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Renewable & Low Carbon Fuels

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David McCullough
Partner, Washington, DC
T: +1.202.663.8060
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Areas of Focus

Pillsbury’s energy and environmental lawyers have advised the renewable and low carbon fuels industry since the very beginning of the modern market. From new entrants to some of the world’s largest producers and traders, our team helps our clients maximize business opportunities, advocate in court and on Capitol Hill, and comply with the legal regimes applicable to the production and trade of ethanol, biodiesel, renewable diesel, sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), renewable natural gas (RNG), hydrogen, e-fuels and fuels derived from low-carbon feedstocks such as recycled plastic.

Our fuels team attorneys possess decades of experience advising stakeholders at every stage of the fuel’s life cycle—from early-stage project development through financing, operations, negotiating offtakes, regulatory compliance and rulemaking challenges. When matters turn contentious, we represent clients in commercial disputes and before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulatory bodies in enforcement proceedings. We guide clients as they navigate and leverage the evolving policy, economic and technological frameworks shaping the future of transportation fuels.

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Our legal team includes nationally recognized practitioners in the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS), California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), and other state and federal clean fuels programs—the laws that are driving the decarbonization of transportation fuel in the United States. As a result, we have been involved in almost every significant development of these programs and the development of nearly all the industry-standard terms to trade renewable fuels. Through our deep knowledge of these programs, we help our clients navigate the increasingly complex regulatory landscape of renewable fuels and unlock the value of these incentives.

We are one of the few legal advisors serving all renewable fuel applications. We regularly provide guidance on:

  • Federal and state rulemakings, enforcement defense and appellate litigation;
  • Regulatory developments, rulemaking litigation and renewable fuel disputes;
  • Structuring and development of renewable fuel projects (biodiesel, renewable diesel, conventional corn ethanol, RNG/biogas, additional forms of cellulosic and advanced biofuels, clean hydrogen and SAF);
  • Commercial contracting, including offtake agreements and fuel sales, and in commercial disputes when matters become contentious;
  • Environmental and energy credit strategies (Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs), LCFS credits, Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) and offsets); and
  • M&A, joint ventures, project finance and private equity investment.

We are trusted by major industry participants—including plant operators, fuel marketers, transportation and aviation companies, investors and equipment manufacturers—to protect and grow their fuel portfolios.

Representative Experience

End-to-End Transactional and Project Development Support

Our attorneys work seamlessly across Pillsbury’s core disciplines—including Energy, Environmental, Finance, Corporate, and Government Law & Strategies—to support every dimension of client projects. Some of our attorneys drafted the contract original language that has developed into the current industry standard used in contracts for market participants to generate RINs on RNG used as a transportation fuel. Whether counseling on tax credits and grant opportunities or structuring acquisitions and partnerships, our interdisciplinary team brings a strategic lens to every mandate.

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Representative transactional engagements include:

  • Represented the Leadership in Energy Automated Processing (LEAP) in the development of the industry-standard master agreements for the purchase and sale of RINs and LCFS credits.
  • Represented SAF producer in multiple contracts to sell SAF to commercial airlines.
  • Represented renewable fuels manufacturer on acquisition and development of converted truck stops into sustainable fuels cardlock and distribution centers for long-haul trucking customer base.
  • Represented AstraZeneca in its purchase of RNG from Vanguard Renewables in 2023 that will enable the delivery of RNG to all of AstraZeneca facilities in the United States by the end of 2026.
  • Represented Clean Energy Renewable Fuels in negotiating dozens of RNG offtake agreements.
  • Negotiated more than 70 contracts of RNG for delivery into both the voluntary and transportation fuel markets, including North American Energy Standards Boards (NAESB), special provisions, transaction confirmations, administration agreements, RIN and LCFS credit sales agreements (e.g. LEAP agreements).
  • Represented Freepoint Eco-Systems in the sale of offtake to petrochemical manufacturers from their plastic waste to low-carbon crude oil projects throughout the United States.
  • Advise renewable energy client on engineering, procurement, construction and financing of a Louisiana renewable diesel and SAF manufacturing facility, including sourcing of hydrogen and raw materials.
  • Represented Idemitsu Apollo in securing a long-term agreement for the exclusive offtake of renewable diesel with Vertex Energy.
  • Represented leading RNG company in a $1.15 billion business combination to form the largest publicly traded RNG platform.
  • Represented utility in the acquisition of a company that produces renewable power from biomass fuels.
  • Represented a leading United States utility in connection with the acquisition of a multijurisdictional portfolio of 25 operational Dairy RNG, landfill RNG and power generation projects in a transaction involving one of the five largest biomass portfolios in the nation.
  • Represented a leading generator of power from renewable sources in connection with the acquisition of a multijurisdictional portfolio of 17 development stage dairy RNG projects located across the United States.
  • Represented several energy marketers in the acquisition and redevelopment of anaerobic digesters.
  • Represented the marketer of RNG and environmental credits in the sale of a majority interest in the business.

