Solar Development on Landfills

Transcription

1 Solar Development on Landfills and Brownfields The Rittenhouse CONFERENCE EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.0 CEUs for the conference and 0.3 CEUs for the workshop. 1

2 Overview Solar development on closed landfills and other environmental brownfields is catching the attention of solar developers, municipalities and other landowners, waste management organizations, and utilities alike. On the solar front, legislative implementation of renewable energy policies and multiple tax and related financial incentives have driven accelerating development in the past few years. Yet, even as their development moves more into the mainstream, large solar projects especially must confront one prominent constraint: to generate meaningful power output, they require substantial surface area. This surface area or land is often scarce and expensive. Capped landfills and other environmental brownfields, on the other hand, often offer land that can serve few economic land uses. For multiple reasons, as these closed sites multiply, they are becoming a preferred destination for solar development. Development of these sites requires specialized due diligence and expertise beyond the normal solar development complexities. The objective of this conference, therefore, is to consider the important components of developing solar energy on landfills and brownfields. It will bring together utility personnel, developers, engineers, municipal officials, regulatory officials, attorneys, and insurance brokers with expertise in this very special arena. These experts will examine the critical aspects of the process and provide guidance through case studies and examples in the following areas: Financing Permitting Environmental compliance Interconnection / engineering Development Site reuse permits Environmental engineering 2

3 Who Should Attend Utility personnel Environmental engineers Engineering firms that support solar projects State utility commissioners and regulators Attorneys, counsel, and legal staff Federal, state, and local government officials Project developers Consultants Solar and renewable energy advocates Financial groups involved in renewable projects Learning Outcomes Attendees will gain practical and technical skills that allow them to: Analyze PV technical and economic factors unique to landfills Design solar projects on these areas Assess the environmental engineering aspects of siting Identify interconnection considerations and constraints Evaluate the insurance and risk management connected to these projects Analyze landfill reuse permits Identify legal aspects of development and financing Evaluate the technical and practical considerations municipalities must consider when planning these projects 3

4 Agenda Tuesday, April 15, :30 8:00 a.m. registration and Continental Breakfast 8:00 9:00 a.m. policy Drivers that Determine Successful Landfill / Brownfield Development In the last two years, increasingly greater focus has been devoted as sites for solar energy by state solar energy agencies, state energy agencies, and environmental agencies. A large amount of activity has already taken place in Northeast states such as New Jersey, Massachusetts and New York. Many more states are following suit. Specific incentive policies have already been adopted in New Jersey. As additional states commit more attention and resources to high penetration renewable energy and the solar development focus on landfills and brownfields intensifies, utilities, regulators and solar developers will need to make concessions to convert the promising potential into profitable scenarios. This segment will survey what s working, where movement needs to occur, and what options are available to close gaps that otherwise impede solar development on landfills and brownfields. - Lyle Rawlings, President and CEO, Advanced Solar Products 9:00 10:15 a.m. landfill Development Case Study Town of Scituate, MA In June of 2013, the Town of Scituate, Massachusetts broke ground on a 3MW solar farm atop a capped landfill. When combined with the existing 1.5MW wind turbine, the Scituate became the first town in Massachusetts to use 100% renewable energy to power all its municipal facilities. This case study will highlight the solar project from its origins, through contracting and construction, to the final processes of development currently underway. - Pete Pedersen, Managing Principal, Brightfields Development LLC - Al Bangert, Director of Public Works, Town of Scituate (ret d) 10:15 10:30 a.m. morning Break 10:30 11:45 a.m. landfill Development Case Study PSEG s Solar 4 All Program PSE&G is developing 125 megawatts of solar energy connected directly to the grid in the context of what is known as its Solar 4 All Program. A segment of this program is dedicated to landfills and brownfields, which will develop 42 megawatts of solar. This session will examine details of both the program as well as the landfill and brownfield segment that make it work. - Todd Hranicka, Director Solar Energy, Public Service Gas and Electric (PSEG) 11:45 a.m. 1:00 p.m. group Luncheon 1:00 2:00 p.m. obtaining Environmental Engineering from Site Approval through Operations and Maintenance From the early planning stages of the project through the construction and operations and maintenance stages, stakeholders will identify potential issues and obstacles. This session will identify innovative and technically sound ways to resolve these challenges. A few of the topics covered will be: Site specific environment concerns Monitoring requirements Settlement evaluations Incorporating environmental concerns into project site planning - John Figurelli, Team Leader, Weston Sampson 4

