Clark Hill advises on:
- Development and structuring of utility-scale, community, and distributed solar projects
- Project finance, including debt, tax equity, joint ventures, and portfolio financings
- Power purchase agreements (PPAs), virtual PPAs, and other offtake arrangements
- Site control, land use, zoning, and permitting
- Interconnection, transmission access, and market participation
- Regulatory compliance at the federal, state, and local levels
The firm advises clients on contracting and risk allocation for paired solar and storage assets, including issues related to dispatch rights, performance guarantees, charging and discharging obligations, revenue stacking, and allocation of operational and market risks. Clark Hill also counsels on how storage integration affects incentive eligibility, financing structures, and regulatory treatment.
In addition, Clark Hill counsels clients on solar-related incentives and compliance obligations, including federal, state, and local incentive programs and evolving regulatory requirements. The firm helps clients navigate incentive qualification, monetization strategies, and ongoing compliance while aligning legal strategy with project economics.
Clark Hill also represents solar and storage project participants in disputes arising from development, construction, financing, and operation of hybrid energy assets. This includes contract disputes, permitting challenges, regulatory enforcement matters, and issues affecting project performance, availability, revenue stability, and end-of-life. For instance, unless an exclusion or an alternative management standard applies, a hazardous waste determination is required before recycling or landfilling PV modules. The results of the hazardous waste determination dictate whether the PV module must be managed as hazardous or nonhazardous solid waste. The person that decides to remove a PV module from service and recycle or dispose of it is the “generator” and regulated person(s) who has generated waste and is subject to U.S. federal and state solid and hazardous waste laws pursuant to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (RCRA) or the various state’s regulations who have RCRA primacy. The determination of either hazardous or nonhazardous solid waste can determine significant variability in the costs of disposal.
By combining deep industry knowledge with a commercially focused approach, Clark Hill helps clients develop, finance, and operate solar and solar-plus-storage projects that support grid reliability, energy transition goals, and long-term portfolio growth. The firm’s Solar Energy practice is designed to help clients succeed in an increasingly competitive and technologically sophisticated renewable energy market.
