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Renewable Energy

SPR advises clients on a diverse array of renewable energy matters, including renewable energy project development, renewable energy project and portfolio M&A, debt and equity financings, strategic planning, and environmental impact reviews. The Firm’s experience ranges from offshore wind and solar to battery storage systems and electric vehicle charging. Especially with financial and regulatory incentives like the federal Inflation Reduction Act, renewable energy projects are increasingly built on properties with complex environmental histories, allowing SPR to draw upon its expertise with brownfield cleanup programs and site remediation generally, for our energy clients.

Project Development and Contracting

The Firm assists renewable energy developers in performing due diligence for site acquisition through the entitlement and project development stages. This work draws on SPR’s long-standing experience with transactional, permitting, land use, municipal law, and environmental impact review matters SPR further advises on site control issues, including site acquisition and leasing, access for transmission and distribution rights, and title and general real estate due diligence, as well as on federal and state tax and other credit programs that can be vital to the success of developing renewable energy projects.

SPR also provides strategic guidance to a diverse range of clients including developers, lenders, and tax equity investors in the negotiation and preparation of engineering procurement and construction (EPC) contracts, operating and maintenance agreements, power purchase agreements (PPAs), and other agreements related to project planning, financing, and the development of renewable projects.

Project Finance

The Firm regularly represents lenders and borrowers in connection with project financing transactions for a variety of renewable energy projects.  These financing include construction loans, term loans, construction to term loans, interconnection deposit loans and tax credit bridge loans.  SPR routinely works on financings of solar, storage, geothermal, EV charging, renewable natural gas and wind projects.  The Firm has particular experience representing state green banks in various inventive debt transactions.  This has given the Firm the opportunity to create cutting-edge new financing structures that have later been adopted in the private capital markets.  The Firm also has extensive experience representing lenders in “back-leverage” transactions and other complex debt transactions involving the monetization, either through tax equity partnerships or tax credit sales, of federal tax credits, such as those available under the Inflation Reduction Act.  SPR lawyers regularly bring their skills and experience to guide their client through the challenges of distressed credits, including successfully navigating the challenges of back-leverage transactions where the sponsor has filed for bankruptcy protection.

Governmental and Nonprofit Entities

SPR has extensive experience representing and working with governmental entities and nonprofit organizations on infrastructure and energy-related projects. Notably, the Firm has represented NYSERDA on several cutting-edge renewable energy matters, including its Build Ready program, offshore wind program, the Office of Renewable Energy Siting, and its renewable energy certificate financing programs for large scale renewable energy and infrastructure projects. We serve as special counsel for environmental and energy issues to Sustainable Westchester, a nonprofit consortium of Westchester County local governments that is implementing the State’s first community choice aggregation program, which is part of the New York strategic Reforming the Energy Vision plan.

Offshore Wind

 

 

Equinor Wind – Empire Wind Offshore Wind Projects

Location: Long Island, NY

SPR represents Equinor Wind US in the local and state permitting and development, and aspects of federal permitting, for the Empire Wind 1 and the Empire Wind 2 offshore wind projects that will supply New York State with over 2 gigawatts of renewable energy, power 1 million homes, and provide billions of dollars of economic benefits to the State. The projects also are expected to provide tens of millions of dollars in investments in long-term port facilities, related infrastructure, and new technologies. Together, these offshore wind projects will help the State meet the renewable energy and offshore wind capacity mandates set forth in NY’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, diversify NY’s energy portfolio, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. SPR assisted Equinor acquire various properties that will support its offshore wind projects, and helps navigate the remediation of those properties thorough the Brownfield Cleanup Program. The Firm also advises Equinor on parkland alienation and conversion issues, on the development of an offshore wind port in New York City that will service Equinor’s offshore wind projects and house the onshore substation for the Empire Wind 1 project, on other required local approvals and land rights, on contractor procurement, and on diligence for private finance relating to environmental permitting and litigation risk. SPR assisted Equinor on the development of the Beacon Wind 1 offshore wind project until early 2024, when Equinor transferred its interest in that project to another offshore wind developer.

Arthur Kill Terminal

Location: Staten Island, NY

SPR is environmental counsel to the developer of the proposed Arthur Kill Terminal, the first offshore wind pre-assembly port facility in New York State. SPR assisted in identifying and acquiring the project site and is shepherding the project through the state and federal permitting and approval processes. This Staten Island project is uniquely positioned to serve the offshore wind industry in the Mid-Atlantic and will form a hub for the development of an offshore wind supply chain. The project will reduce the cost of constructing and operating offshore wind projects, facilitate the realization of significant local economic benefits, create thousands of jobs, provide workforce development and training, and catalyze supply chain investments needed to support offshore wind projects throughout the United States.

Saranac Lake Waterfront Resort – NY Green Bank

Location: Adirondack Park, NY

SPR represents an equity investor in connection with a preferred equity investment in Saranac Lake Waterfront Resort, the first Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified resort in Adirondack Park, NY.

Cogentrix Valcour Intermediate Holdings – NY Green Bank

Location: New York

SPR represented a lender in a $66 million term loan facility for Cogentrix Valcour Intermediate Holdings to support the acquisition of six operating wind projects in New York State by Carlyle Power Partners, the power investment platform of The Carlyle Group.

