and Saudi Consolidated Electricity Companies (SCECOs).
United States
This section concerns the law of the United States, as well as the states that are the most populous or largest producers of energy.In the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, energy is regulated extensively through the United States Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
, as well as state secretaries of state or corporation commissions.
Every state, the Federal government, and the District of Columbia collect some motor vehicle
Motor vehicle
A motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
excise taxes. Specifically, these are excise taxes on gasoline
Gasoline
Gasoline , or petrol , is a toxic, translucent, petroleum-derived liquid that is primarily used as a fuel in internal combustion engines. It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum, enhanced with a variety of additives. Some gasolines also contain...
, diesel fuel, and gasohol. While many states in the western U.S.A. rely to a great deal on "extraction taxes" for revenue, most states get a relatively small amount of their revenue from such sources.
The practice of energy law has been the domain of law firm
Law firm
A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise clients about their legal rights and responsibilities, and to represent clients in civil or criminal cases, business transactions, and other...
s working on behalf of utility
Utility
In economics, utility is a measure of customer satisfaction, referring to the total satisfaction received by a consumer from consuming a good or service....
companies, rather than legal scholars or other legal actors (such as private lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
s and paralegal
Paralegal
Paralegal is used in most jurisdictions to describe a paraprofessional who assists qualified lawyers in their legal work. This is true in the United States and many other countries. However, in Ontario, Canada, paralegals are licensed by the Law Society of Upper Canada, giving paralegals an...
s), especially in Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, but this is changing. Some officials from energy agencies may take jobs in the utilities or other companies they regulate, such as the former FERC chairman did in 2008.
The American Bar Association
American Bar Association
The American Bar Association , founded August 21, 1878, is a voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students, which is not specific to any jurisdiction in the United States. The ABA's most important stated activities are the setting of academic standards for law schools, and the formulation...
(ABA) has a Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, which is a "forum for lawyers working in areas related to environmental law, natural resources law, and energy law." The ABA offers fellowships to law students and recent graduates of law schools, for work in "environmental, energy or resources law."
Common law
Under the common lawCommon law
Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...
, persons who owned real property
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
owned "from the depths to the heavens
Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos
Cuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos often appearing in the shorter form Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum, omitting et ad inferos "and to hell", is a principle of property law, stating that property holders have rights not only to the plot...
".
Therefore, real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
traditionally has included all rights to water, oil, gas, and other minerals underground. The United States Supreme Court has held that "this doctrine has no place in the modern world," at least as far as air rights
Air rights
Air rights are a type of development right in real estate, referring to the empty space above a property. Generally speaking, owning or renting land or a building gives one the right to use and develop the air rights....
are concerned, but it remains as a source of law to this day, or "fundamental to property rights in land."
An easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
or license
License
The verb license or grant licence means to give permission. The noun license or licence refers to that permission as well as to the document recording that permission.A license may be granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement...
to drill for oil, gas, or minerals generally runs with the land
Real property
In English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
, and thus is an appurtenant easement. However, a utility easement generally runs with the owner of the easement
Easement
An easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
, rather than running with the land, and as such, is an example of an easement in gross.
The West digest system, used in WestLaw
Westlaw
Westlaw is one of the primary online legal research services for lawyers and legal professionals in the United States and is a part of West. In addition, it provides proprietary database services...
, has allocated several topics in energy law:
- 114 - Customs duties
- 145 - Electricity
- 190 - Gas
- 371 - Taxation.
There are many library research resources available about American oil and gas law.
Federal laws
Until the 1920s, "the federal government did not play an active role in the energy industries," due to "the widespread belief in the unlimited supply of energy." The first US law was the Federal Power Act of 1920Federal Power Act
The Federal Power Act is a law appearing in Chapter 12 of Title 16 of the United States Code, entitled "Federal Regulation and Development of Power". Enacted as the Federal Water Power Act on June 10, 1920, and amended many times since, its original purpose was to more effectively coordinate the...
(later amended in 1935 and 1986). The Manhattan Project
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was a research and development program, led by the United States with participation from the United Kingdom and Canada, that produced the first atomic bomb during World War II. From 1942 to 1946, the project was under the direction of Major General Leslie Groves of the US Army...
of the 1940s "initiated the era of nuclear regulation." In 1946, the Atomic Energy Act was passed.
The Department of Energy and its constituent Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...
(FERC) were created in 1977, through the Department of Energy Organization Act. The stated purposes of these "federal energy laws and regulations is to provide affordable energy by sustaining competitive markets, while protecting the economic, environmental, and security interests of the United States." The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Nuclear Regulatory Commission
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that was established by the Energy Reorganization Act of 1974 from the United States Atomic Energy Commission, and was first opened January 19, 1975...
(NRC) regulates the use of nuclear power
Nuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
and its uses as a defense weaponry.