5 Agenda Tuesday, April 15, 2014 (CONTINUED) 2:00 2:15 p.m. afternoon Break 2:15 3:15 p.m. navigating the Permitting and Regulatory Process Permitting a solar project is a laborious process that typically involves obtaining approvals from an array of local, state and federal agencies with jurisdiction and oversight responsibilities for: solid waste, environmental standards, public utility commissions, land use, etc. In some respects, even the local utility can be considered part of this important category. The session will analyze the process on both the state and local level, and address the following topics: Storm water runoff Gas control Integrity of the cap Modifications to the existing gas system Planning Zoning Building Post-closure use permits Environmental compliance Issuing comfort letters Liability - Rich Cogen, Partner, Nixon Peabody - Sarah Weinstein, Deputy Assistant Commissioner, Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection 3:15 5:15 p.m. addressing Interconnection and Engineering Challenges Upon the completion of the permitting and financing processes, utilities and developers alike must address the interconnection issues unique to PV development on landfills and brownfields. This session will explore differing design structures and interconnection strategies to consider when designing these projects. It will cover the following topics: PV overview Interconnection permits Interconnection considerations specific to landfills Interconnection with local utility State-specific considerations - Jim Calore, Manager Interconnection Planning, Public Service Gas and Electric (PSEG) - Steve Steffel, Manager -- Distributed Energy Resources Planning and Analytics, Pepco Holdings - Tim Roughan, Director of Energy and Environmental Policy, National Grid [invited] 5

6 Agenda Wednesday, April 16, :00 8:30 a.m. continental Breakfast 8:30 10:00 a.m. financing Overview of Landfill-specific Solar Projects As the process and regulation on landfill and brownfields projects are executed differently than a on more traditional solar project, so too is the financing. This session will give an overview of the different financing structures available and outline what financial institutions seek in order to support development. Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) Project pro forma Ground leases Debt / Equity Term sheet Definitive documentation - Marty Mobley, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley - James Duffy, Partner, Nixon Peabody - Pete Pedersen, Managing Principal, Brightfields Development LLC - Tony Grappone, Partner, Novogradac & Company LLC 10:00 10:15 a.m. morning Break 10:15 11:00 a.m. insurance Considerations Specific to Landfill and Brownfield Solar Projects As the site of a solar project shifts settings to a landfill or a brownfield, the insurance considerations change dramatically. The fact that the project is developed on a contaminated site results in additional risk. This session will help assess these risks and provide strategies for solving these issues. The following topics will be covered: Environmental Insurance Risk mapping through the project phases Contractual risk allocation Insurance options and considerations - Mike Balmer, Environmental Practice Leader, Willis North America 11:00 a.m. 12:00 p.m. Overcoming Development and Construction Challenges As the development of solar on contaminated sites intensifies, these previously scorned sites pose novel development challenges. Several different technical approaches are emerging to address these related challenges. This session will explore these approaches and explain how approaches must vary for different sites. - Lyle Rawlings, President and CEO, Advanced Solar Products 12:00 pm. conference Adjourns 6

