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Renewable Energy

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Practice Group Leader

Daniel A. Spitzer

Attorneys

Michelle A. Daubert

Joseph N. Endres

Christofer C. Fattey

Carol A. Fitzsimmons

Terrence M. Gilbride

Elizabeth A. Holden

Alice A. Joseffer

Leslie R. Kellogg

Rick W. Kennedy

Charles W. Malcomb

Paul D. Meosky

Kevin D. Szczepanski

Sujata Yalamanchili

Jill L. Yonkers

Of Counsel

Pamela Davis Heilman

We Speak Renewable Energy

As the renewable energy industry grows at an exponential rate, businesses and public entities involved in this sector require an experienced legal team that combines knowledge in the field with a solid foundation in all applicable areas of law.

Hodgson Russ’s multidisciplinary Renewable Energy Practice Group guides clients through virtually every aspect of project development, financing, construction, and implementation. Whether advising on a Section 45/48 PTC/ITC tax election or eligibility for Treasury 1603 programs, drafting land option and lease terms along with easement agreements, preparing corporate operating agreements or asset acquisition documentation, advising on insurance coverage and supply chain contracts, guiding environmental review and permitting processes at the state and federal levels, acting as finance counsel, or defending projects and permits in judicial and administrative forums, Hodgson Russ attorneys combine their knowledge in alternative energy with solid legal corporate, tax, real estate, intellectual property, finance, and litigation skills.

Our team provides comprehensive legal services to developers, lenders, land owners, permitting agencies, development agencies, parts and service suppliers, manufacturers, contractors, and investors in the renewable energy generation field. We are experienced in wind, solar, landfill gas-to-energy, and bioenergy projects, and we have worked on some of the largest wind farms in the eastern United States.

Comprehensive Legal Services Fueled by Industry Experience

Hodgson Russ lawyers assist in strategic planning for projects, including the evaluation of renewable portfolio standards, state and federal incentives, the potential for sale of renewable energy credits, and other benefits for a wide range of U.S. projects.

We guide developers through the zoning and permitting process on the local, state, and federal levels. We negotiate payment-in-lieu-of-taxes (PILOT) agreements, host community agreements, community benefit agreements, road use, and other agreements with host communities.

Our attorneys assist in the environmental review process and in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and state environmental review acts. We advise on the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, Migratory Bird Treaty Act, National Historic Preservation Act, and other federal regulations impacting the alternative energy industry. We assist in the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act permitting processes.

We assist developers and lenders in the financing of renewable energy developments, including reviewing financing documents, obtaining stimulus funds and other state and federal financial incentives, and issuing required legal opinions. Hodgson Russ has extensive experience in financing transactions, including a wind energy financing deal that was named North American Renewables Deal of the Year by the Project Finance magazine, Renewables Deal of the Year by Infrastructure Journal, and Environmental Deal of the Year in the Americas by Project Finance International.

Hodgson Russ assists developers and landowners in the drafting, execution, and enforcement of lease and easement agreements necessary for acquiring transmission line routes, achieving wind-stream protection, and complying with noise and property-line setback requirements.

Our real estate attorneys have experience with title insurance and survey, boundary disputes, environmental site evaluation and risk analysis, and right-of-way acquisition issues in all 50 states and can, with involvement of local real estate counsel as appropriate, oversee all transactional real estate aspects of renewable energy projects across the United States.

Our federal and state tax practitioners advise on the full range of state and federal tax issues, including production tax credits, Section 45/48 elections under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, real property tax issues, and sales tax issues. We also provide assistance on structuring tax-efficient and treaty-compliant cross-border transactions and operations.

We regularly assist on the drafting of contracts for construction of large-scale energy-related facilities.

Hodgson Russ’s litigation team has handled all phases of litigation involving energy facility development, from the tax on underlying local legislation through defense of environmental reviews, permitting decisions, and enforcement of construction contracts.

Our insurance coverage team can advise on all types of policies, including those unique to the energy industry, to address risks arising during development, construction, and operation.

We help establish corporate entities, joint ventures, and partnerships and their governing documents, depending on the unique needs of each client’s business plan. Our attorneys are well-versed in the cross-border tax aspects of such business entities. We perform transactional due diligence, including document review and regulatory and commercial risk evaluation, for all sizes of contracts and investments.

Our lawyers regularly evaluate licensing and technology transfer agreements, supply and logistics contracts, equipment leases, operation and maintenance agreements, and equipment warranties to advise on contract terms and evaluate potential risks.

Experience That Matters

Highlights of our recent work include:

• Advising the developer on all legal aspects of the permitting and financing of a 75-turbine, 112.5 megawatt wind energy project in Western New York. Our work included obtaining environmental impact review approval, obtaining land use permits, defending the company in lawsuits from opposing neighbors, serving as local finance counsel, handling real estate issues, representing the developer in connection with the local IDA, and handling tax matters related to the project.
• Representing an industrial development agency in all aspects of a financing transaction for the development of a major renewable energy facility in Northern New York. The scope of this more than $490 million project included three wind farm projects involving more than 100 sites scattered over 5,000 acres of land. The project was named North American Renewables Deal of the Year by Project Finance magazine, Renewables Deal of the Year by Infrastructure Journal, and Environmental Deal of the Year in the Americas by Project Finance International.
• Representing a state college on a joint venture with an international bioenergy company to develop an on-campus biomass generation facility that will be used to power a significant portion of the campus’s facilities. This project involves representation of the college on all legal aspects of the project, including site control, land use and environmental impact approval, and waste supply contracting. 
• Serving as outside corporate counsel to a leading-edge American and European manufacturer of wind turbine components.
• Advising a multinational solar panel manufacturer headquartered in Canada on corporate structure and tax issues.
• Drafting the interconnection and financing agreements for a landfill gas-to-energy project, including negotiating required upgrades to the local transmission system.
• Establishing an American subsidiary for a multinational renewable energy company and preparing intercompany operating agreements.
• Counseling a leading international manufacturer of solar power equipment on U.S. securities matters.
• Providing cross-border labor advice for a Canadian wind turbine service firm.
• Advising on a private placement financing for a cross-border electric transmission facility.
• Litigating construction defect and engineering malpractice claims on behalf of the owner of a co-generation facility.
• Representing one of the leading battery technology companies in intellectual property matters including defense of infringement actions.
• Successfully litigating the first New York permitting case involving greenhouse gas emissions from a biomass facility.
• Successfully representing one of the largest wind farm construction companies in contract enforcement litigation.
• Representing the energy solutions affiliate of a major northeast contractor in a wide range of renewable energy projects.
• Representing municipalities and developers on negotiation of host community. agreements and payment-in-lieu-of-tax agreements on more than 500 MW of wind energy facilities.
• Representing a national energy development company on the development and financing of a co-generation/greenhouse facility.
• Assisting a number of school districts on renewable energy projects, including geothermal, wind, and solar, including drafting and negotiation of technology transfer agreements and district-wide energy management contracts.

The result of our skills and experience: integrated legal services precisely calibrated to help you maximize opportunities, minimize risk, avoid potential pitfalls, and comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

Hodgson Russ: Your Legal Port of Entry

The renewable energy business is an international industry, and Hodgson Russ has the experience and knowledge necessary to counsel foreign entities participating in energy projects in the United States.

We advise our clients on a broad range of international legal issues, including cross-border finance transactions,immigration issues, cross-border licensing and technology transfer, protection of foreign patents, international taxation and tax treaty compliance, multinational mergers and acquisitions, and NAFTA and other trade issues.