Other statutes are the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act
The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act is a law, passed in 1978 by the United States Congress as part of the National Energy Act. It is meant to promote greater use of domestic renewable energy...
, the Energy Security Act
Energy Security Act
The Energy Security Act was signed into law by U.S. President Jimmy Carter on June 30, 1980.It consisted of six major acts:* U.S. Synthetic Fuels Corporation Act* Biomass Energy and Alcohol Fuels Act* Renewable Energy Resources Act...
, the Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act
Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act
The Price-Anderson Nuclear Industries Indemnity Act is a United States federal law, first passed in 1957 and since renewed several times, which governs liability-related issues for all non-military nuclear facilities constructed in the United States before 2026...
, and the Energy Policy Act of 1992
Energy Policy Act of 1992
The Energy Policy Act is a United States government act.It was passed by Congress and addressed energy efficiency, energy conservation and energy management , natural gas imports and exports , alternative fuels and requiring certain fleets to acquire alternative fuel vehicles, which are capable of...
Most of these laws are codified at U.S. Code, Title 16, Chapter 12 - Federal regulation and development of power. The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000
The Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000 is United States federal legislation that officially ensured the deregulation of financial products known as over-the-counter derivatives. It was signed into law on December 21, 2000 by President Bill Clinton...
also affects energy trading companies.
As of January 1, 2008, the Federal excise tax is 18.3 cent
Cent (currency)
In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1⁄100 of the basic monetary unit. Etymologically, the word cent derives from the Latin word "centum" meaning hundred. Cent also refers to a coin which is worth one cent....
s per gallon
Gallon
The gallon is a measure of volume. Historically it has had many different definitions, but there are three definitions in current use: the imperial gallon which is used in the United Kingdom and semi-officially within Canada, the United States liquid gallon and the lesser used United States dry...
on gasoline, 24.3 cents per gallon on diesel, and 13 cents per gallon on gasohol.
Energy Policy Act of 2005
The most recent major law is the Energy Policy Act of 2005Energy Policy Act of 2005
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 is a bill passed by the United States Congress on July 29, 2005, and signed into law by President George W. Bush on August 8, 2005, at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico...
, which was an attempt to combat growing energy problems, changed the energy policy of the United States
Energy policy of the United States
The energy policy of the United States is determined by federal, state and local public entities in the United States, which address issues of energy production, distribution, and consumption, such as building codes and gas mileage standards...
by providing tax incentives and loan guarantees for energy production of various types.
There were various criticisms of the Act. One of the most controversial provisions of that Act was to change daylight saving time
Daylight saving time
Daylight saving time —also summer time in several countries including in British English and European official terminology —is the practice of temporarily advancing clocks during the summertime so that afternoons have more daylight and mornings have less...
by four to five weeks, depending upon the year; some scholars have questioned whether daylight saving results in a net energy savings. It also directs a study for the development of oil shale
Oil shale
Oil shale, an organic-rich fine-grained sedimentary rock, contains significant amounts of kerogen from which liquid hydrocarbons called shale oil can be produced...
and tar sands
Tar sands
Bituminous sands, colloquially known as oil sands or tar sands, are a type of unconventional petroleum deposit. The sands contain naturally occurring mixtures of sand, clay, water, and a dense and extremely viscous form of petroleum technically referred to as bitumen...
resources on public lands especially in Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The Act further sets Federal reliability standards regulating the electrical grid (done in response to the Blackout of 2003). There was also criticism of what was not included: the bill did not include provisions for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge...
(ANWR) even though some Republicans claim "access to the abundant oil reserves
Oil reserves
The total estimated amount of oil in an oil reservoir, including both producible and non-producible oil, is called oil in place. However, because of reservoir characteristics and limitations in petroleum extraction technologies, only a fraction of this oil can be brought to the surface, and it is...
in ANWR would strengthen America's energy independence without harming the environment." There are a number of tax credit
Tax credit
A tax credit is a sum deducted from the total amount a taxpayer owes to the state. A tax credit may be granted for various types of taxes, such as an income tax, property tax, or VAT. It may be granted in recognition of taxes already paid, as a subsidy, or to encourage investment or other behaviors...
s in the Act, including the Nonbusiness Energy Property Tax Credit
Nonbusiness Energy Property Tax Credit
The Nonbusiness energy property tax credit, in the United States, provides a nonrefundable personal tax credit for Federal income tax purposes, for making a home more energy efficient...
.
Developments 2007 to present
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007
The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 is an Act of Congress concerning the energy policy of the United States...
, and the Food and Energy Security Act of 2007.
There has been much debate and discussion about the use of Federal laws to regulate energy. In fact, a whole area of jurisprudence
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence is the theory and philosophy of law. Scholars of jurisprudence, or legal theorists , hope to obtain a deeper understanding of the nature of law, of legal reasoning, legal systems and of legal institutions...
