This timeline is an overview of the history of U.S. energy laws -- legislation, regulation, rules, and orders - that govern electricity, fuels, resource development, utilities, renewables, and other facets of the energy industry.
2011
Final Rule from the Environmental Protection Agency (40 CFR Part 63) established new limits for Mercury (Hg) and other hazardous air pollutants from electricity generation, under EPA's "National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Coal- and Oil-fired Electric Utility Steam Generating Units and Standards of Performance for Fossil-Fuel-Fired Electric Utility, Industrial-Commercial-Institutional, and Small Industrial-Commercial-Institutional Steam Generating Units."
2010
Secretarial Order No. 3302 renamed the Minerals Management Service, the agency responsible for overseeing oil and gas development on the Outer Continental Shelf during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).
Secretarial Order No. 3299 split the former Minerals Revenue Management (MRM) program into three parts: the Office of Natural Resource Revenue (ONRR), an environmental enforcement bureau, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE).
2009
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) earmarked billions of dollars for energy efficiency, smart grids, energy reliability and delivery, fossil fuel research, and environmental clean-up.
Executive Order 13514 (E.O. 13514) set requirements for energy efficiency and greenhouse gas management for federal agencies.
Final Rule: "Renewable Energy and Alternative Uses of Existing Facilities on the OCS (REAU)" controls development of offshore wind farms, ocean energy, and solar on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).
2008
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 provided energy credits for investments in wind, solar, geothermal, fuel cells, and energy efficient products.
2007
Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA 2007) promoted renewable energy, energy efficiency, metering, and higher fuel economy standards.
Executive Order 13423 (E.O. 13423) directed federal agencies to reduce energy use, increase renewable, and shift vehicle fleets to reduce petroleum consumption.
2005
Energy Policy Act of 2005 authorized FERC to designate an electric reliability organization (ERO), a role to which NERC was eventually appointed. This law also directed the federal government to purchase energy efficient products, favoring ENERGY STAR and FEMP-designated products.