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Energy

energy

Expert legal advice from our energy sector team

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Deal or no deal - the impact of Brexit for the gas industry

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We recently advised on an Indian backed acquisition of North West based power company Edina

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Our energy team has experience in dealing with power generation, renewables – wind, solar and tidal, oil and gas, nuclear, energy disputes and utilities.

We have a range of specialist industry knowledge advising on major technology collaborations, procurement, joint ventures, contractual negotiations, property management, outsourcing, competition issues, employment and industry regulation.

Our clients include major corporates, central government, developers, landowners and energy purchasers both in the UK and internationally.

what we do...

Intellectual property - We have experience advising private and public sector bodies including utilities in the oil and gas, renewables, nuclear, electric and water industries on their IP strategies, portfolios and protection advice. In addition we advise on exploitation strategies, enforcement and monetisation of IP.
Commercial & IT - Experience advising on major projects and short form arrangements within the various regulatory frameworks. We also advise on the development of technology through R & D and joint venture arrangements using various funding streams including Innovate UK, Ofgem and ERDF funding, including advising on technology transfer arrangements.
Procurement & state aid - We have experience of advising central and local government on public procurement and state aid in the context of a variety of energy projects including establishing £multi-billion national energy frameworks, district heating schemes, regional and national solar schemes and CHP installations.

We have also been appointed by BEIS to prepare national guidance on the state aid, public procurement and vires implications of developing district heating schemes in England and Wales.

Property - We have advised landowners, developers and funders on a variety of energy related transactions. Our experience includes advising landed estates on proposed oil and fracking extraction agreements, health and education clients on the installation of roof top solar panels across their estates, and investors in and developers of solar farms. We have considerable expertise acting for property developers generally, which involves dealing with infrastructure agreements such as easements and substation agreements with Distribution Network Operators (DNOs).
Regulatory - We have experience of advising on a range of planning and environmental matters in the energy sector. We have provided planning advice or undertaken planning inquiries in relation to wind farms, energy from waste facilities and solar farms. We have also advised on the obtaining of permits for onshore oil and gas production. We have extensive experience of environmental permitting, including advising in relation to inquiries and prosecutions.
Litigation & disputes - We have extensive experience of advising energy companies on a wide variety of risk and dispute issues, from the pre-action stage through to trial/appeal. Our experience includes common BAU risk issues together with more specialist matters (e.g. litigation involving domestic and business customers of ‘big six’ energy suppliers; disputes relating to energy trading, power/renewables, Feed-in Tariffs etc).

focus on...

Upcoming webinars

Parallel imports what brand and IP owners need to know

Parallel importers seek to exploit price differentials for goods sold in different countries.

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Legal updates

State aid – guidance on applying the market economy operator principle to district heating schemes

A recent commission decision regarding the reacquisition of the Hamburg District Heating Network (Decision) has given some useful insight in to ensuring that investment in to a district heating scheme by a public body is done in a way which is compliant with state aid principles, specifically the market economy operator principle (MEOP).

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Richard Barlow - The impact of Brexit on environmental law

The impact of Brexit on environmental law - hear from Richard Barlow

Brexit has brought with it a great deal of uncertainty for environmental law.

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Brexit resources

Headline Brexit issues for the energy sector

In this update, we review various aspects of a ‘no deal’ Brexit and the Withdrawal Agreement which organisations in the energy sector should know about.

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what our clients say....

Browne Jacobson has provided ongoing legal support for Enfield’s flagship district heating project over the past 2 ½ years. The firm’s expert advice has spanned the broad range of legal work-streams involved in the project, and has been consistently sound and practical. The lawyers involved have impressed the client team with their diligence and ability to work to demanding timescales, as well as their successful working relationship with the internal Legal team.

recent experience

Advising a gas distribution business on all of their innovation R&D contracts and the Ofgem regulated funding streams NIA and NIC. The advice includes general commercial contract drafting and negotiation, regulation compliance and is heavily IP focused. We are sole legal provider for this type of work.
Advising a major gas and electricity transmission entity on entering into technology collaborations for the development of bespoke technologies capable of implementation in the gas and electricity fields to drive efficiencies. This included advising on the regulated Ofgem funding streams and their interaction with the creation and usage of IP.
Advising a government executive agency on its multi-billion pound procurement of gas and half-hourly power across the government estate and on PPA2 a £376.2m procurement of 40MW of non-intermittent electricity from predominantly renewable sources.
Advising a ministerial department on the extension of a number of G-Cloud contracts that support the BEIS’ energy portal.
Advised the management team of Green Hedge Energy UK on a £30m investment from private equity firm Zouk Capital.
Advising a government in the far east on its ambitious district heating network scheme.
Advising on a proposed fracking lease. Where we advised our client on the terms and risks of entering into this transaction.
Advising on a number of solar farms projects between 1 and 5 Megawatts. We provide a broad range of property advice in connection with the scheme property title due diligence and negotiating funder approved option/lease agreements and easements in relation to the grid connections.
We have significant experience in dealing with the solar industry supply chain. This includes panel and inverter manufacturers, EPC contractors, O&M contractors, and insurers. Members of our team also speak regularly at leading solar industry events.
Advising on a breach of contract and misrepresentation dispute for a US multinational corporation and oilfield company that focusses on manufacturing products for deep-water production facilities and providing completion services and land drilling services to the oil and gas industry.
Advised a construction and engineering company operating in the oil and gas sector on a joint venture in West Africa with a local partner, involving handling cross border corporate, funding and structuring issues in Nigeria, The Netherlands and the UK.
Advised a global provider of products, systems and services to the oil and gas industry, on the USD 190 million acquisition of a leading provider of well, process and pipeline services in the North Sea and international markets.
Advising a large American contractor in an LCIA arbitration in respect of its numerous and significant claims for damages and extensions of time (worth over US$300 million) and the owner’s claim for liquidated damages in respect of a large offshore wind farm based in the UK.