, Law and economics
Law and economics
The economic analysis of law is an analysis of law applying methods of economics. Economic concepts are used to explain the effects of laws, to assess which legal rules are economically efficient, and to predict which legal rules will be promulgated.-Relationship to other disciplines and...
, has developed from this debate. Today, this is more relevant than ever:
As the USA's oil runs out
Peak oil
Peak oil is the point in time when the maximum rate of global petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production enters terminal decline. This concept is based on the observed production rates of individual oil wells, projected reserves and the combined production rate of a field...
, and the nation is in an economic crisis, even more laws are likely in the near future. The Biomass Research and Development Board
Biomass Research and Development Board
The Biomass Research and Development Board is an agency of the United States government created by the Biomass Research and Development Act of 2000, as amended. The Board’s mission is to coordinate federal research and development activities relating to biobased fuels, power, and products...
is expected to release a report in late 2008 about biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
as fuel. In August 2008, it was revealed that oil speculators had increased the volatility
Volatility (finance)
In finance, volatility is a measure for variation of price of a financial instrument over time. Historic volatility is derived from time series of past market prices...
of the price of oil; Congressman John Dingell
John Dingell
John David Dingell, Jr. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1955 . He is a member of the Democratic Party...
criticized the Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is an independent agency of the United States government that regulates futures and option markets....
for failing to scrutinize oil futures traders, in particular the Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
company Vitol
Vitol
The Vitol group is an energy trading company founded in Rotterdam in 1966. Vitol operates worldwide and, along with Glencore and Trafigura, is one of the world's top three crude oil traders. Vitol's headquarters are located in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and Geneva, Switzerland...
.
On June 22, 2008, Obama proposed the repeal of the Enron loophole
Enron loophole
The "Enron loophole" exempts most over-the-counter energy trades and trading on electronic energy commodity markets from government regulation....
as a means to curb speculation
Speculation
In finance, speculation is a financial action that does not promise safety of the initial investment along with the return on the principal sum...
on skyrocketing oil prices.
In October 2008, as the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
approached victory in the 2008 elections, they remained divided on energy policy
Energy policy
Energy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
, thus a consensus was not expected in energy law. President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's new Secretary of Energy, Steven Chu
Steven Chu
Steven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...
, has no expertise in law, but his younger brother, Morgan Chu
Morgan Chu
Morgan Chu , an intellectual property attorney, is one of the first Asian Americans to lead a major U.S. law firm. Chu's professional accolades recognize him as one of the nation’s most influential lawyers and most successful trial attorneys.A high school dropout, Chu went on to earn advanced...
, is a partner and the former Co-Managing Partner at Irell & Manella
Irell & Manella
Irell & Manella LLP was founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell and Arthur Manella , and has grown to 220 lawyers. It currently has two locations in Southern California: Century City and Newport Beach. Irell is well known for both intellectual property litigation and general business...
LLP, a law firm.
The Department of Energy
United States Department of Energy
The United States Department of Energy is a Cabinet-level department of the United States government concerned with the United States' policies regarding energy and safety in handling nuclear material...
(DOE) will, by administrative measures, reduce the Hanford nuclear reservation (originally 586 square miles) to 10 square miles. Much of the remaining area will go to the 300 square miles (777 km²) Hanford Reach National Monument
Hanford Reach National Monument
The Hanford Reach National Monument is a national monument in the U.S. State of Washington. It was created in 2000, mostly from the former security buffer surrounding the Hanford Nuclear Reservation...
.
In October 2009, Secretary Chu announced a new program, Arpa-e, which will fund grants authorized under the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
As part of the $787 Billion stimulus package or "ARRA" (technically the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, abbreviated ARRA and commonly referred to as the Stimulus or The Recovery Act, is an economic stimulus package enacted by the 111th United States Congress in February 2009 and signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama.To...
),
Alaska law
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
has vast energy resources:
- Major oil and gas reserves are found in the Prudhoe Bay area of the Alaska North SlopeAlaska North SlopeThe Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean, the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow, and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern.The region contains the...
(ANS) and Cook InletCook InletCook Inlet stretches from the Gulf of Alaska to Anchorage in south-central Alaska. Cook Inlet branches into the Knik Arm and Turnagain Arm at its northern end, almost surrounding Anchorage....
basins. According to the Energy Information AdministrationEnergy Information AdministrationThe U.S. Energy Information Administration is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and...
, Alaska ranks second in the nationUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in crude oil production, accounting for 1/5 (20%) of United States oil production, Prudhoe Bay alone accounting for 8% of the United States domestic oil production. - The Trans-Alaska Pipeline pumps up to 2.1 Moilbbl of crude oil per day, more than any other crude oil pipeline in the United States.
