On behalf of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), we drafted a “Green Economy Law” for the Ministry of Economy and Budget Planning in Kazakhstan, which involved an assessment of Kazakhstan’s existing laws in a variety of sectors (including the Environmental Code, the Water Code, the Electricity Law, the Renewable Energy Law, the Tax Code and the Administrative Offences Code), as compared to international best practices for “green principles.” Pierce Atwood and its local lawyers in Astana and Almaty participated in meetings with stakeholders, and then proceeded to develop amendments to 22 laws and their related sub-acts. The final Green Economy Law will introduce green economy principles into Kazakhstan’s legislative framework, based on models taken from countries that are leaders in “green economy” best practices in environmental management, including water usage, waste disposal and management, air emissions, and energy efficiency.

For the Kingdom of Jordan, we served as lead counsel to the Ministry of Economy and the National Electric Company in the negotiation of all project documents in connection with a private investor funded and developed 375-400 MW combined cycle gas plant; significantly, due to the flexibility and cooperation of all parties, including the private investor, the government, and lenders, we were able to achieve financial close in November 2009 at the height of the global economic crisis. The plant began commercial operations in early 2012.

Represented Maine Natural Gas on its annual cost of gas proceeding. We ably assisted MNG to prepare the filing and get it approved by a Commission without any issue in a matter of weeks. MNG was very pleased with the outcome and to have Pierce Atwood on its team.

In Georgia, we advised the Ministry of Energy on a variety of issues related to promotion of hydropower investment for export of electricity to Turkey, including an assessment of the legal and regulatory framework for investment in the hydropower sector, drafting of an Information Memorandum for private investors, review of the Market Rules, drafting and negotiation of a Cross-Border Electricity Trade Agreement between Turkey and Georgia which was executed in January 2012, and development of a new market design.

As development of the Marcellus shale natural gas formation accelerated in 2010, Texas Eastern Transmission, a major interstate pipeline, and its large utility customers began to develop new quality specifications for natural gas shipped on the pipeline. Although Appalachian natural gas has long included high concentrations of ethane, and that gas previously met pipeline quality specifications and posed no threat to pipelines or consumer equipment, the large utilities wanted the ethane removed from the gas stream – at the producer's cost. The principal market for ethane is the petrochemical manufacturing region in Texas and Louisiana and there is no existing pipeline or other reasonable means of shipping the ethane. Representing long-time gas producer association clients Independent Oil & Gas Association of West Virginia, Inc. and Independent Oil & Gas Association of Pennsylvania, Pierce Atwood led the efforts to forge a multiparty settlement of the quality specifications at FERC. Pierce Atwood's efforts avoided costly litigation and secured the producers and pipelines upstream of Texas Eastern significant flexibility and gas quality standards that ensure Marcellus shale gas and traditional Appalachian supplies will meet pipeline specifications and flow to critical northeastern market.

Pierce Atwood represented Great Bay Renewables in connection with its establishment of a $10.1 million interconnection deposit loan facility to support its development partner, Hexagon Energy. 

Represented NTE Energy, a power developer and energy services provider, in strategizing, structuring, negotiating, and documenting equity investments for three natural gas-fired power plants valued at more than $1.1 billion.

Pierce Atwood helped guide NTE Carolinas, an affiliate of NTE Energy, in its $605 million financing deal for construction and operation of Kings Mountain Energy Center, a 475 MW natural gas-fired electricity plant in City of Kings Mountain, North Carolina.

Pierce Atwood represented Great Bay Renewables in the formation of a strategic partnership with Granite Source Power, a developer of battery energy storage and electricity generation projects.

We are advising large pension funds in interest rate hedging programs, including OTC derivatives and exchange-traded futures contracts and related clearing agreements.

We represented Xpress Natural Gas (XNG) in expanding access to compressed natural gas throughout the State of Maine and elsewhere in New England. Pierce Atwood assisted XNG in obtaining all necessary regulatory approvals and environmental permits for compressed natural gas production facilities in Baileyville and Eliot, Maine. These facilities receive natural gas from major pipelines, condition and compress it, and then dispense it into tank trailers made of composite materials. The trailers are then trucked to customer locations throughout Maine and elsehwhere, where the CNG is used primarily as boiler fuel. These were the first facilities of their kind in New England, and allow consumers who are not presently served by a gas utility to take advantage of this abundant, clean burning, economic and domestically produced energy resource. Our attorneys successfully led XNG through the process of obtaining approvals from the Public Utilities Commission. We drafted and obtained a town zoning ordinance amendment and other local approvals, and successfully navigated permit or exemption issues before the Department of Environmental Protection, the Maine Fuel Board, and the State Fire Marshal. We were also successful in determining that the facility was not subject to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission jurisdiction.

Representing New Leaf Energy, Inc. (formerly Borrego Solar Systems, Inc.) in the preparation of petition to the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities for approval of battery storage systems, including a facility located in western Massachusetts.