On March 19, 2020, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued an Order Addressing Arguments Raised on Rehearing and Setting Aside Prior Order in Broadview Solar, LLC , 174 FERC ¶ 61,199 (2021) (“ Broadview 2021 ”). The order, which is highly favorable to the renewable energy industry, reversed FERC’s September 1, 2020 holdings in Broadview Solar, LLC , 172 FERC ¶ 61,194 (2020) (“ Broadview 2020 ”) that the evaluation of whether a project complies with the 80 MW limit on the power production capacity of a small power production qualifying facility (“QF”) under the...

The Supreme Court delivered its opinion in U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service v. Sierra Club on March 4, 2020 and held that agency documents that lack a legally operative effect are likely to qualify for the deliberative process exemption under the Freedom of Information Act. The deliberative process exemption allows agencies to withhold inter- and intra-agency memorandums, letters, and other communications created during an agency’s decisionmaking process. 1 Draft documents exchanged within or between agencies that never become final or legally operative may not be obtained through FOIA, even...