- Substantial coal deposits are found in Alaska’s bituminous, sub-bituminous, and lignite coal basins. The United States Geological Survey estimates that there are 85.4 Tcuft of undiscovered, technically recoverable gas from natural gas hydrates on the Alaskan North Slope.
- Alaska also offers some of the highest hydroelectric power potential in the country from its numerous rivers, and large swaths of the Alaskan coastline offer wind and geothermal energy potential as well. As of 2001, the state's Energy Plan stated that, although windWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
and hydroelectric power are abundant, with low-cost electric interties they were judged uneconomical.
Likewise, Alaska receives a huge amount of its state revenues from extraction taxes: a full 68 % of all revenue, much more than any state (only Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
coming close). Its dependence on petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
revenues and federal subsidies allows it to have the lowest individual tax burden in the United States.
The state created the Alaska Permanent Fund
Alaska Permanent Fund
The Alaska Permanent Fund is a constitutionally established permanent fund, managed by a semi-independent corporation, established by Alaska in 1976, primarily by the efforts of then Governor Jay Hammond...
from this "golden egg", which is owned and managed by the state, and "created by a constitutional amendment":
The constitutional provisions are found at Alaska Constitution Article IX, Section 15. Statutes regulate how the Fund is to be invested, as well as how the income
Income
Income is the consumption and savings opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. However, for households and individuals, "income is the sum of all the wages, salaries, profits, interests payments, rents and other forms of earnings...
is to be disbursed. Regulations state additional details regarding control of the Fund.
The Federal government runs the Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects
Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects
The Office of the Federal Coordinator, Alaska Natural Gas Transportation Projects is an independent agency of the U.S. government. Congress created the Office in the Alaska Natural Gas Pipeline Act of 2004....
, which are new pipelines, and its "Federal Coordinator" (director) is nominated with advice and consent of the Senate
Advice and consent
Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in enacting formulae of bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts, describing a situation in which the executive branch of a government enacts something previously approved of by the legislative branch.-General:The expression is...
by the President of the United States
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
. Drue Pearce was the first director; she was nominated by George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
and served from December 13, 2006 through January 3, 2010. Larry Persilly is the current coordinator; he was nominated by Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
on Deccember 9, 2009, and was confirmed by the United States Senate on March 10, 2010.
California law
The largest state in the United States, CaliforniaCalifornia
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
(in terms of population), has gone through a series of energy crises, and has reacted with several laws concerning energy. The California Energy Code, or Title 24 of the California Code
California Code of Regulations
California Code of Regulations contains the text of the regulations that have been formally adopted by state agencies. They are reviewed, approved, and made available to the public by the California Office of Administrative Law , and are also filed with the Secretary of State.The CCR consists of...
, also titled "The Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential and Nonresidential Buildings", were established in 1978 in response to a legislative mandate to reduce California's energy consumption
Domestic Energy Consumption
Domestic energy consumption is the amount of energy that is spent on the different appliances used within housing. The amount of energy used per household varies widely depending on the standard of living of the country, climate, and the age and type of residence...
. The standards are updated periodically to allow consideration and possible incorporation of new energy efficiency
Efficient energy use
Efficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
technologies and methods, such as the Programmable Communicating Thermostat
Programmable Communicating Thermostat
The term programmable communicating thermostat is used by the California Energy Commission to describe programmable thermostats that can receive information wirelessly....
.
California assesses an excise tax with the same basic rate of 18 cents per gallon on gasoline, diesel fuel, and gasohol. The state collects a relatively small 6.6 percent of its revenue from extraction and related taxes.
New Mexico law
As a major energy producer, New MexicoNew Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
has government offices related to energy, including the Energy Conservation and Management Division, which is part of the state's Energy, Minerals and Natrural Resources Department. All of the major laws impacting energy are available from the Division's website. These include links to all of the state's statute
Statute
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs a state, city, or county. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. The word is often used to distinguish law made by legislative bodies from case law, decided by courts, and regulations...
s and related government websites, Federal and State regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
s, and Executive orders.
New Mexico has enacted a number of new laws related to energy, including to create a New Mexico Renewable Energy Transmission Authority and to increase its renewable portfolio standards. According to one law firm's summary of President Obama's Economic Recovery Package, the state stands to gain much from the new administration, because "New Mexico leaders and laboratories are at the forefront of energy policy." For example, former University of New Mexico Law School professor Suedeen G. Kelly is a member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is the United States federal agency with jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, wholesale electric rates, hydroelectric licensing, natural gas pricing, and oil pipeline rates...
.
The state collects an effective rate of 18.875 cent per gallon tax on gasoline and gasohol, and 22.875 cents per gallon on diesel. Like many western states, it collects significant revenue from extraction taxes—20.9 percent of its overall sources.
