Case Studies

One of the country’s largest healthcare providers established a policy to reduce its net carbon emissions by 50%, then later by 100%. Achieving this ambitious goal required developing and implementing a comprehensive energy strategy which included deploying solar on hundreds of existing and new facilities across several states, entering into customized agreements with local utilities, and negotiating programmatic agreements with electricity suppliers to provide renewable energy. The process involved entering into some of the largest non-utility power purchase agreements for solar and wind energy while also deploying energy storage and micro-grids on certain facilities.

Climate Edge’s attorneys represented this client in connection with all of the various agreements used to implement this strategy and continue to represent them regarding new opportunities that include deploying new technologies.

A Fortune 500 company acquired approximately a dozen utility-scale solar projects ranging from 5MWs to 20 MWs. These acquisitions required due diligence on contracts including original equipment manufacturer contracts, warranty agreements, engineering contracts, interconnection agreements, and power purchase agreements.

Climate Edge attorneys assisted with the complete due diligence review and risk assessment of these and other contracts for each acquisition and provided regulatory guidance on the federal and state energy issues. As each acquisition transitioned into commercial operation, we continued to provide regulatory and transactional support -- addressing issues with the California ISO, adjacent projects, the interconnecting utilities, and the power off-takers. We continue to represent owners in connection with development, regulatory and operational issues and disputes.

Uncontrolled methane gas emissions represent a greenhouse gas effect that is 21 times more potent than that of carbon dioxide. One of the country’s largest educational institutions embarked on a plan to transition away from fossil-natural gas and fulfill its natural gas needs using biomethane sourced from landfills and dairies. This long-term acquisition strategy required the client to allow developers to leverage the clients’ credit rating to facilitate non-recourse project finance and build the projects. At the same time, the client had to be sure to receive the benefits from taking this forward position.

Climate Edge attorneys represented this client in connection with negotiating the long-term offtake agreements with fixed pricing and variable pricing, project development and performance assurances, long-term operations agreements and agreements to generate and monetize the environmental attributes not used by the client. Where these projects floundered in the development process, we also represented the client in workouts to restructure the contracts and allow the project to be developed.

An urban, mid-sized biofuel producer in California faced a number of legal and regulatory hurdles. The liquid fuel market is highly regulated, requiring producers and sellers to comply with a large number of requirements including product quality, taxes, inventory tracking and production reporting. Because the biofuel industry is economically driven by a number of government programs, this company also had to qualify for those programs and implement reporting procedures to demonstrate compliance.

Climate Edge attorneys reviewed the regulatory requirements for each of the relevant programs and oversaw the engineering, accounting, and other service providers engaged to perform the work required to qualify for the various programs. Standardized contracts for the sale of fuel and the other non-fuel attributes of the product were developed, and tools and training were provided to allow the company to comply with the regulatory requirements imposed on the sale of the various attributes associated with the biofuel.

A large investment fund sought to acquire a solar project that had an interconnection agreement tied to an existing natural gas-fired project. In order for the project to be purchased, the interconnection agreement and related agreements had to be restructured to ensure the solar project had full interconnection and deliverability rights.

Climate Edge’s attorneys worked through the required changes to both the solar project’s interconnection agreement and the gas-fired generator’s agreement, negotiated changes to the shared facilities agreement and worked through the regulatory issues to appropriately manage the risks and ensure the fund understood how the risks had been managed.

A large East Coast utility embarked on a comprehensive change in their electricity acquisition strategy, transitioning to a stronger solar, wind, and energy storage portfolio. The energy storage contracts in particular presented new risks in both stand-alone contracts and where it was coupled with a renewable energy facility. These new risks needed to be addressed based on the allowed regulatory risk profile, the integration of the assets into the utility’s operations, and the need for the contracts to support the project financing requirements of the developers.

Climate Edge attorneys advised this client on issues specific to energy storage on a stand-alone basis as well as when integrated with renewable energy projects, revised the contracts accordingly and advised the client through their negotiations. Following the successful contracting, we went on to provide additional structuring advice as the utility identified changes required to address new regulatory and accounting issues.

A large tech-based company sought to purchase renewable electricity for its facilities in India under a program that required electricity customers to also have an equity interest in the supplying project. The purchase created unique problems with the intersection of commercial risks associated with equity ownership and being the power purchaser. These issues were compounded by the structuring requirements of India’s program and the need to avoid consolidated accounting under American accounting rules.

Climate Edge attorneys worked through each of the complex issues in partnership with the client’s accounting team, commercial advisors or Indian legal team. With a very limited set of possible solutions, the right balance was found, and the actual contracting was smooth and efficient.