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On March 12, 2019, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit (“Federal Circuit”) affirmed the U.S. Department of Commerce’s (“Commerce”) determination that solar panels assembled in China from non-Chinese cells were subject to antidumping (AD) and countervailing duties (CVD).  See Canadian Solar, Inc. v. United States.  In doing so, the Federal Circuit found that Commerce had discretion to depart from its long-standing practice of using a substantial transformation test to determine country of origin and instead the agency may fashion different tests for different AD/CVD orders.  The discretion recognized in this ruling creates greater uncertainty for importers with respect to the country of origin of imports covered by AD/CVD orders, making customs compliance more difficult.…
Continue Reading Federal Circuit Rules Broad Discretion for Commerce in Country of Origin of AD/CVD Imports

On April 26, 2017, the U.S.-based solar manufacturer Suniva, Inc. filed a petition for global safeguards with the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”). In particular, Suniva requests the imposition of tariffs on solar cells and the establishment of a minimum price for solar modules imported into the United States. The petition was filed under Section…

A recent New York Times article reported on an early-stage, solar energy microgrid being formed in Brooklyn, called the Brooklyn Microgrid, that relies on blockchain technology, the innovative database technology used by cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin that promises to transform industries as diverse as financial services, health care, retail, and manufacturing.  The blockchain-based microgrid enables neighboring…

Residential rooftop solar energy continues to expand at a rapid pace in many states. This growing market dynamic is affecting the business model of traditional electric utilities. Some utilities have sought to impose obstacles to the growth of competing solar rooftop providers, citing concern that as more homes produce their own electricity, the corresponding loss…

On March 28, His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco bestowed innovation awards for excellence in the field of environmental technology to three emerging technology companies — Mango Materials, Frigesco, and One Earth Designs — out of a field of 22 companies from 11 countries that participated in the annual three-day CleanEquity…

Here at Inside Energy & Environment we are honored to share that Law360 has named Covington’s energy practice as a 2013 “Energy Practice Group of the Year.”  In giving this award, Law360 recognized the breadth of Covington’s practice capabilities (including litigation, transactions, regulatory and government policy) in both the traditional energy and clean…

FERC recently approved the California ISO’s (CAISO) proposal to lower a bidding floor to more efficiently address a growing “over generation” problem due in part to increasing “variable energy” (i.e., typically renewable) resources.  A bit of background is needed to understand the problem and the solution.

CAISO operates two bid-based energy spot markets to secure…

Earlier today, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued an interim rule that seeks to clarify when a contractor may use a non-U.S. manufactured photovoltaic (PV) device in certain government contracts.  The rule offers guidance to contractors in determining whether a PV device qualifies as a permissible “designated country” device, explaining that the test should focus…