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Industries Energy

Industry Overview

The energy industry is seeing some of the fastest-changing technology and regulatory developments of any business sector. New methodologies are changing how power is generated and new laws, like the 2018 tax cuts, are changing how utility companies think about their businesses. Global investments and installations involving solar and wind power continue to reshape the sector as the demands of customers and investors evolve to reflect new priorities. Within the industry, the current political climate is prompting renewed examination of opportunities that will require expertise in intersecting legal areas such as: regulatory law, energy law, and environmental law.

Our Approach

Our clients are established and emerging utility, cleantech, and alternative/renewable energy companies, including a conception-through-completion engagement for the Atlantic coast’s first offshore wind farm installation. We provide representation in rate proceedings, mergers, regulatory investigations, permitting and approval, generic dockets, and renewable energy proceedings. Our team has demonstrated success in “bet-the-company” cases within the industry, encompassing litigation and appellate skills. We help with energy-related construction projects, including permitting, documentation, and post-construction disputes. We have also represented a number of clients that are subject to utility regulatory requirements to ensure that their contracts and projects account for and meet those requirements.

 

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Case Study

Overcoming Zoning Hurdles for Renewable, Clean Energy

March 19, 2024

Hinckley Allen represented a commercial-scale solar energy provider as it sought to build a solar farm in Rhode Island.Town regulations required the energy provider to obtain a zoning special use permit. Hinckley Allen helped the client manage the zoning process to insure compliance and navigate the concerns of an involved public.

Case Study

A Wrongful Termination – Power Plant Contract Cut Short is Made Right

March 19, 2024

After three years of litigation, global energy leader and Hinckley Allen client Iberdrola Energy Projects, Inc. ("IEP") won an international arbitration against Footprint Power Salem Harbor Development, LP ("Footprint") with an award of $237 million, including recovery of all of IEP’s attorney’s fees and costs. The dispute arose out of the construction of a 674 MW combined cycle power plant known as the Salem Harbor Energy Center project located in Salem, Massachusetts.

Publication

The Critical Role of A Cyber Incident Response Plan in Today’s Cyberthreat Environment

March 8, 2023

Your network has been hacked.  What do you do?  Who do you call?  Who is in charge? These questions need to be answered quickly when your network is under siege by cybercriminals, but does your company know how to handle such a crisis on a weekend or during a holiday break when many cyberattacks are timed to occur so as to strike when your corporate defenses are at their weakest?No organization is immune from cyberattacks.  As the last few years have demonstrated, it is not a matter of if your company will experience a cyberattack, but when.  Indeed, in 2022, 47% of private businesses exp…

Publication

A Conversation with Robin L. Main: How She Built Her Career From the Ocean Floor Up

December 7, 2021

Robin L. Main, Partner and Co-Chair, Environmental and Energy Law Groups, has dedicated much of her career to environmental law. Using her 30 plus years of experience, Main continues to deliver consistent results for her clients.

Case Study

Hinckley Allen Helps Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities Uphold Largest Purchase Power Agreements for Renewable Energy in the History of the Commonwealth

March 19, 2024

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court affirmed the Commonwealth’s Department of Public Utilities (DPU) approving power purchase agreements (PPAs) for hydroelectric energy that the Commonwealth’s three largest utilities had awarded to Hydro-Québec under the Massachusetts Green Communities Act. The energy to be delivered under these PPAs will supply nearly 20 percent of the electricity consumed in Massachusetts. This decision represents one of the final approvals needed to complete the New England Clean Energy Connect transmission line to allow New England to tap into significant additio…

Case Study

Hinckley Allen Helps Deepwater Wind Develop, Finance, and Construct the Country's First Offshore Wind Farm

March 19, 2024

Deepwater Wind's project faced regulatory, environmental, construction, real estate, tax and business issues throughout the implementation of an ambitious vision. Hinckley Allen's multidisciplinary team of seasoned lawyers helped them clear each hurdle by providing sound legal advice and good strategic judgment. After years of review by over 20 local, state and federal agencies, Deepwater Wind attained all of the required permits and approvals to begin installation of the country's first offshore wind farm in the United States.

Publication

Environmental Insurance: What to Consider Before you Invest in a Property

March 1, 2018

Before investing in commercial real estate, parties should be aware of potential environmental liabilities and should carefully consider options for minimizing their exposure to such liabilities.  One approach for minimizing environmental liability exposure is to obtain environmental insurance.Although environmental insurance does not eliminate the statutory liability of owners and operators of contaminated property, it is a potential vehicle to minimize exposure to such risk.  Environmental insurance can be used as a supplement to or in place of the contractual allocation of liability betwe…

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