Renewable Energy Investment and Project Development

"The firm’s cutting-edge expertise has also seen it assume a position at the forefront of the renewable and alternative energy market. It is in high demand for its regulatory expertise in project development and transmission issues."  -Chambers USA

Van Ness Feldman has one of the largest and most experienced renewable energy practice teams in the country, with over two dozen lawyers and policy professionals devoting all, or a significant portion, of their practice to renewable energy matters.  The difference that our attorneys bring to each representation, whether advising developers, investors, project owners, or others, is the integration of experience and knowledge combined within a firm focused on energy and environmental issues for more than 30 years. 

Our professionals help clients navigate legal and regulatory requirements, advocate on tax and other federal policies, and develop and execute project and commercial structures and agreements for renewable energy facilities of all types.  While individual attorneys have cultivated significant experience in one or more of those areas, we collaborate in order to bring the full value of accumulated experience and knowledge to each client we serve.

The firm’s work spans all renewable technology sectors, including onshore and offshore wind, thermal and PV solar, geothermal, biomass, waste, conventional and emerging hydropower technologies, biofuels, and related infrastructure facilities.  Our clients include developers, owners, investors, utilities, market participants, and others to whom we provide a full complement of professional services including:

• Legislative and Executive Branch Policy Strategy, Advocacy, and Analysis
• Purchase and Sale Negotiations and Documentation 
• Project Development and Structuring, including Joint Venture, Partnership, and other Participation Agreements 
• Power Sale, Fuel and Feedstock Supply, and other Project Agreements
• Regional Power Market Participation
• Project Risk Evaluation and Due Diligence
• Federal Energy Regulatory Approvals, Permits, and Compliance
• Environmental (including NEPA) Permitting and Compliance
• Federal Financial Assistance and Incentive Programs
• Guidance and Advocacy on Federal Tax Incentives
• Federal Electric Transmission Line Siting
• Use of Federal and Tribal Lands
• Monetization of Renewable and Emission Reduction Credits

Our recent work in the renewables sector includes advising on the funding, investment, development, and permitting of numerous solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, waste-to-energy, and traditional and advanced hydropower projects.  Our practice capabilities include:

Solar

Van Ness Feldman’s solar energy practice advises project developers, equipment manufacturers, financiers, utilities, and other stakeholders on a wide range of matters, providing input to corporate strategic planning and investment decisions, negotiation of interconnection and power purchase agreements, project development and federal permitting, legislative advocacy, regional electric market participation, assistance with securing federal financial assistance and incentives, and representation before the FERC. 

Wind

Van Ness Feldman’s renewable energy team maintains a robust wind energy practice that includes obtaining regulatory approvals for power sales, the purchase and sale of project interests, and FERC regulatory authorizations and compliance.  In addition to our highly regarded FERC regulatory practice, we advise clients on the full scope of wind energy matters including project structuring, negotiation of power sale agreements and market participation, obtaining interconnection and transmission arrangements, federal and regional implementation of variable resource integration policies, and environmental matters.

Geothermal Power

Van Ness Feldman advises clients and investors developing, owning, and operating geothermal resources and electric generation projects on the unique complexities surrounding the development of resources on, or that affect, federal lands.   We also provide clients with regulatory gap-analysis, develop and execute alternative siting and permitting strategies for state, local and private lands, and advise on transmission and interconnection issues.  In addition to our project development and regulatory services, we also are actively involved on behalf of our clients in federal policy formulation and legislation affecting the geothermal sector.  Please visit the Geothermal practice description for additional information.  

Hydropower

Van Ness Feldman's leading hydropower practice team is one of the largest and most experienced in the nation.  Our current and recent matters involve over 50 percent of all installed hydroelectric capacity in the United States.  The firm advises developers of new hydropower projects, including conventional, pumped storage, and offshore projects.  Our capabilities include FERC licensing and relicensing proceedings, regulatory compliance including enforcement proceedings, and non-FERC federal and state regulatory requirements.  Additional information about our hydroelectric capabilities is available on the Hydropower practice page.

Bioenergy

From cellulosic ethanol and drop-in advanced biofuels to wastewater treatment and green chemicals, there are numerous bioenergy pathways.  Van Ness Feldman advises leading companies across this spectrum at every stage of the commercialization pipeline—from lab to market; providing strategic guidance for project development and transactions, feedstock and offtake agreements, assistance with electrical interconnection and transmission service negotiations, and ongoing operational and regulatory counseling to investors and project developers in the biomass and waste-to-energy industries.  Some of our recent work on behalf of bioenergy clients includes federal incentives and financing assistance, renewable fuel production, environmental compliance, legislative advocacy, strategic counsel on the impacts and opportunities presented by greenhouse gas regulation, and building coalitions such as the Advanced Biofuels Association, the Biotechnology Industry Organization, and the newly-founded Advanced Ethanol Council.  

Highlights of Recent and Ongoing Renewable Energy Matters

• Serving as federal energy regulatory counsel to several major renewable developers with respect to portfolios comprised of solar, wind, and geothermal facilities and their development plans.
• Serving as federal regulatory counsel to the Long Island Power Authority in its collaboration with BP Solar on developing the proposed BP Solar Project on Long Island, including the development of interconnection and related agreements and integration issues in the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) market.
• Providing strategic counsel to Applied Materials, one of the largest solar thin film equipment manufacturers in the U.S., on federal energy policy matters and with respect to federal financial assistance. 
• Negotiation of the power purchase agreement and advising on interconnection and transmission arrangements, environmental permitting, and FERC and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management issues for an offshore wind developer.
• Transaction due diligence, including review of all land use and environmental permits, NEPA compliance, transmission facilities and agreements, contracts including turbine supply agreements, environmental and hazardous assessments, operations and maintenance agreements, corporate documents, and related issues for over 700MW of multiple wind generation projects in the Pacific Northwest.
• Negotiating power purchase and related agreements for a 53 MW waste-fueled electric power generating station in southeastern Pennsylvania, including construction of a dedicated electric interconnection facility and transmission line.
• Serving as environmental and regulatory counsel to a project developer in the Pacific Northwest in the acquisition of a shuttered sulfite pulp and paper mill.  Van Ness Feldman performed regulatory and permitting due diligence required for startup of the mill, including an 18 MW biomass cogeneration facility.  We also conducted due diligence regarding site environmental conditions.
• Serving as strategic counsel with regard to 10 geothermal electric generation facilities in the Western U.S., including issues involving interconnection and integration of the facilities into the power grid, and all aspects associated with the interconnection queue process and related studies; negotiation of necessary interconnection agreements; possible development of long, radial interconnection facilities; and associated transmission service arrangements.
• Advising on multiple regulatory and transactional issues regarding the development of projects, power sale agreements, upgrades to facilities to account for steam volume degradation, and issues related to grid interconnection for 18 MW, 100 MW, 67 MW, and 102 MW geothermal plants in the Southwestern U.S.
• Advising Transmission Developers Inc. on the development of a 100 MW high voltage, direct current (HVDC) transmission project that will bring renewable energy into New York City.   The firm handles all FERC regulatory matters and federal environmental permitting issues. 
• Representing the developers of large scale pumped-storage hydroelectric projects and hydroelectric facilities at existing Army Corp of Engineers dams in North America.
• Successfully representing the New York Power Authority on the relicensing of its 2,400 MW Niagara Power Project, the largest FERC-licensed project in the United States.