Special envoys on investment

"I'm not afraid," he said, adding that even last year's attack on him with explosives-laden drones during a military ceremony didn't shake his resolve. "I'm only worried about the destiny of the fatherland and of our people, our boys and girls....this is what gives me energy." … [Read more...] about Venezuela’s Maduro Reveals Secret Meetings With US Envoy

“Our focus is really on the bottom up, which is how do you make the lives of the Palestinian people better? What can you resolve to allow these areas to become more investable? We deal with all the core status issues because you have to do it, but we’ve also built a robust business plan for the whole region,” Kushner said, adding the idea was to have a solution first “and then we’ll work on a process to try to get there.” … [Read more...] about U.S. Envoy David Friedman: Trump Peace Plan ‘Out of the Box’

Yet since then, there has been little sign of progress toward rolling out the broader plan that will address the thorniest issues, such as whether the Palestinians will get an independent state, the status of Palestinian refugees, the city of Jerusalem, and Jewish settlements in the West Bank. … [Read more...] about Trump’s Mideast envoy leaving before peace plan is released

Solar Power DevelopmentDuring a solar summit April 17, the White House announced a series of measure intended to boost solar energy, and challenged the private sector to support solar deployment. The Department of Energy announced a $15 million Solar Market Pathways program, a funding opportunity for state, tribal, and local leaders as they develop plans to create an economic environment for cost-competitive deployment, as well as a Commercial Solar Deployment Playbook. The Environmental Protection Agency announced that the Green Power Partnership wills double the use of on-site renewable energy at partner facilities by the end of the decade. The Departments of Agriculture and Energy will partner with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association to develop tools, templates, and finance options for cooperatives working to deploy distributed solar in rural areas. … [Read more...] about Energy & Environment Law Update – April 22, 2014

There has been a growing drum beat for all parties to reach a global settlement agreement in lieu of continuing to litigate the matters in court – a position held by many in the U.S. solar industry since 2012. Sources close to the negotiations have inferred the current U.S. Administration and Chinese government – who have been engaged in the trade policy discussions throughout the process – have intimated they are open to a settlement agreement, and would support such a step. An equitable settlement could potentially drive multiple direct and indirect benefits for the solar industry including: (1) the rescinding of a Chinese tariffs imposed in retaliation after the first AD/CVD case in 2012 against U.S. polysilicon manufacturers - the second largest polysilicon producers other than China, (2) a signal to industry that litigation is an inefficient modality for settling trade disputes because the continued imposition of tariffs in aggregate is beginning to materially … [Read more...] about Energy & Environmental Law Update – July 28, 2014