The City of Albuquerque passed an ordinance
Local ordinance
A local ordinance is a law usually found in a municipal code.-United States:In the United States, these laws are enforced locally in addition to state law and federal law.-Japan:...
to regulate "efficiency standards for heating and cooling equipment," which was struck down by the U.S. District Court as violating the Commerce Clause
Commerce Clause
The Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress shall have power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes." Courts and commentators have tended to...
of the U.S. Constitution.
The town board of Taos
Taos, New Mexico
Taos is a town in Taos County in the north-central region of New Mexico, incorporated in 1934. As of the 2000 census, its population was 4,700. Other nearby communities include Ranchos de Taos, Cañon, Taos Canyon, Ranchitos, and El Prado. The town is close to Taos Pueblo, the Native American...
passed a "strict new new building code" in 2009 that mandated energy savings:
The town debated the proposed Ordinance 08-16, High Performance Building Ordinance, starting in October 2008, postponed it for legal review, debated it in February 2009, and passed it in March 2009.
The New Mexico Gas Company offers an Energy Star Home Rebate.
In October 2009, Governor Bill Richardson announced 21 grants for energy projects that are being funded by $8 Million in ARRA
Arra
Arra is a census town in Puruliya district in the state of West Bengal, India.-Demographics: India census, Arra had a population of 19,911. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Arra has an average literacy rate of 66%, higher than the national average of 59.5%; with 59% of the...
funds.
New York law
New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
has an Energy Law. Under New York law, "energy" and "energy resources" are defined as:
The chief regulator is the "Commissioner
Commissioner
Commissioner is in principle the title given to a member of a commission or to an individual who has been given a commission ....
" or "president" of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority , established in 1975, is a public benefit corporation, located in Albany, New York, with regional offices in NYC, Buffalo, and West Valley....
(also called NYSERDA). The board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
of NYSERDA includes—as a matter of law
Rule of law
The rule of law, sometimes called supremacy of law, is a legal maxim that says that governmental decisions should be made by applying known principles or laws with minimal discretion in their application...
-- several utility insiders, as well as ex officio commissioners. Vincent DeIorio, a lawyer, is chairman of the board, and Francis J. Murray Jr. is President and CEO. NYSERDA was created as a public benefit corporation
Public benefit corporation
A public-benefit corporation is a public corporation chartered by a state designed to perform some public benefit.A public authority is a type of public-benefit corporation that takes on a more bureaucratic role, such as the maintenance of public infrastructure, that often has broad powers to...
under NY law.
In addition to Energy Law, the state has a variety of laws regulating and taxing energy, and its courts have issued significant case law concerning energy taxes.
Under New York law, both the New York Attorney General or a district attorney
District attorney
In many jurisdictions in the United States, a District Attorney is an elected or appointed government official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminal offenses. The district attorney is the highest officeholder in the jurisdiction's legal department and supervises a staff of...
may prosecute alleged polluters who make oil spill
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
s. The state has enacted a number of recent laws to control carbon emissions.
The state collects an effective rate of 24.4 cent per gallon tax on gasoline and gasohol, and 22.65 cents per gallon on diesel. New York collects one of the smallest amounts of revenue from extraction taxes of any state—only 5.8 percent of its overall sources.
New York has law concerning energy from a wide variety of sources; please consult the main article for more information.
Texas law
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
energy law remains the domain of a few law firms that represent utilities and independent providers. Oil, gas, and other energy resources are actually regulated by the powerful Texas Railroad Commission
Railroad Commission of Texas
The Railroad Commission of Texas is the state agency that regulates the oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and surface coal and uranium mining .Established by the Texas Legislature in 1891, it is the state's oldest regulatory...
. It is the oldest such regulatory agency, having been created in 1891. It "oversee[s] the Texas oil and gas industry, gas utilities, pipeline safety, safety in the liquefied petroleum gas industry, and the surface mining of coal."
Vermont law
The state of VermontVermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, like other states, has a comprehensive statutory scheme governing energy generation and transmission issues, colloquially referred to as "Section 248." The reference is to 30 V.S.A. Sec. 248, which is administered by Vermont's Public Service Board, a quasi-judicial board with three members. Section 248 is not to be confused with Vermont's comprehensive law governing land development and subdivision - Act 250.
Wyoming law
WyomingWyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
is the top coal
Coal
Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure...
producer of the 50 states in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and has significant oil and gas reserves, so its government and laws would naturally reflect an interest in energy production, especially fossil fuel
Fossil fuel
Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...
s. The Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulates many aspects of oil, coal, and gas development in this resource-rich state. There is an annual state Gas Fair. The University of Wyoming
University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
is well-known for its research on energy development. The University sponsored a symposium on coal gasification
Coal gasification
Coal gasification is the process of producing coal gas, a type of syngas–a mixture of carbon monoxide , hydrogen , carbon dioxide and water vapour –from coal...
in 2007.