7 post-conference Workshop: Financing Strategies for Solar Projects on Landfills and Brownfields Overview As with development of any renewable energy project, one of the biggest challenges in executing a solar project on landfills and brownfields is financing. Financing options differ according to their building site. Just as the interconnection, construction and permitting process differs from traditional solar projects, financial institutions often seek a different approach from municipalities, private owners, utilities and developers. This workshop will assess the variety of financing options available and determine effective strategies for raising funds for these projects. It will analyze the fine details of financing these solar projects and highlight the contrast of landfill and brownfield projects to projects developed on green fields. Case studies of successfully financed projects of varying structures will be compared and discussed. Finally, this workshop will break down the detailed financial models associated with each of the case studies. Learning Outcomes Attendees will gain practical and technical skills that will allow them to: Discuss different financing structures for solar landfill/brownfield projects Determine the financing structure most effective for their particular project Apply financing strategies to the planning of a solar landfill/brownfield project Design a financing structure that fits the needs of their particular project Analyze the challenges associated with these projects Differentiate the process of financing of a project on a landfill or brownfield from a project in a traditional setting Agenda Wednesday, April 16, :30 1:00 p.m. Registration 1:00 2:00 p.m. i. Explaining Financing Terms and Document Provisions for Landfill and Brownfield Programs This session will take a detailed look at the terms and provisions that differentiate the financing process of a solar project built on a landfill or brownfield from a standard solar farm. It will explain the nuances related to the following topics: PPA s Ground Leases Debt / Equity 2:00 3:00 p.m. ii. Examining Successfully Developed and Financed Projects During this segment of the workshop, examples of working PV systems will be presented. The differences in the process for each project will be analyzed and compared. In breaking down each case study, the factors causing each structure to operate independently will be explained. 3:00 3:15 p.m. afternoon Break 3:15 4:30 p.m. iii. Analyzing Detailed Financial Models The final session of the workshop will expand the financial models discussedand provide a detailed explanation of the factors determining each financial model. It will allow attendees to compare the drivers for financing the case studies to the needs of their prospective projects. 4:30 p.m. workshop Adjourns 7

8 WORKSHOP INSTRUCTORs James Duffy / Partner / Nixon Peabody James F. Duffy is a partner in the Boston office of the national law firm, Nixon Peabody LLP. He serves as the Chair of the firm s Renewable Energy Tax Credit Team and concentrates his practice on structuring and closing transactions involving federal income tax credits and other significant federal and state income tax incentives, including Production Tax Credits for wind and other forms of renewable energy, Energy Investment Tax Credits for solar and certain other forms of renewable energy, as well as Treasury cash grants in lieu of Energy Investment Tax Credits. His practice also covers New Markets Tax Credits, Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credits, and Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. He has represented numerous developers, investors, syndicators and lenders in structuring and closing renewable energy and other transactions and is a frequent speaker on tax-oriented investment structures at renewable energy industry conferences and seminars, including conferences sponsored by the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA), the New York Solar Energy Industries Association (NY SEIA), the Environmental Business Council of New England (EBC), Power-Gen, the American Bar Association (ABA), Novogradac & Co., The Reznick Group, the Institute for Professional Education and Development (IPED) and many others. He is a member of the American, Massachusetts, and Boston Bar Associations. He has served as the chair of the Equity Finance Committee of the Real Estate Section of the Boston Bar Association and as a member of the Real Estate Steering Committee of the Boston Bar Association and is admitted to practice in Massachusetts. He is a graduate of the University of Rhode Island, B.A., summa cum laude (1978), and The Harvard Law School, J.D. (1981). Tony Grappone / Partner / Novogradac & Company LLC Tony Grappone is a partner in the Boston, Mass. office of Novogradac & Company LLP, where he specializes in providing accounting, tax and consulting services to developers, syndicators and investors of projects that qualify for federal and state tax credits such as the low-income housing tax credit, historic rehabilitation tax credit, new markets tax credit and renewable energy tax credits. Mr. Grappone is a frequent speaker at various renewable energy and other tax credit industry events and has contributed several articles on renewable energy to the Novogradac Journal of Tax Credits and serves as a technical editor of the firm s Renewable Energy Tax Credit Handbook. Prior to joining Novogradac & Company LLP, Mr. Grappone worked at Ernst & Young LLP specializing in partnership taxation within the affordable housing industry and servicing many of the nation s largest tax credit syndicators and investors. In addition, he served several leading venture capital firms as well as commercial real estate developers and investors. Mr. Grappone serves as a member on the Northeastern University Undergraduate Accounting Group Advisory Board and is on the board of directors of the Women s Institute for Housing and Economic Development. He received a bachelor s degree from Northeastern University in Boston, Mass. and is licensed in Massachusetts and New Hampshire as a certified public accountant. Brian Morrissey / Director of Solar Development / Citizens Energy Brian Morrissey is the Director of Solar Development at Citizens Energy Corporation. Prior to joining Citizens Energy, Morrissey was an Associate at Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA), a leading energy consulting and research firm to international energy companies, governments, financial institutions, and technology providers led by Daniel Yergin. At CERA, Morrissey was on the Global Power team and focused on renewable policy and finance. Prior to his work at CERA, Morrissey worked in GE Energy s central marketing and strategy group, and was an officer in the U.S. Army. Morrissey received a BS in Mechanical Engineering from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and an MBA from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). 8

