Gregory K. Lawrence is a partner in the law firm of McDermott Will & Emery and is based in the Firm's Boston office. He is co-head of the Firm's Renewables practice and head of the Global Renewable Energy, Emissions and New (GREEN) Products affinity group.
Mr. Lawrence focuses on the electricity and natural gas industries. He specializes in Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and state utility commission regulatory proceedings, compliance and enforcement, transactions and negotiations, asset transfers, and governmental affairs. Mr. Lawrence has counseled clients regarding matters before more than 22 state utility commissions. His clients include financial institutions and funds, marketers, traders, renewable and other project developers, municipal and investor-owned utilities, and large energy consumers. He formerly was a counsel with the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities.
Mr. Lawrence is a frequent speaker at energy industry conferences and a contributor to publications such as Electric Light & Power, Energy Risk, Bloomberg Law Reports, Project Finance International, Corporate Counsel, Windpower Engineering and EnergyLaw 360. He also has a quarterly column in Electric Energy T&D Magazine. He authored Rationalizing Supply with Demand: Electricity Demand Response in U.S. Wholesale Electricity Markets, a book chapter in US Law and Taxation (Cameron May). He has taught energy seminars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School and Syracuse University.
Representative Experience
Government Investigations and Compliance
- Represented an energy trading company regarding FERC’s investigation of Lake Erie electricity loop flow causation and impact, resulting in no enforcement action
- Represented energy trading companies regarding FERC investigation of manipulation and tariff violation claims in the California power markets and physical and financial markets in the east
- Revised natural gas marketer's sales and energy asset management operations to ensure FERC compliance, including with Order 712
- Advised on FERC standards of conduct and NERC compliance issues
- Established compliance regimes for scores of energy companies, including on-going energy trading and scheduling advisory services
Federal and State Regulatory Matters
- Represented utility and its marketing affiliate in FERC pipeline wholesale rate and tariff proceeding resulting in successful settlement
- Represented large department store chain as an energy consumer in retail rate, demand response and energy efficiency proceedings before 10 state utility commissions
- For various banks and funds, successfully submitted time-sensitive requests for FERC authorization to transfer energy assets
- Represented financial institution before FERC regarding ancillary services markets and procurement resulting in a successful settlement
- Advised multiple trading companies regarding PJM, ISO-NE, CAISO, MISO, IESO and NYISO and retail market design and rules
- Advised wind and geothermal developers regarding interconnection and transmission requirements in MISO, NYISO and other regions
- Reviewed multiple state "public utility" status rules for rooftop solar developers
- Advised traders and developers regarding state RPS and REC documentation, trading, and tracking rules throughout the United States
- Achieved "smart grid" grant from the U.S. Department of Energy
- Develop regulatory strategy for cross-border Canadian LNG project
Transactional and Project Development Matters
- Represented renewable power developer regarding regulatory issues in sale of 100 MW biomass facility located in Texas
- Represented a bank subsidiary regarding regulatory matters in its formation of a strategic alliance with a national solar project developer
- Represented banks regarding standard offer/default/basic generation service procurements (e.g., auctions), supply contracts and credit support in 11 states
- Represented a wind developer regarding regulatory issues associated with a secured financial hedge as part of the financing of wind facilities
- Negotiated multiple PPAs and REC agreements for multiple facilities and buyers utilizing various master and homegrown formats and credit support methods
- Conducted large scale due diligence and advised investor/developer regarding interconnection and transmission rights, including issues of site control and queue position, regarding wind projects in the west/mid-west
- Develop municipal cooperative generation project structures and documentation
- Negotiate generation operation and maintenance, lease, and development agreements for power plant projects
- Analyze the restructuring and acquisition of debt and equity in 10 distressed generation companies throughout the United States
- Represented large department store chain as an energy consumer regarding solar and wind PPA and REC agreements
Mr. Lawrence is a member of the Energy Bar Association and Inter-Pacific Bar Association and admitted to practice in Massachusetts, the District of Columbia, and before the U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Cir.) and U.S. Supreme Court.
Education
- New England School of Law, J.D., 1991
- Trinity College, B.A., 1988
