Energy Infrastructure

Our Energy Infrastructure Team provides strategic and day to day advice for clients developing and constructing projects with a specific focus on planning, commercial and construction in the Energy industry.

Our expert lawyers have an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the key issues and requirements facing the Energy Sector with a focus on electricity, telecommunications, gas, and water sectors.

From the political and regulatory background to the specialist nature of the work involved our lawyers work in collaboration with our clients to achieve their objectives in this challenging and highly regulated environment. We put our clients’ success as the key aim of our advice.

Energy Construction

Our Construction and Engineering Team has a genuine breadth of experience and depth of resource.  The fifteen strong team has expertise in a broad range of sector specialisms, including the utilities industry, and they have extensive experience acting for utilities companies in a broad range of commercial matters.

The team deals with all aspects of law impacting on the construction industry. We act for a wide range of public and private sector clients, including local authorities, contractors, developers, sub-contractors and funders.

When it comes to construction and engineering projects, we are specialists in both drafting and negotiating legal documentation, as well as the resolution of disputes. With one of the most established and significant teams in the region, we are large enough to provide specialist and highly responsive expertise for any project, but not at the expense of maintaining a personal and tailored service.

Our experience and client base

Our team has extensive experience of working on capital projects in the Energy Infrastructure sector, where we are often working as part of a wider Birketts project team. 

Commercial

Our Commercial Team provide support and guidance to clients of all sizes, ranging from individuals through to large corporates, in relation to commercial, intellectual property and data protection issues. They have specific focus on the utilities industry, and they have extensive experience acting for utilities companies in a broad range of commercial matters.

The team are engaged in the development, negotiation and operation of complex commercial contracts on a daily basis. This leads us to be instructed on increasingly more sophisticated and complex matters that our competitors are unable to handle. We adapt our client service to meet project needs in the correct commercial setting, including structuring the appropriate apportionment of risk and liability, both at the outside of a commercial relationship and throughout long-term projects. Where needed, to drive efficiencies within our clients’ businesses, this will mean drafting documents on an even-handed basis to ensure that they are accepted first time by reasonably sophisticated counterparties (thus avoiding costly and laborious negotiations). In other circumstances our focus will be to provide more client friendly documentation that reflects the relevant bargaining positions of the contracting parties.

Our experience and client base

Acting for our client on a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) for a site across 150 acres.

Negotiating a PPA in relation to a 75,408 square ft unit with a supply of 330 kVa from the relevant solar installation with further electricity coming through the supplier’s private network.

Acting for a provider of pyrolysis equipment in connection with standard documentation for the installation, construction of pyrolysis plants together with the ongoing supply and operation of such plant and connected sale of heat and power.

Acting for the country’s leading independent provider of last-mile networks in connection with an agreement with the Cabinet Office (acting through the Geospatial Commission) in relation to the digitalisation of the National Underground Asset Register (NUAR). This was a particularly interesting matter as it involved consideration, negotiation and drafting of provisions to avoid a duty of care to be created to end users who access information and datasets on the new NUAR platform. Our representations were of particular importance to avoiding a potential liability of £2.4 billion a year (being the value of accidental utility strikes cost the UK).

We acted for a Dutch subsidiary of a global leader in the manufacture of products in the automotive sector with 25 locations in 15 countries in regard to the launch of a vehicle camera and monitoring system including: (i) negotiation of a distribution agreement with a German based re-seller for the purchase of goods including prior installation of bespoke software; and (ii) negotiation of the terms under which our client entered into a partner connect programme with a global technology solution innovator (based in Illinois, USA).

Advising on a CHP set up to serve over 1,000 units as part of a major joint regeneration project.

Advised the UK’s leading provider of last-mile utility networks on the formation of a strategic partnership with Sky, which will open up significant opportunity for growth in the new build residential fibre market.

Planning and Environment

Our Planning and Environmental Team is over 20 strong (one of the largest in the UK) and advises on a very wide range of planning and environmental matters to landowner, developer and local government clients.

We are specialist lawyers in our field and offer a full service encompassing all aspects of planning law and environmental law and provide practical, solution-focussed advice at a competitive price.

We are experienced in providing support for planning applications and appeals, section 106 Agreements and planning enforcement, but have much wider and more specialised expertise.

Our experience and client base

Acting for a local planning authority in a judicial review challenge to a grant of an Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Permit.

Advising and representing a defendant in respect of an environment agency prosecution following a major river pollution incident.

Appealing on behalf of our client an enforcement notice requiring the receipt of waste at a waste transfer station to cease.