Our sector experts facilitate the delivery of generation projects across the full range of technologies, including solar, wind (both onshore and offshore), storage, energy from waste, marine energy, biomass, hydrogen and traditional oil and gas projects.
We provide sector-focused legal advice to developers, utilities, funders, lenders and public authorities over the entire lifecycle of a generation project. We provide a one-shop-stop for:
- Property — land acquisition, negotiating options and leases, title due diligence, reports on title
- Planning — strategic planning advice, permitted development rights, s106 agreements, DCOs and obtaining planning permission
- Environmental — environmental impact assessments, environmental permitting, liability for hazardous substances and contamination, emissions trading schemes
- Regulatory — supply/generation/distribution licensing issues, private wire regulation, fiscal incentives, grid access and grid charging
- Projects — all project agreements that are needed for a renewable generation project including, EPC contracts, O&M contracts, PPAs (offsite and on-site), feedstock supply
- Corporate — shareholder agreements, joint venture agreements, share acquisitions and disposals, equity funding arrangements, tax advice
- Banking and finance — grant funding, asset finance, project finance, receivables financing, facility agreements, shareholder loans, security documentation
- Disputes and Risk Management — ongoing contract management, dispute resolution, mediation, arbitration, pre-litigation action
We embrace change and we are passionate about advising on the new and emerging trends that may affect the development of new generation projects, particularly renewable generation, including:
- the integration of energy storage technology with other forms of renewable generation as a means of accessing new revenue streams, providing baseload power and promoting subsidy-free projects
- Increase of flexibility services being provided to the grid from battery storage and other decentralised energy sources, opening up markets and putting renewables on to the grid
- the growth of Corporate PPAs as a means of unlocking and financing new build subsidy-free renewables projects. Emerging business models such as a “Club PPA” to allow smaller companies to take advantage
- the convergence of energy and technology to transition to a smarter energy system including the use of artificial intelligence to optimise performance, big data, blockchain technology and the internet of things
- innovative grid sharing arrangements in areas where grid capacity is constrained
- the introduction of new regulatory frameworks to incentivise a net zero energy system, accommodate new and innovative business models and keep pace with evolving technology
- the development of new technologies to address to increase the use of deployment of renewable forms of energy generation such as high altitude wind, kinetic energy generation and wave/tidal power.
Relevant experience
- Advising the Liverpool Combined Authority on the delivery of the proposed Mersey Tidal Power Project
- Advising various funders and developers on the development and acquisition of over 40 solar PV projects in the United Kingdom including large scale ground-mounted, commercial rooftop and residential rooftop projects
- Advising Broad Group in connection with the development and funding of a 12 MW energy from waste plant in Wales
- Advising National Grid in relation to development consent orders, including the DCO application for Rampion Offshore Wind Farm by E.ON
- Providing advice to one of the largest utilities in the offshore wind sector in its discussions with Ofgem in respect of the implementation of the Offshore Transmission Operator regime
- Acting for lenders on various offshore wind projects around the UK, including reviewing and advising on the multi-contracting structure and long-term operating requirements
- Advising a developer on its acquisition from E.ON of the business and assets of three onshore wind farms and the subsequent development, financing and energisation of the wind farms
- Advising a large utility on refurbishment contracts for two pumped storage power plants in the UK
- Acting for a joint venture between UK and Dutch utilities on procurement, structuring and construction aspects of a large cross-border electricity interconnection
- Advising a private equity house on the acquisition of an energy company that owns a number of energy from waste projects. This involved advising on the underlying project agreements for the construction and operation of an energy from waste plant and the long term energy supply agreement for the offtake of the steam and electricity generated by the plant
- Advising Viridor on the procurement of an EPC Contract for the £250m development of its energy from waste plant at Avonmouth
- Advising a UK fund manager on a high number of multi-million-pound equity investments seed funding start-ups in solar PV farms, on and offshore windfarms and CHP plants
- Advising on all construction and long-term operation aspects of three battery storage projects at sites in the Midlands and North West of England
- Advising a joint venture vehicle on the construction, operation and energy supply arrangements in connection with its investment into and acquisition of 6 anaerobic digestion gas-to-grid plants in England and Scotland that were being project financed
- Acting for the developer of a combined heat and power facility providing power to Thames Water and the National Grid, including advice on the construction, operation and maintenance arrangements and technology supply agreements
- Acting for multiple corporates on the application of the MEES regulations, ESOS, Green Deal, CRC Scheme and EU ETSAdvising a number of funders and developers in order to create a template suite of "synthetic" and "sleeved" corporate PPAs which could be used to finance utility-scale subsidy-free renewables projects and on-site behind the meter projects with large energy consumers
