Project Development Including Environmental, Land Use, Real Estate Due Diligence 

• Represents numerous entities with development projects on Long Island in a broad spectrum of legal issues related to major transmission and generation developers, and offshore wind development projects regarding political landscape, regulatory, economic development land use and environmental implications.
• Obtained multiple contested land use approvals and DEC permits and authorizations for upgrades to Fortune 250 Company’s interstate natural gas pipeline. Represent the renewables developer who filed the first ever solar-only Article 10 project at the New York State Public Service Commission. Represent the renewables developer seeking approval of the largest solar-only Article 10 project at the New York Public Service Commission.
• Assist national solar energy developer by conducting transactional environmental due diligence reviews for numerous project sites, including obtaining NYS Department of Environmental Conservation authorization to proceed with development of a site listed on the New York State Superfund Site List.
• Conducts real estate due diligence for major transactions regarding large renewable projects on behalf of investors, including review of deeds, leases, sub-leases, easements, licenses and ancillary agreements related to wind and solar project sites, with attention to survey and title review to confirm extent of real estate interests and resolve title exceptions.
• Represented energy developer in the negotiation of a ground lease for an existing 55-mile utility right-of-way to construct and develop a new 345 kV transmission line and related substation facilities and related asset purchase agreement to acquire existing transmission line equipment within the right-of way, secure temporary construction access and obtain easement rights to various substation facilities.

Regulatory

• Serves as lead counsel for the renewables developer who filed the first ever solar-only Article 10 project with the New York State Board on Electric Generation Siting and the Environment. Represents large and small-scale solar developers in all aspects of development and siting, including responding to requests for proposals, negotiating power purchase agreements, navigating the interconnection process, and obtaining all necessary legal and regulatory approvals.
• Represents distributed energy resources (DERs) on various regulatory issues, including registration with the PSC, drafting subscription and sales agreements, and ongoing compliance with relevant laws and regulations. Represent large and small-scale renewable energy developers in all aspects of development and siting, including responding to Requests for Proposals, negotiating power purchase agreements and agreements with NYSERDA, navigating the interconnection process, and obtaining all necessary legal and regulatory approvals.
• Secured PSC approval for a Community Choice Aggregation program.
• Represented natural gas and electric utilities in several proceedings before the PSC, including a major rate case and acquisition case.
• Secured PSC approval to transfer regulated assets for numerous clients.
• Represents energy service companies (ESCOs) on various regulatory issues at the PSC, including submission of annual and triennial compliance filings, responses to customer complaints, and responses to Notices of Apparent Failure and Orders to Show Cause. Represented a nationwide organization of more than 20 ESCOs and secured an order vacating certain provisions of a PSC order that, as the reviewing court stated, would have “amount[ed] to a major restructuring of the retail energy market—or even its collapse.
• Represents developers and building owners in tariff negotiations with local distribution utilities to secure proper utility service to newly-constructed and existing properties.
• Secured PSC approval to transfer regulated assets, such as an electric generating facility, for several clients.
• Served on legal team that secured a PSC determination that further regulatory review under Public Service Law Section 70 was not required before a renewable developer could acquire ownership of development plans to construct a wind electric generating facility.

Related Legal Experience

Corporate Contracts

• Represented electric transmission company in negotiating $353 million engineering, procurement, and construction contract for electric transmission line and substation upgrade project.
• Represented electric transmission company in negotiating engineering and construction management contract for electric transmission facility upgrade project.

Corporate Compliance and Ethics

• Defended energy companies under investigation by the NYS Office of the Attorney General‘s consumer fraud bureau involving allegations of violations of GBL §§349, 349-d and 350 concerning deceptive sales practices, which were resolved through negotiation and the execution of an Assurance of Discontinuance.
• Defended a utility company before the Joint Commission on Public Ethics (JCOPE) alleging multiple violations of the gift ban under New York’s lobbying law; reviewed and revised the company’s policies and procedures regarding entertainment of public officials and trained company employees on the new policies.

Data Privacy/Cybersecurity

• Represents major utility clients with cybersecurity matters involving federal and state agencies, including compliance with New York State’s Department of Financial Services.
• Assisted when individuals from outside the organization obtained access to: email systems; file servers and data bases without authorization. Directed initial investigation by retaining and instructing forensic investigators to identify the root cause and scope, and assisted with the legal and contractual breach notification obligations and improving their security plan to reduce the risk of future events.
• Working with an IT security vendor to develop and implement a standard system security plan and set of controls for use in energy power plants for both operation technology and for informational technology.  These will ultimately be implemented in over 70 power plants.

Public/Community Outreach

• Our team includes a former NYS Senator who develops strategic paths for clients to engage business and professional leaders in developing consensus for their projects. Experienced in engaging with local and regional economic development advocates to work for positive job growth. Knowledge of government revenues and expenditures provides key messaging to advance initiatives that provide new jobs, financial benefits, priority infrastructure improvements and new economic development opportunities for the community.

Public Financing

• Represented an electric generating company in connection with a transaction in which it offered to exchange existing notes for new notes. In addition, the transaction included a consent solicitation to amend the Indenture governing the issuance of the notes to allow for a distribution to its shareholders. Represented the client in all facets of this transaction and prepared all of the consent solicitation documents, notes and amendments to existing documents. The exchange offer related to approximately $93,000,000 of existing notes and the distribution was in the amount of approximately $7,500,000.
• Represented a power transmission client in connection with the execution and delivery of an Asset Purchase Agreement relating to the purchase of all plans and specifications related to the development of a component in the construction of a new power transmission line in New York to alleviate the power needs in downstate New York.