Wyoming assesses an excise tax with the same rate of 14 cents per gallon on gasoline, diesel fuel, and gasohol. The state collects the largest percentage—46 percent of its revenue—from extraction and related taxes, the second highest of the states, surpassed only by Alaska.
Other new state laws
As the nuclear powerNuclear power
Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear fission to generate heat and electricity. Nuclear power plants provide about 6% of the world's energy and 13–14% of the world's electricity, with the U.S., France, and Japan together accounting for about 50% of nuclear generated electricity...
industry revives, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
have instituted new utility fees to finance planned nuclear reactor
Nuclear reactor
A nuclear reactor is a device to initiate and control a sustained nuclear chain reaction. Most commonly they are used for generating electricity and for the propulsion of ships. Usually heat from nuclear fission is passed to a working fluid , which runs through turbines that power either ship's...
s.
Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
has a new law "that allows the state's finance authority to negotiate long-term contracts to buy and sell synthetic natural gas from a planned southern Indiana coal-gasification
Gasification
Gasification is a process that converts organic or fossil based carbonaceous materials into carbon monoxide, hydrogen, carbon dioxide and methane. This is achieved by reacting the material at high temperatures , without combustion, with a controlled amount of oxygen and/or steam...
plant."
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
has an energy law. Governor Deval Patrick
Deval Patrick
Deval Laurdine Patrick is the 71st and current Governor of Massachusetts. A member of the Democratic Party, Patrick served as an Assistant United States Attorney General under President Bill Clinton...
pushed for "clean energy initiatives" in the 2008 legislative session, calling it "one of the most productive in a long, long time."
New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
passed a new energy law, signed by Governor John Lynch, which "provides guidelines for residential wind energy systems.... such as height, noise, setbacks and aesthetics and outlines a process for input from neighbors." This was found necessary because a University of New Hampshire
University of New Hampshire
The University of New Hampshire is a public university in the University System of New Hampshire , United States. The main campus is in Durham, New Hampshire. An additional campus is located in Manchester. With over 15,000 students, UNH is the largest university in New Hampshire. The university is...
student, Laura Carpenter, found that "most communities had no ordinances or zoning rules that specifically address small residential wind turbines."
Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
has passed a new energy law, and is requiring utilities to meet regulatory goals for conservation.
See also
- Effects of 2000s energy crisisEffects of 2000s energy crisisThere is debate over what the effects of the 2000s energy crisis will be over the long term. Some speculate that an oil-price spike could create a recession comparable to those that followed the 1973 and 1979 energy crises or a potentially worse situation such as a global oil crash...
- Energy policyEnergy policyEnergy policy is the manner in which a given entity has decided to address issues of energy development including energy production, distribution and consumption...
General energy topics
- EnergyEnergyIn physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...
- Conservation of energyConservation of energyThe nineteenth century law of conservation of energy is a law of physics. It states that the total amount of energy in an isolated system remains constant over time. The total energy is said to be conserved over time...
- Energy form
- Energy conservationEnergy conservationEnergy conservation refers to efforts made to reduce energy consumption. Energy conservation can be achieved through increased efficient energy use, in conjunction with decreased energy consumption and/or reduced consumption from conventional energy sources...
- Energy densityEnergy densityEnergy density is a term used for the amount of energy stored in a given system or region of space per unit volume. Often only the useful or extractable energy is quantified, which is to say that chemically inaccessible energy such as rest mass energy is ignored...
- Energy economicsEnergy economicsEnergy economics is a broad scientific subject area which includes topics related to supply and use of energy in societies. Due to diversity of issues and methods applied and shared with a number of academic disciplines, energy economics does not present itself as a self contained academic...
- Efficient energy useEfficient energy useEfficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
- Energy marketEnergy marketEnergy markets are those commodities markets that deal specifically with the trade and supply of energy. Energy market may refer to an electricity market, but can also refer to other sources of energy...
s and energy derivativeEnergy derivativeMajor players in energy derivatives include major trading houses, oil companies, utilities, financial institutions.-Definition:An energy derivative is a derivative contract based on an underlying energy asset, such as natural gas, crude oil, or electricity...
s - Energy qualityEnergy qualityEnergy quality is the contrast between different forms of energy, the different trophic levels in ecological systems and the propensity of energy to convert from one form to another. The concept refers to the empirical experience of the characteristics, or qualia, of different energy forms as they...
- Energy supplyEnergy supplyEnergy supply is the delivery of fuels or transformed fuels to point of consumption. It potentially encompasses the extraction, transmission, generation, distribution and storage of fuels...
