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On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued final regulations (T.D. 10024) (the “Final Regulations” and the preamble thereto, the “Preamble”) 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”).

On January 14, 2025, President Joe Biden issued an executive order aimed at advancing U.S. leadership in AI infrastructure (the “Order”).

In an Enforcement Notice released on December 5, 2024, the California Air Resources Board (“CARB”) announced that it will not take enforcement action against companies subject to California’s Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (“CCDAA”) for inaccurate or incomplete reporting of Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions for the first reports due in 2026, covering the reporting entity’s prior fiscal year.

The United Kingdom has become the first county in Europe to invest in the next generation of nuclear fuel, promising to award £196 million to Urenco’s Capenhurst site in northwest England to support production of up to 10 tonnes of high-assay low enriched uranium (“HALEU”) per year.

With the commitment of no less than 22 countries at COP 28 to triple global nuclear power capacity by 2050, and the UK government’s announcement in its Spring Budget that it would buy two sites for two new nuclear power plants (“NPPs”), it appears that nuclear energy sites will become a familiar part of our landscape, not just in the UK but globally.

As the world moves toward cleaner energy, lithium has become crucial, powering electric vehicles and renewable-energy storage systems. With lithium demand set to increase more than 40-fold by 2040, the race to extract this critical mineral has intensified, especially in the United States.

On November 7, Vinson & Elkins hosted an Energy Transition and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) Conference in its New York office.

As Vinson & Elkins prepares to host its “Energy Transition and IRA Conference” in New York on November 7, 2024 (just two days after the upcoming presidential election), we ask ourselves, where have we been and where might we be going with the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (the IRA)?

Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates.

The UK government is advancing efforts to accelerate the adoption of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), which currently makes up only 0.17% of global aviation fuel use, despite industry targets of 10% by 2030.

The energy industry is experiencing massive transformation as incentives grow to invest in green technologies.

Identifying existing IP early in the innovation process helps companies evaluate project viability and provides greater leverage to negotiate possible licenses, agreements and business collaborations.