Energy & Telecommunications

Offshore & Onshore Wind Power

Representative Matters

Preti Flaherty has supported clients in offshore and onshore wind power matters, such as:

  • Maine Aqua Ventus. Preti served as regulatory counsel to the project, a floating offshore wind demonstration project located in the Gulf of Maine. Preti assisted in securing passage of the legislation creating the RFP process for the project, participated in developing the winning RFP response, assisted in developing an effective public support campaign for the project, and drafted and negotiated both the 2014 Term Sheet and the final 2019 PPA awarded by the Maine PUC to the project—the first ever ones for a floating offshore wind project in the United States.
  • University of Maine. Preti counsel represented the University in all of the legal and transactional work needed to support deployment of a 1:8 scale pilot project to demonstrate its patented VolturnUS technology, the first grid-connected floating offshore wind turbine in the U.S. We continue to represent UMaine on further planned deployments in the Gulf of Maine of its patented floating concrete technology.
  • Pine Tree Offshore Wind. Preti has been representing developers of the Maine Research Array, the 10-turbine floating offshore wind project in a State-leased area in federal waters of the Gulf of Maine, and has been negotiating the PPA for this historic project as well as crafting and obtaining legislative approval of the necessary process for the PPA.
  • State of Rhode Island. On behalf of the Rhode Island Governor and Commissioner of Energy, Preti negotiated a Joint Development Agreement between and among Deepwater Wind Rhode Island, LLC ("DWW"), the Office of Energy Resources, and the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation that advanced the 30 MW pilot wind power project, which could be followed by a 110 MW expansion, off the coast of Rhode Island.
  • Renewable Energy Systems Americas, Inc. (RES Americas). We have represented RES Americas in identifying and assessing the feasibility of large-scale wind projects in the northeast United States and in Maritimes Canada.
  • Fox Islands Electric Cooperative/Fox Islands Wind. Vinalhaven Island, Maine. Completed in the fall of 2009, Fox Islands Wind ("FIW") is the largest community wind-power facility on the east coast of the United States and New England's largest coastal wind project. The three turbine 4.5 MW project went on-line commercially in December 2010. On behalf of the Cooperative and FIW, we undertook the following activities:
    • Assisted in the creation of Fox Islands Wind subsidiary to take advantage of ITCs not available to the nonprofit Cooperative
    • Corporate and tax work to support tax equity investment in the project, as well as bridge financing for the project from Rural Utilities Service
    • Won Maine PUC approval for creation of subsidiary and intercompany financing arrangements
    • Negotiated power purchase agreement
    • Federal regulatory work relating to market-based sales
  • 2013 Maine Omnibus Energy Bill. Our Energy Group gathered key stakeholders from Maine’s executive and legislative branches, industry, and environmental groups to map out a plan for a comprehensive Energy Omnibus bill. (Read our case study.) A direct lobbying effort, as well as smart grassroots and media campaigns, educated the legislature and the public on the benefits of the bill, which passed with overwhelming majorities in both chambers of the Maine Legislature.
  • Confidential Out-of-State Client. Preti is currently serving as regulatory counsel on a proposed subsea transmission line project.  Preti attorneys performed project due diligence for one of the project investors and have provided regulatory strategic and permitting advice for the current pre-permitting phase of the project, ranging across all environmental and energy approvals necessary for the project.
  • Confidential Out-of-State Client.  On behalf of a major energy supply company, Preti Flaherty assisted in the assessment of siting options for a 250 MW project within land governed by the Land Use Regulatory Commission ("LURC"), provided legal analysis of siting constraints and potential permitting obstacles, worked with environmental consultants to minimize footprint of project (visual, as well as terrestrial), and prepared and negotiated all project property leases and options. We also prepared detailed a permitting scope of work and schedule.
  • Confidential Client.  Western Maine Mountains. On behalf of a VC partnership, Preti assisted the client with the identification of turbine and transmission line siting options, landowner negotiations, meteorological tower permitting, project financing, and general project development (scoping and schedule) for a 20-30 MW project identified for the Western Maine Mountains.
  • Maine Windpower, LLC.  Moscow, Maine. Preti attorneys have assisted in the exploration of a potential project at the former U.S. DOD Radar Station in Moscow, Maine (corporate and due diligence efforts to date); the site currently has two meteorological towers collecting data.
  • Beaver Ridge Wind. Freedom, Maine. In 2007, Beaver Ridge Wind, LLC and Preti Flaherty became active in drafting and helping to pass legislation setting high targets for wind production in Maine, including making small local wind projects known as "community wind" possible. We helped Beaver Ridge Wind bring its proposal—a three 400-foot turbines, 4.5 megawatt wind project—to life, which meant navigating nearly every imaginable obstacle. Three municipal referenda, including the adoption and repeal of a zoning ordinance, multiple abutter lawsuits, and land access issues, stalled our efforts to begin delivering enough oil-free electricity to serve 2,000 homes. Through a combination of legal persistence and the widespread feeling that renewable energy is an idea whose time has come, we helped Beaver Ridge Wind turn talk about renewable energy into reality. Construction was completed in the fall of 2010.
  • Confidential Client. On behalf of a major energy developer/generator that was a prospective purchaser, Preti Flaherty undertook extensive due diligence of two major (99 MW total) permitted and partially built wind projects in Maine. The effort involved detained evaluation of all aspects (financial, technical, environmental, interconnection, power purchase agreements, and current and anticipated issues) of each project. The evaluation resulted in a detailed report to senior company management.
  • Raytheon Corporation. We have represented the company in siting, permitting and power purchase agreement negotiations relating to various behind-the-meter wind projects at a number of Raytheon's facilities across the country.
  • First Wind. Preti Flaherty lawyers defended First Wind's long-term power purchase agreement with Maine utilities against appeal at the PUC. We also obtained Rhode Island REC Certification for several large wind farms in northern New York State.
  • Brookfield Renewable Energy/Granite Reliable Power (NH). For Brookfield, we acquired the development rights for a 100 MW facility located in northern New Hampshire. We also executed and defended a contested license transfer before the NH Siting Board.
  • High Meadow Trust. As part of an initial exploration of the feasibility of a 30 MW site, Preti attorneys initiated land option negotiations and permitted a meteorological tower in Winterville Plantation, Aroostook County, Maine (LURC jurisdiction).
  • Lakeville Shores, Inc. We represent a significant landowner in a Township 16 in a LURC rezoning and expedited wind rulemaking petition and development permit application. This is a 34 MW project.