Litigation and Enforcement

Our renewable fuels enforcement and defense team includes the former Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). Our advocacy for renewable fuel stakeholders has gone as far as the U.S. Supreme Court, and we regularly litigate questions related to these regulatory programs in federal appellate and district courts.

  • Represented more than 20 companies in RFS enforcement proceedings over the use of invalid RINs, which led to the implementation of the EPA’s Interim Enforcement Policies and Quality Assurance Program.
  • Represented a renewable fuel trader in the most significant EPA mobile source enforcement action to-date.
  • Represented a blender of transportation fuel before EPA in settling allegations of violations of EPA’s mobile source regulatory regime.
  • Represented multiple large importers and producers of renewable fuel on enforcement proceedings brought by California and Oregon regulators in enforcement of the LCFS and Clean Fuels Program.
  • Advised and represented the Renewable Fuels Association at the U.S. Supreme Court in opposing a legal challenge from merchant refiners concerning EPA’s interpretation of the Clean Air Act’s venue provision for judicial appeals of denials of Small Refinery Exemptions (SREs). Environmental Protection Agency v. Calumet Shreveport Refining, L.L.C., 605 U.S. (2025).
  • Advised and represented the Renewable Fuels Association and other biofuels interest groups at the U.S. Supreme Court in challenging EPA’s decision to grant SREs under the RFS program of the Clean Air Act. HollyFrontier Cheyenne Ref., LLC v. Renewable Fuels Ass'n, 594 U.S. 382, 385, 141 S. Ct. 2172, 2175, 210 L. Ed. 2d 547 (2021).
  • Secured numerous victories at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit in cases concerning renewable fuel stakeholders.
  • Secured full award at arbitration on behalf of a Japanese petroleum trading company in a dispute regarding a biodiesel tax credit.

Regulatory Counseling

  • Provided routine regulatory counseling on compliance with the RFS to more than 30 producers and marketers of renewable fuel, as well as obligated parties.
  • Advised the majority of importers and exporters of RNG on regulatory compliance associated with their imports and exports of renewable fuel.
  • Challenged a U.S. Customs ruling regarding the classification and duties owed for renewable fuel imported into the United States.
  • Secured registrations for the first imports of renewable diesel into the United States.
  • We leverage Pillsbury’s relationships at the EPA and on Capitol Hill to help renewable fuel stakeholders influence policymakers (in collaboration with Pillsbury’s Government Law and Strategies team).
  • Published RINSights, an in-depth examination of the structure of the RFS and LCFS and price forecasting for RINs and LCFS credits.
  • Drafted a 12-page white paper on the future of the RFS for a large producer of renewable fuel that was selling its portfolio of assets.
  • Advised private equity investors and other financial institutions on the implementation, regulatory requirements and future of the RFS and LCFS to make informed decisions on investments in the renewable fuel sector.
  • Authored the "Whitepaper on Options for Reforming the Renewable Fuel Standard" at the request of the Bipartisan Policy Center, a leading Washington, DC, think tank founded by former Senate Majority Leaders Howard Baker, Tom Daschle, Bob Dole and George Mitchell.
  • Participated in and hosted meetings for the Coalition for Renewable Natural Gas Policy, covering federal policy developments affecting alternative and renewable fuels.
  • Provided counsel on congressional action relating to RFS reform, and tax extenders for biodiesel and renewable diesel.

Practice Area Highlights

  • Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading firm in Climate Change (2024–2026)
  • Recognized by Chambers USA as a leading firm in Energy Transition (2024–2026)
  • Pillsbury’s Environmental practice ranked by Chambers USA in the National (2009–2026), California and Washington, DC, categories (2004–2026)
  • Recognized by The Legal 500 U.S. for excellence in Environmental Litigation (2016–2024), Environmental Regulatory (2019–2026) and Environmental Transactional (2024–2026)

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