- Entropy (energy dispersal)Entropy (energy dispersal)The description of entropy as energy dispersal provides an introductory method of teaching the thermodynamic concept of entropy. In physics and physical chemistry, entropy has commonly been defined as a scalar measure of the disorder of a thermodynamic system...
and Introduction to entropyIntroduction to entropyEntropy is a measure of how evenly energy is distributed in a system. In a physical system, entropy provides a measure of the amount of energy that cannot be used to do work.... - List of energy topics
- Market transformationMarket transformationMarket transformation describes both a policy objective and a program strategy to promote the value and self-sustaining presence of energy-efficient technologies in the marketplace...
- World energy resources and consumptionWorld energy resources and consumption]World energy consumption in 2010: over 5% growthEnergy markets have combined crisis recovery and strong industry dynamism. Energy consumption in the G20 soared by more than 5% in 2010, after the slight decrease of 2009. This strong increase is the result of two converging trends...
Specific laws and policies
- Atomic Energy Basic LawAtomic Energy Basic LawThe Atomic Energy Basic Law is a Japanese law passed December 19, 1955. Law number 186. It outlined the basics for the use of nuclear power in Japan.-Article 1 :...
- Competition lawCompetition lawCompetition law, known in the United States as antitrust law, is law that promotes or maintains market competition by regulating anti-competitive conduct by companies....
- Correlative rights doctrineCorrelative rights doctrineThe correlative rights doctrine is a legal doctrine limiting the rights of landowners to a common source of groundwater to a reasonable share, typically based on the amount of land owned by each on the surface above. This doctrine is also applied to oil and gas in some U.S...
- Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferosCuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferosCuius est solum, eius est usque ad coelum et ad inferos often appearing in the shorter form Cuius est solum eius est usque ad coelum, omitting et ad inferos "and to hell", is a principle of property law, stating that property holders have rights not only to the plot...
- EasementEasementAn easement is a certain right to use the real property of another without possessing it.Easements are helpful for providing pathways across two or more pieces of property or allowing an individual to fish in a privately owned pond...
- Electric bicycle lawsElectric bicycle lawsMany countries have enacted electric bicycle laws to regulate the use of electric bicycle. Countries such as the United States and Canada have federal regulations governing the safety requirements and standards of manufacture...
- Energy policy of the European UnionEnergy policy of the European UnionAlthough the European Union has legislated in the area of energy policy for many years, and evolved out of the European Coal and Steel Community, the concept of introducing a mandatory and comprehensive European energy policy was only approved at the meeting of the European Council on 27 October...
- Energy Charter TreatyEnergy Charter TreatyThe Energy Charter Treaty is an international agreement which provides a multilateral framework for energy trade, transit and investments...
- Energy Information AdministrationEnergy Information AdministrationThe U.S. Energy Information Administration is the statistical and analytical agency within the U.S. Department of Energy. EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and...
- Energy StarEnergy StarEnergy Star is an international standard for energy efficient consumer products originated in the United States of America. It was first created as a United States government program during the early 1990s, but Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Taiwan and the European Union have also adopted...
- Energy securityEnergy securityEnergy security is a term for an association between national security and the availability of natural resources for energy consumption. Access to cheap energy has become essential to the functioning of modern economies. However, the uneven distribution of energy supplies among countries has led...
- Feed-in TariffFeed-in TariffA feed-in tariff is a policy mechanism designed to accelerate investment in renewable energy technologies. It achieves this by offering long-term contracts to renewable energy producers, typically based on the cost of generation of each technology...
- Nuclear energy policyNuclear energy policyNuclear energy policy is a national and international policy concerning some or all aspects of nuclear energy, such as mining for nuclear fuel, extraction and processing of nuclear fuel from the ore, generating electricity by nuclear power, enriching and storing spent nuclear fuel and nuclear fuel...
- PetrobanglaPetrobanglaPetrobangla is a government-owned national oil company of Bangladesh. It explores, produces, transports and sells oil, natural gas and other mineral resources...
- BangladeshBangladeshBangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
state energy corporation
Academic think-tanks and associations
- Alliance to Save EnergyAlliance to Save EnergyThe Alliance to Save Energy is a coalition consisting largely of industrial, technological, and energy corporations. The Alliance states that its mission is to "support energy efficiency as a cost-effective energy resource under existing market conditions and advocate energy-efficiency policies...
- Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and PolicyCentre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and PolicyThe Centre for Energy, Petroleum and Mineral Law and Policy is a graduate school at the University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom, focused on the fields of international business transactions, energy law and policy, mining and the use of natural resources.It is affiliated with, but not part...
- Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency PartnershipRenewable Energy and Energy Efficiency PartnershipThe Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership is a Vienna-based non-profit organisation that aims to accelerate the marketplace for renewable energy and energy efficiency with a particular emphasis on the emerging markets and developing countries.The organisation funds small-to-medium...