Rock Wind Holdings – NY Green Bank

Location: New York, Pennsylvania, and Illinois

SPR represented a lender in connection with a $31 million alongside capital credit facility for Rock Wind Holdings to support the acquisition of a portfolio of wind farms located in New York State, Pennsylvania, and Illinois by BlackRock Renewable Assets, the dedicated renewables investment team of BlackRock Real Assets.

Nine Dot Energy – NY Green Bank

Location: New York

SPR represents a lender in connection with a $25 million revolving credit facility for NineDot Energy to finance interconnection deposits for battery energy storage projects.

GSI – NY Green Bank

Location: New York

SPR represents a lender in connection with $10,000,000 revolving credit facility for GSI to finance interconnection deposits for distributed solar generation or battery energy storage projects.

Sun Rocket Capital – Donato Solar (Decatur Brush)

Location: Illinois

SPR represents a lender in connection with $4.8 Million Construction to Term Loan Facility for a 2.850 MW ground-mounted solar project.

SunRocket Capital – Donato Solar (Decatur Brush 2)

Location: Illinois

SPR represents a lender in connection with $4.7 Million Construction to Term Loan Facility for a 2.850 MW ground-mounted solar project.

Cape Cod Offshore Wind Farm

Location: Cape Cod, Massachusetts

SPR performed due diligence on behalf of a potential investor in the proposed Cape Wind offshore wind farm, located off Cape Cod, Massachusetts. The work involved review of the project EIS and analysis of permitting requirements under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Rivers and Harbors Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, and Endangered Species Acts.

SunRocket Capital – WCP Financials

Location: Illinois

SPR represents a lender in connection with $1,400,000 Term Loan for a 3.029 kW roof-mounted solar project.

Tier 1 Transactions – NYSERDA

Location: New York

SPR represents the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority in connection with its Tier 1 Renewable Energy Certificate Purchase Program for Large Scale Renewable Energy Projects.

Build Ready Transactions – NYSERDA

Location: New York

SPR represents the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority in connection with its Build-Ready large scale renewables development program.

NYSERDA – Offshore Wind

Location: New York

SPR advises NYSERDA on the various initiatives to facilitate New York State’s offshore wind program. SPR played a significant role in the development of the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan, the first such plan in the nation, along with its 21 supporting environmental and infrastructure studies. SPR also oversaw the preparation of the environmental review required for the State’s first procurement of Offshore Renewable Energy Credits.

Radial Power Asset – Accord Power

Location: New York

SPR represents a construction contractor in connection with an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract for the construction of solar energy projects.

Manhattan Beer- Rooftop Solar

Location: Manhattan, NY

SPR represented Manhattan Beer Distributors in connection with a contract to purchase and install a 1.1 megawatt rooftop photovoltaic generation system atop the client’s Bronx warehouse.  This is the largest privately-owned solar energy installation in New York City.  The Firm negotiated the design/build contract, including its technical specifications, as well as operational and maintenance documents.  The Firm also counseled regarding technologies appropriate for the client’s facility, and successfully negotiated system upgrades to avoid potential reliability issues.  The Firm prepared the template installation contract for the client to use at its multiple other facilities, and tailored that template to account for the particular circumstances posed by each such facility.

“Decarbonizing NYC Offices: Leveraging High-Performance Leases”

For: Building Energy Exchange

July 2024 | Panelist Alexis Saba

“Purchasing Renewable Energy Credits Amid the Inflation Reduction Act: Deal Terms and Key Considerations”

For: Strafford Webinars

July 2023 & 2024 | Presented by Marc Reisler

“Renewable Rikers: Examining Current Plans to Repurpose and Revitalize Rikers Island”

For: The New York Environmental Lawyer, New York State Bar Association

October 2023 | Written by Kayley McGrath (Melanie Calero and Eva Schneider)

“An Update on Local Law 97 and the State of Climate Law in New York”

For: New York State Bar Association

January 16, 2024 | Presented by Alexis Saba

“Harnessing Renewable Energy Tax Incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act”

For: American Law Institute CLE

December 14, 2022 | Presented by Marc Reisler

“Celebration of Project to Develop Offshore Wind Pre-Assembly Facility in New York City”

For: Sive, Paget & Riesel's "Cruise to the Future" Event, New York, NY

April 2019 | Presented by Dan Chorost

“Structuring Private Equity Funds for Investment in Renewable Energy Projects: A New Financing Option”

For: Strafford Webinars

November 8, 2018 | Presented by Marc Reisler

“A Lawyer’s Guide to Power Purchase Agreements for Renewable Energy”

For: Lawline.com

May 24, 2017 | Presented by John-Patrick Curran

“Renewable Energy: Law, Politics & Practice”

For: Lawline.com, Webcast

February 19, 2016 | Presented by John-Patrick Curran

“The Law of Renewable Energy,” Presenter

For: The New York State Bar Association’s Environmental Law Annual Meeting

January 2016 | Presented by Dan Chorost

“Renewable Energy; Ethics in the Practice of Law; and Environmental Law,” Presenter

For: NYS Bar Association CLE speaker

2010-2011 | Presented by Scott Furman

“The Role of Subsidies in the Development of the Renewable Energy Industry”

September 22, 2009 | Written by Scott Furman