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On June 18, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued (T.D. 9998) (the “Final Regulations”) regarding compliance with the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements (the “PWA Requirements”) impacting many of the clean energy tax credits introduced or expanded by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”).

On May 29, 2024, the Treasury Department (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued proposed regulations (REG-119283-23) (the “proposed regulations”) regarding the clean electricity production tax credit and the clean electricity investment tax credit provided by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the “IRA”)¹ and available under new sections 45Y and 48E, respectively, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

In a considerable shift in the law, the Federal Circuit has discarded the long-standing test for determining whether a design patent is invalid as obvious, in favor of the more flexible obviousness test historically applied to utility patents. Eric Klein, Erik Shallman, Patrick Wroe

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a host of new requirements for fossil-fueled power plants, including new source performance standards (“NSPS”) for new and modified coal- and gas-fired plants and emission guidelines for existing coal-fired plants.

On April 25, 2024, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued final regulations (T.D. 9993) (the “Final Transfer Regulations”) regarding the transfer election for certain tax credits by eligible taxpayers available under section 6418 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

In a key development relating to the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”), on March 1, 2024, U.S. District Judge Liles C. Burke of the Northern District of Alabama issued a memorandum opinion and final judgment ruling the CTA unconstitutional on the grounds that it exceeds the Constitution’s limits on Congress’ power.

A recent opinion from the Delaware Supreme Court could be viewed by some as expanding plaintiffs’ ability to viably plead a duty of oversight (or “Caremark”) claim against directors.

On Tuesday, November 7, 2023, Texas voters approved Proposition 7, a constitutional amendment creating the Texas Energy Fund (“TEF”).

On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“Order”) that drastically increased the U.S. government’s engagement with artificial intelligence (“AI”).

On August 10, 2023, the Department of Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) issued final regulations (the “Final Regulations”) providing additional guidance to taxpayers on the “Low-Income Communities Bonus” (“LICB”) available under section 48(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

As the energy industry transitions to renewables, private investment trends remain dynamic.