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Since 2005, when Foley Hoag started its Energy & Climate Group, we have been blessed to attract and serve many of the nation's most innovative and dynamic developers, technology companies, and investors. To them, we are deeply grateful. We would not be a national Climate practice without them. At this 20th anniversary mark, we look back at what gave rise to this collaboration.
For decades prior to 2005, federal and state statutes and commission orders sought to jumpstart a new age of wholesale market competition, distributed generation development, and clean tech innovation. Endless energy conferences extolled investments in wind, solar and clean tech investments. But by 2005, the flow of investment dollars into clean tech in the US was still a trickle and there was little steel in the ground (or on the roof). For example, as of 2005, the Solar Energy Industries Association noted that the US had only 500 MW of solar installed nationwide; less than 3 MW of that was in Massachusetts. Per the US DOE's WINDExchange Database, as of 2005, the entire US had less than 10,000 MW of installed wind capacity, with only 186 MW in NY and less than 8 MW in all of New England.
Why the gap between promise and performance? There were many reasons. Some of the best and brightest technology startups struggled to master value creation in the new markets and to build investor confidence in this space. In densely populated states, project sizes tended to be small and thus lacked the resources to survive opposition. Siting regulations were in a constant state of flux, adjusting to the use of landfills, other contaminated properties, and coastal terrains. The evolving rules around RECs, tax credits, net metering, and property taxes created financing complexities out of proportion with project sizes. Interconnection queues were where projects withered and died.
With the complex patchwork of federal and state incentives and regulatory requirements, companies needed legal advisors who were already immersed in the space (no time for teaching), could foresee and influence policy and were creative in uncharted financing and tax territories. As luck would have it, two aspects of Foley Hoag's firm culture were ideally suited to fill those needs. First, Foley Hoag has long attracted mission-driven attorneys with impressive public policy credentials. Many in the Energy & Climate Group, then and now, have been deeply involved in energy policy-making and green finance in the federal government and multiple states, as well as in leading climate advocacy organizations. We not only knew the landscape; we had played roles in designing it. That made it easier to see around the corner. Secondly, as many firms do, we integrated into the Energy & Climate Group members of our relevant existing practice groups (energy regulatory, finance, environmental, tax, venture capital, M&A). We also capitalized on our firm's culture of endless intellectual curiosity. Members of the Energy & Climate Group taught each other our respective specialties' red flags and "must haves" for successful projects and investments. We became a genuinely integrated, multi-disciplinary team skilled at early detection of fatal flaws and at executing efficiently on complex opportunities. When groundbreaking federal and state statutes such as EPAct 2005, MA Green Communities Act 2008, ARRA 2009, and IRA 2022 arrived, we were poised to maximize those opportunities for our clients.
Looking ahead, even as the industry navigates ongoing headwinds, the Energy & Climate Group and our clients will continue to advance the transition for decades to come.
Read the full report here.
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