Renewable Energy in Virginia (Online Seminar)

A pre-recorded streaming video replay from the September 2017 webcast, Renewable Energy in Virginia.

Cosponsored with the Environmental Law Section of the Virginia State Bar

This seminar will identify the basic legal and regulatory issues affecting renewable energy development in Virginia. It will offer a starting point for advising a client on how to move forward with a renewable energy project, small or large, in the Commonwealth, and cover some of the core issues and roadblocks to be faced.

Some issues are clearly delineated while others remain unsettled—but nearly all of the governing structure of renewable energy regulation is changing rapidly. Learn about the fallout of the 2017 General Assembly session, the “Rubin Group” collaboration among energy stakeholders, recent SCC cases addressing the rights of retail customers to purchase renewable energy from suppliers, developments at FERC, and decisions of Virginia localities affecting new renewable projects. We will expose attorneys to the most recent status of arguments on the legality of power-purchase agreements under two separate provisions of the Virginia Code. We will instruct participants on the basics of the Permit by Rule permitting program as well as the interconnection process.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

Will Cleveland, Southern Environmental Law Center / Charlottesville

Will Cleveland is a staff attorney at the Southern Environmental Law Center based in Charlottesville. His work at SELC focuses on promoting clean energy throughout Virginia, which involves litigation at the State Corporation Commission, collaborative efforts with the Governor’s administration, and lobbying at the General Assembly.  He is also a member of the Governor’s executive committee on energy efficiency. 

Prior to joining SELC, Mr. Cleveland worked in Washington, DC, and Charleston, SC, on environmental litigation matters at two international law firms.  He is a graduate of Middlebury College, from which he received a B.A. in 2004 and a Master’s degree in 2007.  He graduated in 2009 from the University of Virginia, School of Law, where he was a member of the Virginia Environmental Law Journal. 

Will Reisinger, GreeneHurlocker / Richmond

Will Reisinger is an attorney with a practice in energy law, energy regulation, and commercial litigation. He regularly represents renewable energy developers, trade associations, and utility customers in various regulatory matters.

Prior to entering private practice, Mr. Reisinger served for almost five years as an Assistant Attorney General in the Office of the Virginia Attorney General. His work in the Attorney General’s Office included representing ratepayers in utility cases before the Virginia State Corporation Commission, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and the Supreme Court of Virginia. Previously, he was a staff attorney for a non-profit environmental organization.

Mr. Reisinger sits on the governing boards for the administrative law sections of the Virginia State Bar and The Virginia Bar Association. In 2015, he was appointed by Governor McAuliffe to serve on Virginia’s first Executive Committee on Energy Efficiency.

Matt Gooch, Office of the Attorney General / Richmond

Matt Gooch is an Assistant Attorney General who serves as outside legal counsel to the Department of Environmental Quality’s Renewable Energy Program and to the State Air Pollution Control Board.  He is a graduate of the T.C. Williams School of Law.