Transition to energy dominance: Challenges and opportunities

What’s happening

• “Energy Dominance” is replacing “Energy Transition”- especially in the United States.
• The change is not mere shift in the political winds - it reflects a growing understanding worldwide that the digital future is an electric future.
• Low and zero carbon solutions remain in demand, but developers are looking beyond wind and solar.

Why

• Until recently, improvements in energy efficiency and grid operations largely offset the growing power demands of the Internet Age.
• The rise of AI and the continued development of cryptocurrency are supercharging the need for new electric capacity.
• Onshoring of manufacturing and increased electrification are also placing increased demand on aging infrastructure.
• Evolving geopolitical dynamics are challenging nations’ efforts to maintain stable and adequate energy supplies.

Why it matters

• Electricity is an essential service, needed for day-to-day life, business, entertainment, industry, and technological advancement.
• Years of slow growth and deferred expenses have left electric grids across the globe ill-prepared for a rapid increase in demand.
• This creates opportunities for advances in technology to fill the gap with innovative and novel solutions, particularly in the form of embedded generation and microgrids.
• And challenges, as novel projects do not fit neatly into existing regulatory boxes, and face legal hurdles in getting permitted, approved, subsidized, if eligible, and developed.

How we can help

• Advise on innovative energy solutions to address shifting energy priorities, including advanced transmission technologies, AI grid management, small modular nuclear reactors, self-supply, behind-the meter-generation, and energy storage.
• Optimize for energy incentives and tax credits.
• Evaluate regulatory developments and represent clients before state and federal regulatory agencies both for specific projects and in rulemakings that impact their interests.

What we do

Energy sector

• Full-service global energy team advising on energy solutions across the full energy spectrum, including power, renewables, oil, gas, LNG, nuclear generation, mining, and metals.
• Cross practice capabilities, including corporate and finance lawyers with decades of experience in the energy sector and regulatory lawyers with deep sector knowledge regarding environmental issues, utility regulation, nuclear regulation, transportation and land use.

Energy transactions

• Physical and virtual power purchase agreements.
• Development and construction agreements.
• Legal structures for self supply and behind the meter generation.

Authored by Porter Wiseman.