United States Solar – The Shift from Utility Scale to Distributed Generation

On November 7, 2025, the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) reversed their prior positions and approved Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 Water Quality Certifications and other environmental permits for the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company’s (Transco) Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (NESE). NESE is a 25-mile natural gas pipeline expansion project certificated by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) that is intended to deliver 400,000 dekatherms per day of natural gas produced in Pennsylvania to local distribution company customers in New York City through new facilities in Middlesex County, New Jersey and an underwater segment traversing the Raritan and Lower New York Bays.

The market for the direct procurement of energy by commercial and industrial buyers has been active in the U.S. for a decade.  In years past, buyers often engaged in such purchases on a voluntary basis to achieve their goals to use renewable energy.  These days, C&I buyers are turning to direct procurement or self-supply to obtain a reliable source of energy.  Sufficient and accessible energy from a local utility may not be available or may be materially delayed or trigger significant capital costs.  This is a material change driven in part by increased demand for electricity, including demand from data centers, EV infrastructure and industrial development.       

On October 23, 2025, the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to conduct a rulemaking to assert jurisdiction over load interconnections to the bulk electric transmission system and establish standardized procedures for the interconnection of large loads.¹ The Directive included an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANOPR) that sets forth the legal justification for asserting jurisdiction over transmission-level load interconnections and fourteen principles that should inform FERC’s rulemaking process. The Secretary has directed FERC to take “final action” on the Directive no later than April 30, 2026.

On October 21, 2025, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) issued a final order (DOE/FECM Order No. 5264-A¹) granting Venture Global CP2 LNG, LLC long-term authorization to export up to 1,446 billion cubic feet per year of domestically produced liquefied natural gas (LNG) from its Louisiana facility to countries without a free trade agreement with the United States (Non-FTA Countries). The final order follows a March 2025 Conditional Order,² which issued while DOE was still completing its review of the agency’s 2024 LNG Export Study.³ The final order confirms that the project’s export volume and term authorization (through December 31, 2050) are unchanged, but provides for a three-year “make-up period” to allow export of any approved volume not shipped during the original term.

On October 1, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued Order No. 914 amending certain Commission regulations to incorporate a conditional sunset date in compliance with the Trump administration’s April 2025 Executive Order, “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy” (the EO).

Akin is pleased to serve as a gold sponsor for Infocast’s Energy Independence Summit in Houston, October 21-23. Energy partner Charlie Ofner will moderate the Macroeconomics of Domestic Energy Independence panel, projects & energy transition partner Shariff Barakat will lead Opportunities in US Manufacturing: How Big, How Fast, How FEOC?, and counsel Taha Qureshi will guide the discussion on Cornerstones for Energy Independence: Investing in Grid Security & Cybersecurity.

As of October 6, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) continues to operate despite the lapse in appropriations that resulted in a government shutdown on October 1, 2025. While FERC receives appropriations from Congress, it primarily is self-funded through fees and charges obtained from the industries it regulates, offsetting its total costs. Hence, during prior government shutdowns in 2018 and 2013, the agency was able to continue operations. However, FERC published a plan for operating in the event of a lapse in appropriations on September 30, 2025, available here. 

On September 4, 2025, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee convened a hearing to consider the nominations of Laura Swett and David LaCerte to serve as commissioners at the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or Commission). Swett is a former FERC Staff that served as legal and policy advisor to former FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre and Commission Bernard McNamee. LaCerte is an attorney in private practice that previously held positions at the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board and the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.