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On November 16, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking (“NOPR”) that would amend DOE’s regulations implementing the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) to add a categorical exclusion for certain energy storage systems and revise existing categorical exclusions for solar photovoltaic (“PV”) facilities and for upgrades and rebuilds of transmission lines on previously disturbed or developed land.

On November 17, 2023, the Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) and the Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) issued proposed regulations [REG-132569-17] regarding the definition of “energy property” and related rules applicable to the energy credit (the “Proposed Regulations”) available under section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

In this program, we focused on SEC developments affecting, and practical aspects of preparing for, public companies’ annual meetings and annual reports.

On October 25, a panel of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals (the “Fifth Circuit”) upheld the Nasdaq board diversity rule in the face of challenges that (among other things) the rule attempted to improperly and unconstitutionally dictate the composition of corporate boards.

Climate bill-sponsor California State Senator Wiener joined V&E and PwC for a co-hosted CLE program covering what you should know about the new California Climate Disclosure laws.

Attorneys from our Employment, Labor and OSHA and Tax groups discussed the prevailing wage and apprenticeship requirements in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Green technologies are at the heart of the energy transition – they facilitate power generation and innovations that bring us closer to net-zero carbon emissions. The successful development of green technologies depends on critical minerals.

Vinson & Elkins securities lawyers discussed the 13 mistakes that keep us up at night.

Welcome to Vinson & Elkins’ Securities and ESG Updates. Our aim is to provide insights into notable developments in securities reporting and the environmental, social and governance space over the quarter.

As public companies anticipate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) final climate disclosure rules, which are expected to be released sometime fourth quarter of 2023, California has beaten the federal government to the punch.

Due to ever-increasing strains on critical raw materials supply chains and the urgent, growing pressure to transition to clean energy and electric vehicles, the extraction of polymetallic nodules from the seabed has been gaining momentum as a possible source of critical raw materials. The International Seabed Authority (“ISA”) is responsible for protecting the marine environment and regulating activities in the international seabed Area.