Birketts’ Solar Team offers comprehensive legal services specifically designed for solar energy companies.
The Team offers a full range of services, from securing land rights to accessing green finance, and we can provide expert guidance at every stage of your project. Whether you are developing large-scale solar farms, negotiating Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), or selling/purchasing a business, our deep understanding of the solar energy market ensures that your business objectives are achieved in the complex, evolving and regulated solar market.
Our track record means that you can rely on us to deliver expert advice that meets the unique demands of the sector. We have varied experience acting on a whole variety of solar matters, including option agreements, debt recovery, lease agreements/variations, compensation agreements, commercial agreements, procurement, investment and share subscriptions, to name just a few.
Our lawyers can also assist with a wide variety of legal services such as company sales/purchase, intellectual property advice, trade mark filings and protections, negotiating commercial agreements (including PPAs), as well as helping to secure green finance options.
Our Experience
Advising on a large scale combined solar and battery storage development
Owing to the size of the scheme (approximately 1000 acres) it is to proceed by means of Development Consent Order as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project. We were responsible for negotiating heads of terms to ensure consistency across all landowners and then drafting precedent documentation option and lease. The leases have an unusual rent mechanism being a factor of the site acreage, the developer’s turnover and the installed generation capacity of the site along with an agreed minimum rent. The work entailed title reports across numerous land titles and devising a red flag overview of all property interests. It also involved a number of options for easements and access due to the spread-out nature of the development.
Acting for large solar rooftop developer in the roll out of their portfolio
Initially our help was required in agreeing the portfolio documentation (lease and PPA) to ensure that the documents were standardised and thus economic across the portfolio. We had to balance the requirements of our client, the developer and any potential funder. We also devised a short form report (to assist with time and cost efficiency) so that on each site the only change would be the front-end title report and then reporting by exception. This was the only way to ensure that the client could manage costs and keep transactions at pace
Advising on a complex grid sharing arrangement
Ensuring both a solar development and BESS development had the ability to connect through the same substation but also to ensure both sides had a fundable solution. This required detailed discussion and then drafting as to deadlock scenarios and ensuring both parties had reciprocal rights and indemnities in relation to actions taken.
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