9 Instructional Methods Panel discussions, case studies, and PowerPoint Presentations will be used in this conference and affiliated workshop. Requirements for Successful Completion of Program Participants must sign in/out each day and be in attendance for the entirety of the conference and/or workshop to be eligible for continuing education credit. iacet Credits EVENT LOCATION A room block has been reserved at the The Rittenhouse, 210 West Rittenhouse Square, 19103, for the nights of April 13-15, Room rates are $199, plus applicable tax. Call for reservations and mention the EUCI program to get the group rate. The cutoff date to receive the group rate is Friday, March 14, 2014, but as there are a limited number of rooms available at this rate, the room block may close sooner. Please make your reservations early. PROCeEDINGS EUCI has been approved as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), 1760 Old Meadow Road, Suite 500, McLean, VA In obtaining this approval, EUCI has demonstrated that it complies with the ANSI/IACET Standards, which are widely recognized as standards of good practice internationally. As a result of its Authorized Provider membership status, EUCI is authorized to offer IACET CEUs for its programs that qualify under the ANSI/IACET Standards. EUCI is authorized by IACET to offer 1.0 CEUs for the coference and 0.3 CEUs for the workshop. A copy of the conference proceedings will be distributed to attendees at the event. If you are unable to attend or would like to purchase additional copies, flash drives are available two weeks after the conference is complete. The cost per flash drive is US $395 (add US $50 for international shipments). Flash drives include visual presentations only. Upon receipt of order and payment, the flash drive will be shipped to you via regular USPS mail. NOTE: All presentation flash drive sales are final and are nonrefundable. 9

10 EVENT LOCATION please register the following A room block has been reserved at the The Rittenhouse, 210 West Rittenhouse Square, 19103, for the nights of April 13-15, Room rates are $199, plus applicable tax. Call for reservations and mention the EUCI program to get the group rate. The cutoff date to receive the group rate is Friday, March 14, 2014, but as there are a limited number of rooms available at this rate, the room block may close sooner. Please make your reservations early. Solar Development on Landfills and Brownfields and Postconference workshop: Financing Strategies for Solar Projects on Landfills and Brownfields : US $1895 Early bird on or before April 4, 2014: US $1695 Solar Development on Landfills and Brownfields CONFERENCE only : US $1495 Early bird on or before April 4, 2014: US $1295 Post-conference workshop: Financing Strategies for Solar Projects on Landfills and Brownfields only April 16, 2014: US $595 Early bird on or before April 4, 2014: US $495 I'M SORRY I CANNOT ATTEND, BUT PLEASE SEND ME THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS FOR US $395. (PLEASE ADD $50 FOR INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING.) EUCI s Energize Weekly newsletter compiles and reports on the latest news and trends in the energy industry. Newsletter recipients also receive a different, complimentary conference presentation every week on a relevant industry topic. The presentations are selected from a massive library of more than 1,000 current presentations that EUCI has gathered during its 26 years organizing conferences. Sign me up for Energize Weekly. How did you hear about this event? (direct , colleague, speaker(s), etc.) Print Name Job Title Company What name do you prefer on your name badge? Address City State/Province Zip/Postal Code Country Telephone List any dietary or accessibility needs here CREDIT CARD Name on Card Account Number Billing Address Billing City Billing State Billing Zip Code/Postal Code Exp. Date Security Code (last 3 digits on the back of Visa and MC or 4 digits on front of AmEx) OR Enclosed is a check for $ to cover registrations. All cancellations received on or before March 14, 2014, will be subject to a US $195 processing fee. Written cancellations received after this date will create a credit of the tuition (less processing fee) good toward any other EUCI event or publication. This credit will be good for six months. In case of event cancellation, EUCI s liability is limited to refund of the event registration fee only. For more information regarding administrative policies, such as complaints and refunds, please contact our offices at (201) EUCI reserves the right to alter this program without prior notice. 10