Our multidisciplinary projects team has deep experience and capability to provide advice and assistance throughout the entire life-cycle of a generation project from development to operation to retirement, in addition to assisting with transmission and interconnection service arrangements and regulatory compliance during the development of the project.
Our energy team has helped develop, acquire, and sell energy-generating projects around the world, including in North America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, and Africa. Our experience extends across every segment of the industry, from utility scale projects to distributed generation. Our team has advised on the financing, permitting, construction, operation, output sales arrangements, and tax treatment of operating and development-stage energy projects on five continents. Our multifaceted financial, transactional, regulatory, and legislative approach provides renewable sector clients the business focus necessary to address complex challenges and seize emerging opportunities.
Capabilities
Entity Formation and Project Transactions
Our corporate team advises electric generation and transmission project participants in all aspects of entity structuring and organization. Our work includes:
Transco entity structuring and organization
Joint venture structuring and organization
Project contracts
Asset management agreements
Operation and maintenance agreements
Tax matters
Project Siting and Permitting
We advise on all aspects of real estate, land use, and site permitting for electric generation and transmission infrastructure projects. Our services include:
Ground and air leases
Eminent domain
Land use and environmental permitting
Bureau of Land Management and other federal land management
Indian law
Lateral facility siting and permitting litigation
Finance
Our finance team advises on debt, equity, and project financing for new electric generation and transmission infrastructure development. Our finance services include:
Project financing
Equity financing
Tax equity financing
Project bond financing
Mezzanine financing
Construction financing
Sale-and-leaseback arrangements
Lease-purchase arrangements
Export Credit Agency
Securitization
Construction
We represent electric power infrastructure project developers and construction contractors in a wide range of construction-related matters, including the preparation and negotiation of contracts, the formation of public-private partnerships, and the prosecution, defense, and resolution of disputes. From project development to litigation of construction claims, we offer a full spectrum of construction services, including:
Requests for proposals
Engineering, procurement and construction contracts
Design, build, operate and maintain contracts
Subcontractor issues
Government contracts
Construction litigation
Operation and Maintenance (O&M Agreements)
We provide clients competitive advantages with assistance in contract negotiations, contract preparation, and coordination and structuring collaborative procurement arrangements, such as joint ventures, alliancing and teaming agreements, partnering, and integrated project delivery. The firm advises clients on the drafting and negotiation of all forms of industry contracts, including:
Operation and maintenance agreements
Securing permits
Interconnection agreements
Transmission rights
Power purchase agreements
Construction contracts
Our team’s experience working on all dimensions of power projects allows us to serve as a one-stop-shop for the full range of energy project financing needs, from legal due diligence to preparation and negotiation of agreements for a wide variety of financing structures. We understand the issues in underlying power purchase agreements, O&M agreements, real estate documents, and other key transaction documents that affect project financeability. Having represented both lenders and power project developers, we have a deep, practical understanding of the issues that can impact future revenue - not just in the short term, but many years after the initial financing.
Regulatory Approval
Our energy regulatory lawyers advise on all aspects of federal and state regulatory matters, including with respect to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), regional transmission organizations (RTOs), the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC), and state public utilities commissions. Our regulatory services include:
FERC regulatory compliance at project formation and thereafter
Planning and cost allocation issues, including FERC Order No. 1000 compliance
On 30 January 2024, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published a final rule (Final Rule) increasing the premium processing fee from US$2,500 to US$2,805, increasing filing fees for I-129 and I-140 employment-based petitions, and imposing a new Asylum Program Fee for each Form I-129 and I-140 filed by employers.
On 3 April 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission announced the first settlement with a stand-alone registered investment adviser for, among other things, failures to maintain and preserve certain electronic communications.
On 22 December 2020, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) adopted amendments (the final rule) to Rule 206(4)-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the Advisers Act) to modernize the regulation of investment adviser advertising and solicitation practices.
On 7 March 2024, the Illinois Pollution Control Board proposed amendments to its Ground Water Quality regulations, which would set standards for selected per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances compounds at or near their levels of detection and would result in some of the most stringent standards in the country.
We welcome your email, but please understand that if you are not already a client of K&L Gates LLP, we cannot represent you until we confirm that doing so would not create a conflict of interest and is otherwise consistent with the policies of our firm. Accordingly, please do not include any confidential information until we verify that the firm is in a position to represent you and our engagement is confirmed in a letter. Prior to that time, there is no assurance that information you send us will be maintained as confidential. Thank you for your consideration.
