Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution 2025

Troutman Pepper Locke attorneys James Beers, Jerry Higdon, Gerry Pels, Elizabeth Corey, and Brett Miller contributed the chapter on “USA – Texas, Trends and Developments” in Chambers’ Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution 2025 Global Practice Guide.

With “drill baby drill” being a campaign rallying cry, it was apparent that, if elected, the Trump administration would seek to shift US energy policy. Few, however, were prepared for the near-dizzying pace of Executive Orders (EOs) and proposed agency actions that will have potentially long-lasting impacts for the US energy industry. Given the detail set forth in the EOs, it is clear the administration was prepared well in advance for this moment.

On the surface, the administration seeks to rationalise environmental regulation to reset the economic balance between renewable energy and fossil fuels, and perhaps to favour fossil fuel development. That, however, is a superficial analysis. The administration’s approach to energy development is intertwined with its foreign policy. This article identifies key EOs issued to date and related agency actions affecting environmental regulation of the energy industry, and discusses their impact on the energy industry. The article concludes with a discussion of what the future may hold for the industry and for the environmental legal and regulatory community. Of course, all of this requires a crystal ball of the highest quality – and few environmental crystal balls were able to predict the Trump administration’s first five months.

Read the full article.