U.S. Energy Regulation, Development & Finance

Energy partners Robert A. James, Michael S. Hindus and Philip J. Tendler, counsel Julie Hutchings Mayo and senior associate Stella Pulman have contributed to the Getting the Deal Through series for several years. In this second edition of our pieces, we present the thought leadership of Pillsbury lawyers across the entire fuel spectrum—oil and gas on one hand, and nuclear, renewable, gas and coal power generation on the other—and across the private and public-private partnership (PPP) approaches to project development and finance for infrastructure as well as energy facilities.

The U.S. energy and infrastructure sectors have undergone dramatic change since 2006, the year of Pillsbury’s first contribution to the GTDT publications. Natural gas production and reserves have increased largely from shale and other unconventional sources, which have reinvigorated the petrochemical sector; challenged the prospects of power generation from coal, nuclear and renewable sources; and turned talk of LNG imports into talk of potential exports and gas as a more widespread transportation fuel. Oil production has increased in the Midwest, which faces obstacles for new and increased means of transportation, and the federal agencies regulating offshore oil leases and safety have been completely transformed after the Macondo accident. Power generators must as ever monitor the changing political drivers of policymakers and agencies, with higher renewable procurement standards being more concentrated in the Northeast and the West Coast and new generation projects often needing to coordinate with plans for greater local and regional transmission. A common thread is the greater need for investments in infrastructure of all types, including private finance and PPPs to cope with the constraints on public funding.