Our approach
There’s a flourish of energy projects developing around the country. Challenges arise at every phase of developing an energy project. Clients come to us for help with site assemblage, land use approvals and project permitting.
We know how to develop electric transmission facilities, natural gas pipelines, coal gasification projects and electric generating projects (fueled by natural gas, coal, oil, uranium, municipal waste, biomass, tires or powered by the sun or wind).
Whether it’s for a conventional or alternative energy project, we represent clients on all aspects of the project. Our accomplished team foresees issues and provides forward-thinking advice, guiding you through the complexities and unexpected surprises of each phase of your energy project’s development.
We provide high-level business counsel as well as legal advice, partnering with clients during all stages of energy project permitting and site assemblage—from obtaining permits, to guiding through site proceedings, to navigating the application and approval process.
Our deep bench of people is familiar with the dynamics and players unique to this industry and benefits from established relationships with federal, state and local authorities. Using our industry knowledge and “on the ground” approach, we proactively work with our clients to identify and obtain the necessary permits with livable conditions from federal, state and local authorities.
We help our clients take a strategic approach to the following:
- Air, water use/discharge and Army Corps of Engineers permits
- Endangered Species Act consultations
- Environmental impact reviews
- State siting board certifications
- Federal and state submerged land leases
- Local approvals and zoning
- Energy regulatory approvals
- Site assemblage
We work with
- Independent power producers
- Electric and gas utilities
- Public power entities
- Renewable energy developers
- Electric transmission developers
- Natural gas pipelines
- Lenders
- Investors
Recent experience
- Trans Bay Cable, the project developer, in negotiating the EPC and site preparation agreements and by consulting on all transmission and interconnection issues in the development of this transmission project, including obtaining FERC approval of incentive rates. Responsibilities include: (a) negotiating with the California ISO and the three California investor-owned utilities regarding an amendment to the Transmission Control Agreement to admit Trans Bay Cable as a participating transmission owner under the California ISO Tariff; (b) negotiating an amendment to the California ISO Tariff to address the revenue recovery of the costs of low-voltage transmission facilities built by non-load serving transmission owners; (c) negotiating with PG&E an Interconnection Agreement, Special Facilities Agreement and Substation License Agreement; (d) preparing and negotiating with the California ISO the terms and conditions of Trans Bay Cable’s Transmission Owners Tariff; and (e) obtaining FERC approval of the foregoing.
- Prairie State Generating in connection with the successful negotiation of a target price EPC Agreement in the Prairie State Energy Campus Project. The project is an approximately 1600 MW two-unit, mine-mouth supercritical coal-fired electric generating facility in southern Illinois. In addition, we negotiated the terms of the major equipment procurement packages for the project and represented the public power owners in connection with the Sierra Club’s challenge to the project’s PSD permit.
- Athens Generating Project, an 1100 MW combined cycle combustion turbine power plant in New York that was the first plant to be certified under the State’s Article X power plant siting statute. We handled the environmental aspects of the Article X proceeding and the parallel processes for obtaining the project’s PSD/NANSR, SPDES and Army Corps of Engineers permits, successfully defended the Article X certificate in state court and the Corps permit in federal court, prepared site acquisition documents and negotiated a payment-in-lieu of taxes agreement.
- Three Mountain Power Project, a 500 MW combined cycle combustion turbine power plant in California that also involved the reconductoring of 88 circuit miles of transmission lines. We participated in the California Energy Commission siting proceeding, handled the Endangered Species Act coordination and the PSD permitting process, successfully defended the PSD permit before the EPA Environmental Appeals Board, negotiated the electric and gas interconnection agreements, negotiated a tolling agreement with a gas and power marketing company, and negotiated the equipment purchase and EPC contracts and the debt financing and equity investment agreements to fund construction of the project.
- Cohocton and Dutch Hill Wind Projects, two projects totaling 125 MW located in Cohocton, New York.
- Ciro/GCL Project, a $300 million 77 MW solar PV facility to be located in Salinas, Puerto Rico.
- Tennessee Gas Pipeline in the development and permitting of a 171-mile pipeline from near Albany, New York, to outside of Boston, Massachusetts.
- Western Massachusetts Electric Company in the NEEWS Greater Springfield Reliability Project, which is a major upgrade of WMECO’s 345 kV and 115 kV transmission system in the municipalities of Agawam, West Springfield, Springfield, Chicopee and Ludlow, Massachusetts.
- Faustina Hydrogen Products LLC, a subsidiary of U.S. TransCarbon LLC, in connection with the negotiation and drafting of a target price engineering, procurement and construction agreement for a new coal gasification polygeneration facility in Louisiana that will use pet coke and high sulfur coal as feedstocks to produce saleable anhydrous ammonia, methanol, industrial grade CO2 and sulfur.
- St. Clair Project, a 570 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle power plant in Ontario, Canada (awarded “2007 North American Public Power Deal of the Year” by Project Finance Magazine).
- PG&E National Energy Group in the Article X certification and PSD permitting for the Athens Generating Project, an 1100 MW gas-fired merchant power plant in New York’s Hudson Valley.
- Covanta Energy in the California Energy Commission certification and PSD permitting (and successful defense of the PSD permit before EPA’s Environmental Appeals Board) of the Three Mountain Power Project, a 500 MW gas-fired merchant power plant in Northern California.
- Prairie State public power participants in a 1600 MW coal-fired electric generating project in Illinois in providing environmental permitting advice and representation in the EPA Environmental Appeals Board proceedings brought by project opponents to challenge the project’s PSD permit.
- TransÉnergie U.S., Ltd. in connection with licensing in New York of the Cross Sound Cable project, a 345 kV transmission line under Long Island Sound between Connecticut and New York.
- Cross Hudson, an independent transmission project linking PJM and the NYISO, by consulting on all transmission, interconnection, siting and permitting and energy regulatory issues.
- PSEG Power in the development of the Bethlehem Energy Center, a 750 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle generating facility.
- Competitive Power Ventures in the development of the Valley Project, a 630 MW natural gas-and oil-fired combined cycle generating facility.
- PPL Global, Inc. as lead counsel for the siting and permitting of a 300 MW gas-fired simple cycle generation facility proposed to be located in Kings Park, New York, and assisted the company in the permitting and development of several 79 MW gas turbine generating projects in Long Island, New York.
- Public Service Company of New Hampshire, while assisting on the Maine Power Reliability Program and the construction of approximately 350 miles of 345 kV and 115 kV transmission lines by Central Maine Power and Public Service Company of New Hampshire.
- New York State Electric & Gas Corporation in the assessment of the permitting feasibility of a compressed air energy storage facility and power plant to support upstate New York wind farms.