Firm Highlights

Publication

Copyright Litigation: Substantial Similarity

In copyright litigation, courts assess substantial similarity to determine if alleged copying constitutes infringement. This evaluation involves comparing works across different categories using objective measures and subjective impressions to weigh similarities and dissimilarities. Even when...

Press Coverage

Portland law firm Preti Flaherty unveils renovated HQ space

Preti Flaherty has remodeled its Portland headquarters, spanning three floors and 41,000 square feet at One City Center. The update features hybrid workstations, collaborative areas, and an internal staircase that integrates flexible conference and...

Event

2024 Maine Employment Law Summit

Join us for Preti Flaherty's 2024 Maine Employment Law Summit! For almost three decades, Preti Flaherty's Employment Law team has delivered practical insights and best practices to Maine employers at our annual fall Employment...

Press Coverage

Looking to 'new generation,' Preti Flaherty promotes 42-year-old litigator to managing partner

Effective July 15, Michael S. Smith has been named managing partner of the law firm Preti Flaherty. Michael succeeds David Van Slyke, who will resume his role as chair of the firm’s environmental practice...

Publication

Maine DEP Issues PFAS in Products Concept Draft Rule

The Maine DEP’s PFAS in Products Program has released its long-awaited Chapter 90 concept draft language (the “PFAS in Products Rule”) for implementation of Maine’s recently-amended “PFAS in Products Law.” The concept draft provides...

News

Preti Flaherty Names Michael S. Smith as Managing Partner

Preti Flaherty announced this week the election of Michael S. Smith as the firm’s new Managing Partner, effective July 15, 2024. He succeeds David Van Slyke, who is resuming his role as chair of...

News

36 Preti Flaherty Attorneys, including 4 “Ones to Watch” Recognized by National Directory

Thirty-six Preti Flaherty attorneys, including four “Ones to Watch,” have been named to Best Lawyers in America 2025, a highly regarded directory of attorneys and law firms in the United States. The individual attorneys...

Publication

Supreme Court Clarifies Constitutionality of Outdoor Camping Bans

Earlier today the United States Supreme Court issued its decision in the  City of Grants Pass, Oregon v. Johnson et al. , overturning a 2019 decision from the 9 th  Circuit Court, which held...

News

Matthew C. Worthen Joins Preti Flaherty’s Real Estate and Finance Practice Group

Preti Flaherty is pleased to welcome Matthew C. Worthen as a Director in the firm’s Real Estate and Finance Group. Worthen previously served as a Shareholder and Chair of the Real Estate Group at...

Publication

Recent Massachusetts Appeals Court Decision Holds that Construction Defects Are Not Covered by CGL Policy

The recent Massachusetts Appeals Court decision in Lessard v. R.C. Havens & Sons, Inc. (August 2024) offers important clarification for contractors, subcontractors, and insurers regarding the coverage of construction defects under commercial general liability...