- The Energy and Resources InstituteThe Energy and Resources InstituteThe Energy and Resources Institute, commonly known as TERI , established in 1974, is a research institute based in New Delhi focusing its research activities in the fields of energy, environment and sustainable development.-Introduction:TERI is an independent, not-for-profit, research institute...
- Université LavalUniversité LavalLaval University is the oldest centre of education in Canada and was the first institution in North America to offer higher education in French...
- University of WyomingUniversity of WyomingThe University of Wyoming is a land-grant university located in Laramie, Wyoming, situated on Wyoming's high Laramie Plains, at an elevation of 7,200 feet , between the Laramie and Snowy Range mountains. It is known as UW to people close to the university...
Renewable and alternative energy sources
- Alternative Energy Index
- Alternative propulsion
- Clean Energy TrendsClean Energy TrendsClean Energy Trends is a series of reports by Clean Edge which examine markets for solar, wind, geothermal, fuel cells, biofuels, and other clean energy technologies. Since the publication of the first Clean Energy Trends report in 2002, Clean Edge has provided anannual snapshot of both the global...
- Efficient energy useEfficient energy useEfficient energy use, sometimes simply called energy efficiency, is the goal of efforts to reduce the amount of energy required to provide products and services. For example, insulating a home allows a building to use less heating and cooling energy to achieve and maintain a comfortable temperature...
- Electric vehicleElectric vehicleAn electric vehicle , also referred to as an electric drive vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion...
- Eugene Green Energy StandardEugene Green Energy StandardThe Eugene Green Energy Standard was an international standard to which national or international green electricity labelling schemes could be accredited to confirm that they provide genuine environmental benefits...
- Geothermal powerGeothermal powerGeothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...
- Global warmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
- Green banking
- Hydro OneHydro OneHydro One Incorporated delivers electricity across the Canadian province of Ontario. It is a Corporation established under the Business Corporations Act with a single shareholder, the Government of Ontario....
- Intermittent power sourceIntermittent power sourceAn intermittent energy source is any source of energy that is not continuously available due to some factor outside direct control. The intermittent source may be quite predictable, for example, tidal power, but cannot be dispatched to meet the demand of a power system. Examples of intermittent...
- International Symposium on Alcohol FuelsInternational Symposium on Alcohol FuelsThe International Symposium on Alcohol Fuels is a non-profit international organization which gathers together specialists, technologists, executives and technical experts from alcohol, alcohol fuels, methanol, ethers and bio-fuel industries. ISAF came into being in 1976...
- Ocean energy
- Passive solar building designPassive solar building designIn passive solar building design, windows, walls, and floors are made to collect, store, and distribute solar energy in the form of heat in the winter and reject solar heat in the summer...
- Plug-in hybrid
- Renewable energyRenewable energyRenewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
- Renewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercializationRenewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years. First-generation technologies, which are already mature and economically competitive, include biomass, hydroelectricity, geothermal power and heat...
- Renewable heatRenewable heatRenewable heat is an application of renewable energy and it refers to the renewable generation of heat, rather than electrical power ....
- Sustainable designSustainable designSustainable design is the philosophy of designing physical objects, the built environment, and services to comply with the principles of economic, social, and ecological sustainability.-Intentions:The intention of sustainable design is to "eliminate negative environmental...
- The Clean Tech RevolutionThe Clean Tech RevolutionThe Clean Tech Revolution is a 2007 book by Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder, who say that commercializing clean technologies is a profitable enterprise that is moving steadily into mainstream business...
- V2GVehicle-to-gridVehicle-to-grid describes a system in which plug-in electric vehicles, such as electric cars and plug-in hybrids , communicate with the power grid to sell demand response services by either delivering electricity into the grid or by throttling their charging rate.Vehicle-to-grid can be used with...
- Wind powerWind powerWind power is the conversion of wind energy into a useful form of energy, such as using wind turbines to make electricity, windmills for mechanical power, windpumps for water pumping or drainage, or sails to propel ships....
External links
- U.S. Energy Information Administration website
- The Institute for Energy Law website
- Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources of the American Bar Association website
- Energy law at Cornell Law School website
- Energy Law Journal website
- The Renewable Energy Law Blog
- Wind Power Law Blog
- Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence (OGEL)
- The Journal of World Energy Law, the peer-reviewed official journal of the AIPN, website
- Energy Law Net, an interactive website for energy lawyers
- Pace University Energy & Climate Center website
- United States energy law, from FindLaw.com website
- Energy industry listings for United States, from FindLaw.com website
- Energy Industry Today website
- German Energy Blog Blog on German Energy Law in English
Further reading
- Klause Bosselmann, The Principle of Sustainability (Burlington, VT: Ashland 2008) ISBN 978-0-7546-7355-2.