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Box 330, Congers, NY 10920-9894 www.copyright.com Reforms DEPTH IN HEALTH CARE Stephanie Sobkowiak, practicing Health Care Law Two physician groups with different specialties sought Stephanie's advice regarding how to structure their merger. She quickly realized that the proposed compensation structure would subject the new group to significant liability under fraud and abuse laws. Stephanie helped design a different compensation structure that was compliant and accomplished the group's business objectives. Stephanie S. Sobkowiak Co-Chair, Health Care Practice Group 203.772.7782 ssobkowiak@murthalaw.com MURTHA CULLINA LLP ATTORNEYS AT LAW MURTHALAW.COM BOSTON HARTFORD NEW HAVEN STAMFORD WHITE PLAINS WOBURN technology and reduce soft costs. Michael Trahan, executive director of advocacy group Solar Connecticut, argued the latest bill wasn't needed because, at the legislature's direction, the Green Bank has already worked to develop permitting pro- cesses with municipal officials. He argued it would be more helpful to cap permitting fees and require online permit applications. Trash-to-energy feels natural gas pressures Senate Bill 168 would require the Public Utilities Regulatory Authority to conduct a study of Connecticut's trash-to-energy facili- ties, which burn approximately two-thirds of the state's waste stream. Mark Bobman, executive director of the Bristol Policy Energy Board, which oversees waste management programs for 18 com- munities, said the handful of trash-to-energy plants in the state are struggling — and could financially collapse — because low natural gas prices have cut into the price they can fetch for power generated at their plants. There are concerns that a failure of trash- to-energy plants could lead to higher dis- posal prices for Connecticut business and residents, since it may require waste to be shipped out of state. Both Bobman and the Connecticut Council of Small Towns (COST) asked the Energy and Technology Committee to consider creating a renewable energy credit for trash-to-energy plants. COST also asked lawmakers to expe- dite completion of the study by Dec. 1. "Energy prices have dropped to historic low levels, for the most part creating a boon for consumers but in the long run, many believe this is a turbulent and unstable mar- ketplace," Bobman wrote. Bobman said trash-to-energy facilities will be vital for the state to reach its goal of hitting a 60 percent recycling rate by 2024. Nuke plant: Don't forget about us Connecticut's energy policy considers lots of different technologies to be "renewable," which earns them a spot in the state's renew- able portfolio standard. The RPS mandates that utilities buy an increasing amount of power from renewable sources over time, hit- ting 27 percent by 2020. Much of that must be "Class I" sources like solar and wind, which are among the cleanest in the RPS. One major energy generator that's not included in the RPS, even though it produces no carbon dioxide, is Waterford's Millstone Nuclear Power Station, owned by Dominion. Kevin Hennessy, Dominion's director of state and local affairs, reminded legislators last month that Millstone, which produces approximately 25 percent of Connecticut's installed generation capacity, will soon be one of the only nuclear plants in New Eng- land, following the planned closure of Mas- sachusetts' Pilgrim Nuclear Generating Sta- tion in 2019. Pilgrim's owner, Entergy, is also in the process of closing a Vermont nuclear plant. A New Hampshire nuke plant operated by NextEra Energy remains operational. "It's a challenging environment," Hen- nessy said. "Gas is cheap. While [Millstone] is well positioned for now, a few years from now, I don't know what that position will be." Hennessy said it could be favorable for Mill- stone if Connecticut follows recent proposals in New York and Illinois to effectively create an RPS tier for nuclear power, but he stopped short of advocating for such changes in this state. "The legislature has been very good at looking at the different resources they want to procure," he said. n A shared-solar program would allow a condo community to draw from one solar-generation facility. P H O T O | H B J F I L E