This advanced, practice-focused seminar examines the division of authority between federal and state governments in regulating the U.S. energy sector—and how that division shapes real-world energy projects, transactions, and disputes. From electricity markets and natural gas pipelines to renewable energy siting and climate policy, lawyers must constantly navigate overlapping and sometimes conflicting regulatory regimes.
The course focuses on how practitioners advise clients in this fragmented system: determining which regulator has authority, structuring projects to comply with multiple layers of law, and resolving jurisdictional conflicts. Students will analyze federal statutes, agency jurisdiction (especially the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission), state public utility commissions, and key doctrines such as preemption, cooperative federalism, and dormant commerce constraints.
The seminar treats federal–state division not as abstract doctrine, but as a practical problem-solving framework that determines whether projects get built, transactions close, and disputes succeed or fail.
This course assumes prior study of administrative law, constitutional law, or energy law.
Course Objectives
By the end of the course, students should be able to:
1. Identify federal versus state jurisdiction in energy regulation.
2. Interpret statutes governing electricity, natural gas, and renewables.
3. Apply preemption doctrines in energy disputes.
4. Advise clients navigating overlapping regulatory regimes.
5. Structure projects to comply with both federal and state law.
6. Analyze jurisdictional conflicts and litigation strategies.
7. Understand the role of federal and state agencies.
8. Evaluate policy tradeoffs in federalism-based regulation.
9. Assess risks in multi-jurisdictional energy projects.
10. Develop practical legal strategies for regulatory compliance and dispute resolution.
