Expert Analysis

• CBP's Jones Act Ruling Provides Certainty For Offshore Wind

  

  U.S. Customs and Border Protection's recent ruling confirming that the Jones Act applies to wind energy projects on the outer continental shelf provides useful clarity for offshore wind energy developers, operators and other stakeholders planning future operations, say attorneys at Holman Fenwick.

• Surveying Global Tax Updates For Sovereign Wealth Investors

  

  As the market transitions to a post-pandemic phase, sovereign wealth fund and other foreign institutional investors must evaluate how recent U.S., EU and U.K. tax changes may affect their private fund investments, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

• Offshore Wind Push Is Good News For NYC Building Owners

  

  With a surge of federal and state support for offshore wind power in New York state, the projects now in development should greatly benefit New York City building owners seeking to comply with the city's Climate Mobilization Act, says Raymond Pomeroy at Stroock.

• Biden's Climate Agenda Means Oil, Gas Cos. Must Innovate

  

  President Joe Biden's climate agenda, including changes to leasing of public lands, tax deductions and other policies, may impose significant hurdles on the oil and gas sector, but companies that take an innovative, multifaceted approach can rise to this challenge, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• 3 Key Environmental Takeaways From Biden's First 30 Days

  

  President Joe Biden has heavily prioritized environmental policy during his first month in office, with three key themes emerging that will immediately change enforcement practices and affect regulated industries, say attorneys at Gibson Dunn.

• The State Of Asylum Law After Trump — And What's Next

  

  Kevin Gregg at Kurzban Kurzban discusses the impact of asylum decisions issued during the Trump administration's final year, the uncertainty underlying President Joe Biden’s tranche of immigration-related executive orders and reasons for cautious optimism within the immigration community.

• What Energy Sector Should Expect From Biden's Tax Policies

  

  The energy sector may find new investment opportunities or the need to adjust holdings, depending on whether company goals align with the Biden administration's potential rollback of Trump-era tax reforms, and push for clean energy, reduced carbon emissions and increased domestic manufacturing, says Gregory Matlock at Mayer Brown.

• Unresolved Issues In Calexico Inverse Condemnation Ruling

  

  A California federal court's recent decision in Calexico Auto Dismantlers v. City of Calexico, dismissing a business's inverse condemnation suit as untimely, does not properly address questions surrounding eminent domain notice and the statute of limitations, say Debra Garfinkle and Brad Kuhn at Nossaman.

• As Superfund Turns 40, Courts Are Still Puzzling Over It

  

  The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act just turned 40, but a review of several Superfund cases from 2020 demonstrates that courts are still regularly confronted with novel questions and issues related to the law, says Peter Keays at Hangley Aronchick.

• How To Reliably Value Income-Producing Real Estate

  

  Amid the pandemic-fueled surge in tax appeals and loan workouts, using the income approach to calculate the present worth of a property's future income provides the most reliable indication of value and does not rely on subjective adjustments, say Mark Dunec at FTI Consulting and Anthony DellaPelle at McKirdy Riskin.

• IRS Continuity Safe Harbor Will Aid Renewable Projects

  

  Recent Internal Revenue Service guidance expanding the continuity safe harbor to protect tax credit eligibility for qualified offshore and federal land renewable energy projects will provide certainty for developers who often face significant construction and permitting delays, say attorneys at Mayer Brown.

• Buyers May Be Wary Of Climate-Driven PG&E Asset Sale

  

  PG&E's plan to sell its Pleasant Creek natural gas storage field will allow the utility to avoid decommissioning and remediation costs, and it aligns with regulators' desire to see the company move in a climate-friendly direction — but buyers may be leery of such assets for the same reasons, say Vidhya Prabhakaran and Patrick Ferguson at Davis Wright.

• NY Tax Talk: 2020 In The Rearview

  

  Craig Reilly at Hodgson Russ highlights New York City's and state's notable tax updates from the last year — many of them related to budget shortfalls due to COVID-19 — and wishes good riddance to 2020.