Raymond Richards, rising 3L, won the 2018 American Bar Association's (ABA) Law Student Writing Competition for his paper, "Preemption, I Think Not: Evaluating California's Stored Energy Procurement Law Against FERC Order 841," which explored the federalism dynamic in the energy market. The competition is sponsored by the Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources of the ABA. Students were asked to demonstrate original thought on a question of legal or policy significance on any issue related to energy law.
The paper examines new mandates in the wholesale energy markets that require regional transmission organizations (RTOs) to revise tariffs establishing market rules that recognize the unique physical and operational characteristics of Stored Energy Resources to facilitate the participation of such resources in the wholesale markets. Mr. Richards explained that the paper first uses a legal framework to assess the validity of Order 841, which was passed to facilitate inclusion of storage resources in the wholesale markets. It then uses a similar framework to assess California's state stored energy procurement law for preemption by the new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Order. He concludes his paper with the idea that a system of concurrent federalism will allow state and federal law to operate hand-in-hand to promote the advancement of storage technology, facilitating an era of clean, reliable power to fuel the nation's future.
Mr. Richards was inspired to research energy storage through his coursework in David Yaffe's, Professorial Lecturer in Law, "Energy Law and Regulation" class and his involvement with the Journal of Energy and Environmental Law (JEEL). "The energy law course gave me a sample of the renewable energy market, and I decided to pursue research of renewables for my note with JEEL," Mr. Richards said. "Going into the spring semester, I enrolled in Ms. Attanasio's class, [The U.S. Electric System and Sustainability] which provided a deep dive into the section of the energy market I was most interested. Ms. Attanasio's class gave me a more comprehensive understanding of the electricity market, which allowed me to expand on an idea touched upon in my JEEL note, and turn it into a paper of its own."
Ms. Attanasio supported and provided feedback during Mr. Richards's writing process. He sought her help and went to her office hours to narrow the topic for his paper. Mr. Richards further explained that at the start of his class, FERC Order 841 had not been put into effect. "I was researching the proposed rule that preceded the final rule," he said. "During office hours, Ms. Attanasio encouraged me to think of my issue as if I were working for her, and she tasked me to research any potential problems that would arise if the proposed rule were to become final."
For his paper, Mr. Richards received a cash prize. When asked to reflect on this achievement, he said that being recognized by the ABA "means a tremendous amount to me." He added, "I'm honored to be recognized, and I'm thrilled to contribute to the scholarly conversation."