Despite complying with conditions attached to planning permission for an onshore wind farm development, developers, landowners and operators may find themselves defending an action for nuisance if the noise from the wind turbines unreasonably interferes with the use of another's land ...
With the main goal of the EU being to cut CO2 emissions in order to become carbon neutral by 2050, offshore represents valuable “available space” for the development of clean energy projects. While in some cases offshore is already a crowded place, other offshore locations are still free of significant energy infrastructure. Therefore, planning ahead is more important than ever ...
If you are the owner of an ageing wind, hydro or solar installation that receives Feed in Tariffs (FiTs), you may be considering replacing part or all of the generating equipment to upgrade your installation. "Will repairing or replacing the generating equipment affect my accreditation?" This is something we are being asked increasingly often and, frustratingly, the FiT Legislation and Guidance is inconclusive on this point. But not for much longer ...
Thailand’s two-decade long growth of the renewable energy sector has been pivotal in the pursuit of Thailand 4.0, but has the coronavirus outbreak thwarted these plans? COVID-19 has forced many of the world’s most exciting economies into a full or partial shutdown, suspending their plans for development. Thailand is no exception ...
Freeports are obviously of immediate interest to importers, exporters, and manufacturers, as they allow the import of materials and manufacture or incorporation of those materials into items which are then exported, all without incurring tariffs and with minimal regulation. The government’s stated objectives in establishing Freeports were to establish national hubs for global trade and investment across the UK, promote regeneration and job creation and create hotbeds for innovation ...
The 2011 Regular Session of the West Virginia Legislature began and progressed in the midst of a frenzy of media attention focused on natural gas production activities in the Marcellus Shale formation and allegations of inadequate regulatory programs to assure proper State oversight of these operations ...
Ireland is a key global hub for aviation finance and leasing, having almost 50 years' experience in the sector. Recent reports forecast that the Irish aviation sector will see growth of over 20 per cent in aircraft assets from 2016 to 2021. Aviation finance and leasing is a global industry with investment into Ireland mainly coming from the US, Europe and Asia. Ireland’s aviation finance and leasing sector was a 'disruptive' industry in Ireland long before the term was even coined ...
Why is ESG of importance to charities when they already make such a positive difference to society? Because there is still much to be done about how charities undertake their valuable work, and many do not yet communicate to stakeholders all the things they do well, in a systematic and measurable way. And because two thirds of millennials consider the social and environmental commitments of an organisation when deciding where to work ...
Taking agricultural land out of production to offset the impact of nitrate pollution from housing can generate income for its owner and benefit developers and local authorities. The problem Nitrogen and Phosphorus are essential nutrients for plants. Used as fertilisers they boost growth and increase crop yields. They are also a pollutant ...
Over the course of a century of oil and gas development in the U.S., a robust body of law developed, covering virtually every aspect of E&P and interpreting every provision in oil and gas leases, joint operating agreements and innumerable industry contracts. But with the rise of the energy transition, a new set of rules are needed to deal with unprecedented policy, new technology and different priorities ...
The Supreme Court makes clear that a party that has started to clean up contamination caused by another party is also deemed to be a business operator. This gives rise to joint and several liability for the original contamination. The fact that remedial work was intended to reduce the environmental impact is of no importance. Background A company which was later incorporated into JM Värmdöstrand (“JM”) operated a casting works from the 1940s to the 1980s on a site in Oxelösund ...
If you have ever had a project on land on which wetlands or other “waters of the U.S.” were present, you know that project was more expensive because of the costs of permitting and mitigation for wetland losses, or the presence of wetlands may have resulted in abandonment or significant revision of the project to minimize losses of wetlands or other waters of the U.S. In their prior two “waters of the U.S.” decisions, Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U ...
The underwriters have priced the deal. The underwriting agreement has been signed. The issuer has returned its focus to running its business and the underwriters have moved on to the next deal. All that is left is for the lawyers to document the terms and to ensure that the underwriters are in a position to move money at closing. Then, a day or two after pricing, the plant unexpectedly blows up ...
UK REACH (Registration, Authorisation, Evaluation and Restriction of Chemicals) is the UK’s post-Brexit chemicals regulatory framework for the Great Britain (GB) market. It is regulated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and has the overall aim of ensuring the protection of human health and the environment from the use of chemicals. UK REACH places responsibility for understanding and managing the risks associated with the use of chemicals on those who place them on the market (i.e ...
On 15 April 2016, the Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane (the “Minister”), unexpectedly published the draft Reviewed Broad Based Black-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals Industry, 2016 (“draft reviewed Mining Charter”). The timing of its publication means that the fate of the Chamber of Mines’ current High Court application now hangs in the balance ...
The Minister of Mineral Resources, Mosebenzi Zwane (the “Minister”) recently gazetted the Broad-Based Black Socio-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals industry, 2017 (the “2017 Mining Charter”), which comes into effect on the date of publication ...
1. Introduction Equinor’s pioneering «Hywind Tampen» project, set to become the biggest floating wind farm in the world and scheduled to commence construction in late 2022, will mark the first foray into offshore wind production in Norway. Further, the areas «Utsira Nord» (floating turbines) and «Sørlige Nordsjø II» (bottom fixed turbines), both in the North Sea, have as from 1 January 2021 been opened for development ...
Separate ownership of mines and minerals poses a risk for developers that must be assessed and mitigated as appropriate. The basic rule of property ownership is that the owner of land owns up to the heavens and down to the centre of the earth. Following this common law presumption, mines and minerals are presumed to be owned by the surface landowner, unless it is shown that they have been severed and therefore in separate ownership ...
Dramatic changes in global climate have helped to wake up the consciousness of States on the significance of environmental issues in the last fourty years. Before then countries focused their energies on relentless industrial development with little or no attention to its impact on the environment. Scientific evidence has shown that unbridled development leads to loss of environmental capital, sometimes an irreversible phenomenon ...
Hydrogen is seen by many as the fuel of the future, a substance that can provide heat through combustion, or electrical power from fuel cells, emitting only water in the process. Its potential usefulness, specifically its ability to replace fossil fuels without generating greenhouse gases, makes it the poster child for clean energy. There are various ways of producing hydrogen, but currently most of it is done in the most cost-efficient way, by steam reforming ...
Shipping & Transport, MalaysiaFactsApplicable legal principlesPlaintiff's argumentDefendant's argumentDecisionCommentThis article examines the basis for an order for a sale pendente lite of a vessel that was arrested by a sheriff in in remadmiralty proceedings as security for the plaintiff's claim.(1) FactsOn 19 November 2017 the defendant's vessel, Shi Pu 1, collided with the plaintiff's bulk vessel, Winning Loyalty ...
“ESG” is an acronym that is being used with growing frequency across the investment community. ESG stands for environmental, social, and governance criteria, which are increasingly used by socially conscious investors when deciding whether or not to invest in a company. Environmental criteria are effectively a company’s green credentials. Social criteria relate to the people the company works with and the community it serves ...
