Power Development

Pullman & Comley’s Power Development practice brings together the diverse and extensive skills required to develop power plants in this heavily regulated, highly technical and competitive industry.  Projects have ranged from large central station generators, costing in excess of one billion dollars, to small scale, on-site distributed generation.  We have experience in virtually all generation technologies from single to combined cycle generation, peaking to baseload, fossil fueled to clean technologies, including fuel cells, biomass, hydroelectric, landfill gas, wind and solar.  

Our group consists of attorneys with transactional and regulatory experience in the electricity and natural gas markets, the real estate industry, and the alternative energy industry.  Our clients include energy project developers, governmental agencies, property managers, equity investors, host sites, manufacturers, retailers and lenders.  Our attorneys deal with regulatory issues, project development, financing, permitting, interconnection, fuel procurement, obtaining financial incentives, power purchase agreements, emission trading, siting and land use, environmental law, real estate, taxation, business and litigation.   

We also serve on a number of working groups and committees that are developing the future paradigms of this industry.  These include the Energy Bar Association, the Northeast Energy and Commerce Association, the Connecticut Power and Energy Society, the Air and Waste Management Association, the Responsible Property Investing Coalition, the Connecticut Business and Industry Association’s Environmental Policies Council, the Connecticut Bar Association’s Public Utilities Section and the Connecticut Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Coalition. 

Attorneys in this practice have extensive experience before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut Department of Public Utility Control, Department of Environmental Protection, Connecticut Siting Council, Connecticut Energy Advisory Board, Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, as well as similar agencies throughout the East Coast.  Our attorneys also regularly practice before local zoning, wetlands and land use agencies with respect to the siting of facilities.

Representative Experience

• Representation of various power plant developers in regulatory proceedings, permitting and transactional matters
• Representation of independent electric generation plants for siting approvals
• Representation of electric generation plants for development and construction financing
• Representation of lenders in connection with project financing for fossil-fueled power projects
• Representation of landfill gas project, including assistance with environmental and regulatory approvals; financing, and obtaining grants for construction
• Representation of wood energy project before regulatory agencies and in state court appeals
• Representation of fuel cell developer in gaining regulatory approvals, negotiation of power purchase agreement and site lease
• Representation of state agency in negotiation of Renewable Energy Certificate purchase agreement
• Representation of hydroelectric projects before regulatory agencies and in construction contract negotiations and disputes
• Representation of Qualifying Facilities in disputes concerning ownership of renewable energy credits
• Representation of power plant developers in development of interconnection agreements with transmission and distribution utilities and Independent System Operators
• Representation of developer of commercial wind projects
• Representation of electric generators in negotiating tax agreements with municipalities
• Representation of buyers in conducting due diligence on potential power plant acquisition
• Represent municipal utility in the creation of a joint development agency and development of a large central station power plant

Case Studies

• Kleen Energy: Generating Progress for an Advanced Electricity Project