Insights on Energy & Cleantech

AFS International Team Co-Leader and Partner Sarah Fitts will serve as moderator for a webinar hosted by the International Bar Association (IBA) on November 19 at 11:00-12:00 GMT.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted in a recent article examining how the midterm election results and growing calls for oversight could affect data center development.

Partner Amy Antoniolli will speak at the 2026 Midwestern Transmission Summit in Chicago, Illinois on December 2, 2026.

ArentFox Schiff advised a Japanese regional utility in the sale of its interest in South Field Energy, a 1,182-megawatt natural gas-fired combined-cycle generation facility located in Columbiana County, Ohio, to Strategic Value Partners. The transaction was completed in November 2026.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted in a recent article discussing growing voter opposition to data center development and the potential impact of local bans and moratoriums on future projects.

As election officials continue tabulating the results across the nation, it is clear that Congressional Democrats will have robust majorities in the US House of Representatives and US Senate during the 120th Congress. In a midterm election that featured a Democratic takeover of historic proportions, we saw a combination of expected and unexpected results that led some observers to doubt it was real. One Democratic television commentator exclaimed, “Don’t wake me up,” since the wins that were piling up were more than he could have dreamed of.

Building owners should not have to treat functioning, federally compliant equipment as obsolete simply because a state or city adopts a building-wide energy target.

A new permitting-reform proposal would turn federal delay and discriminatory treatment from administrative frustrations into affirmative claims.

ArentFox Schiff served as US counsel to Toho Gas Co., Ltd. in its acquisition of a 50% interest in the Goldfinch Solar Project, a utility-scale solar power project in Van Zandt County, Texas, developed by Diamond Generating Corporation, and in connection with the financing of the project’s construction.

Utilities facing federal emergency orders intended to stall retirements now have a clearer understanding of the durability of such orders.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 125 attorneys have been recognized by The Best Lawyers in America 2027, with two attorneys highlighted as “Lawyers of the Year” and 36 attorneys listed as “Ones to Watch.”

On August 18, the DC Circuit handed down its decision in Chamber of Commerce v. EPA, unanimously upholding the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) designation of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) — and in doing so, unlocked the law’s powerful enforcement tools against two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) compounds.

The national race to build artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure is colliding with a stubborn local reality: strategically important projects have to be built somewhere.

The US data center sector is in the midst of a historic capital cycle as artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and digital infrastructure demand pushes hyperscalers and colocation providers to commit capital at unprecedented scale.

New York’s data center pause is temporary, but the review process itself will make permanent the assumptions, standards, and evidentiary records that govern future development.

The US Supreme Court’s 2024 decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County endorsed a narrower vision of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), focused on informing agency decisions rather than producing exhaustive analyses of indirect, cumulative, or policy-related impacts.

The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released its proposed Sixth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule (UCMR 6), which would establish the parameters that water systems must monitor.

While it may seem like there are fewer calls of late to “electrify everything,” the legal debate over whether “gas bans” — local ordinances that prohibit use of fossil fuel-powered appliances in new construction — continues.

ArentFox Schiff partners Amy Antoniolli and Robert Middleton will speak at the Illinois Solar Energy & Storage Association’s (ISEA) Business Member Webinar: CRGA Trailer Bill & Regulatory Proceedings Update on July 9, 2026.

The permitting process plays a central role in projects ranging from clean energy to data centers. No longer just a regulatory hurdle, it is often the main forum in which broader disputes over growth, resources, fairness, and community acceptance play out.

The first half of 2026 has continued to see radical shifts in the energy space on issues ranging from data centers to affordability.

Energy & Cleantech Industry Group Co-Leader and Partner Amy Antoniolli will speak on federal permitting reforms and their impact on local renewable energy projects at EUCI’s Derisking Energy Project Permitting Conference on June 23, 2026.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 23 practices and 81 attorneys have been recognized by The Legal 500 United States 2026 guide.

State policymakers are recalibrating how they regulate and incentivize data center development.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and US Department of Defense have stalled project reviews.