Spiegel & McDiarmid provides legal services to cities, townships, municipalities, cooperative utilities, public agencies, and non-profit organizations that are developing and purchasing renewable energy, assisting with issues such as facilitation of scheduling, transmission, siting and permitting, bidding, timing, and instability.

Hydroelectric
Our hydroelectric practice involves counseling, negotiation, legislative representation, and, when necessary, litigation to resolve virtually all aspects of hydropower licensing. These include, but are not limited to, issues involving licensing, relicensing, enforcement, compliance, annual charges, shoreline management plans, representation of stakeholders in relicensing cases, and surrender and transfers of licenses. Spiegel & McDiarmid has long been involved in assisting clients in hydroelectric issues throughout the US, and this involvement has led us into areas where water supply issues arise for municipal and rural water systems. We have worked with clients to assure protection of their own water supply and other interests as federal licenses are transferred or modified. These other related issues have been quite diverse, including the acquisition by clients of transportation systems, as well as protection of parkland and municipal amenities. We have also argued hydro issues on behalf of our clients in the federal appellate courts.

The firm’s attorneys are also tracking developments in oceanic power – including tides, waves, ocean currents, thermal gradients, and salinity gradients – and are prepared to help clients take advantage of these potential renewable fuel sources going forward.

Distributed Generation/Distributed Energy (DG/DE)
We assist DG/DE users with market design issues. For example, we have negotiated penalty provisions to apply when power is not delivered as promised and exemptions when energy exceeds or falls short of requirements.

Demand Response
Market design should provide proper incentive for demand response, and Spiegel & McDiarmid can help clients handle these challenges.

Wind Energy
Spiegel & McDiarmid has assisted clients with wind projects in locations across the country. We can help with issues including energy regulation, transmission issues for wind farm hookups, interconnection and generation balance rules, federal tax credits, minority ownership issues, energy project due diligence, land use and siting, legislation and rulemaking, codes of conduct for affiliated transactions, and litigation.

The firm can also assist with issues pertaining to municipal solid waste, solar energy, biofuels, geothermal energy, and other renewable energy sources.