Structuring Corporate PPAs for Renewable Energy: Key Contract Provisions and Guidance for Energy Counsel
Critical Buy-Side and Sell-Side Drivers in Negotiations, Financing, Mitigating Risks, Regulatory Challenges
Course Details
- smart_display Format
On-Demand
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Energy
- event Date
Thursday, October 5, 2023
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
This CLE course will provide renewable energy counsel with an in-depth analysis of structuring corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) for renewable energy. The panel will provide a review of key issues in structuring PPAs for both buyers and sellers, regulatory challenges in certain states and jurisdictions, mitigating risks, financing, and best practices for energy counsel.
Over the last 30 years of his career, Mr. Deatherage has focused his practice on energy, environment, water, and climate change. As a partner in nationally known large law firms, he has worked with clients to solve regulatory challenges and to capitalize on emerging technologies such as renewable energy, energy efficiency, blockchain, artificial intelligence and energy storage. He now has his own law firm.
Mr. Deatherage graduated cum laude from Harvard Law School, and was the Articles Editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review. He taught Climate Change Law at the University of Texas Law School and published a book Carbon Trading Law and Practice.
In the energy context, Scott has worked with clients on electricity generation projects totaling more than $5 billion, including:
• Over 55 solar projects, including the Webberville Solar Project near Austin – at the time, the largest solar project in Texas.
• Wind projects in west Texas and other states.
• Distributed solar leases, power purchase agreements for residential and commercial installations.
• Energy efficiency and storage contracts, including negotiation on behalf of an energy efficiency company with a multi-national company for deployment of client technology in over 15 countries.
• Negotiated over 45 ground leases for solar farms.
• Worked on anaerobic digestion projects.
• Represented clients in landfill gas to energy projects.
Mr. Deatherage has advised clients on natural gas power plant, biofuels, gas to liquid, wind, solar, and other renewable energy projects, including siting and environmental permits and other legal issues, and has advised clients regarding government and utility incentives relating to renewable and energy efficiency projects, as well as property tax exemptions and abatement.
Mr. Doughty focuses his practice on transactional matters in the energy industry. He has in-house experience at one of the largest Southern California utility companies. There, Mr. Doughty gained experience drafting and negotiating a large variety of contracts, amendments and consents for supply and power procurement agreements.
The growth of corporate clean energy buyers has increased the purchase of power directly from independent generators in record amounts through PPAs. Some of the drivers for these purchases are to address sustainability and ESG goals of the company. As more and more investors, customers, and lenders insist that public companies take action to address climate change, renewable energy is one of the key areas where these businesses can achieve greenhouse gas reductions.
Corporate PPAs are also being used by developers to finance renewable energy projects with a variety of structures.
Corporate renewable PPAs offer substantial benefits, but present risks, including price and congestion risk, that must be carefully evaluated in analyzing the transaction and drafting PPAs. What can often be complex agreements raise several regulatory, financing, and tax challenges.
PPAs may be physical or virtual where the company actually receives and uses the power or sells it into the local marketplace but uses the renewable aspects of the power generated to "offset" power use from electric grids in locations where there is a higher carbon content in the electricity generation.
Listen as our authoritative panel provides a complete analysis of corporate PPA structures and financing renewable energy projects with corporate PPAs. The panel will also discuss the regulatory, finance, and tax challenges to address with corporate PPAs.
- Corporate drivers to purchase renewable energy
- Benefits and risks of corporate PPAs
- Corporate PPA structures and key considerations
- Overcoming regulatory challenges
- Financing renewable energy projects with corporate PPAs
The panel will review these and other key issues:
- Why are more corporations purchasing renewable energy? What are the business and regulatory drivers?
- How can companies use renewable energy purchases to drive down costs as well as carbon emissions?
- What structures can be used in forming corporate PPAs? What are the challenges of the different structures?
- What are the key terms in physical and virtual PPAs?
- How can corporate PPAs be leveraged for financing renewable energy projects?
- What are the federal and state regulatory challenges and methods to overcome them?
- What approaches can parties and counsel use to allocate risks and benefits in the long-term contract?
