Renewable Energy

Global energy consumption continues to increase each year and, with this increase, the demand for safe, clean, and unlimited energy is on the rise. The Federal and State governments recognize consumers' growing interest in this type of energy and take steps to promote this interest through a variety of financially-beneficial incentives.  With the understanding that renewable energy laws and regulations are constantly changing, The Chanler Group is committed to investing in its understanding and practice of this area of law.  Our understanding allows us to guide homeowners, businesses, and/or developers on the various ways to structure these projects in order to take advantage of the many benefits.

Renewable energy is generally defined as energy derived from natural resources that are replenished faster than they are consumed.  The most common sources of renewable energy include sunlight, wind, and geothermal heat (captured by solar panels, wind turbines, and geothermal heating and cooling systems, respectively).  In order to incentivize continued development of, and investment in, renewable energy projects, State and Federal authorities have implemented various programs that facilitate and subsidize these projects built by both public and private entities.

The Chanler Group is actively engaged in the review and analysis of these programs in order to determine potential benefits to our clients:

  • Obtain special use permits, rights-of-way grants, Greenfield and Brownfield permits and any other local and/or state permits and/or variances;
  • Power purchase and sales agreements;
  • Transmission and interconnection agreements, including three-party arrangements with regional transmission organizations and transmission owners; and
  • State and Federal compliance for energy rebate and credit programs.

The Chanler Group also works hand-in-hand with local governments, including serving on advisory boards and commissions, surveying, studying, and reviewing the availability, reliability, quality, and cost of potential renewable energy projects.  This active participation provides a platform for the Chanler Group to stay up-to-date on recent developments in the renewable energy field as well as to shape the future direction of renewable energy programs.

Most recently, The Chanler Group managed and completed the development of the largest private solar photovoltaic (solar PV) project in Connecticut, part of a larger “zero net energy use” program.  The project includes more than 170 panels that have the potential to generate over 45 kw of electricity annually, in addition to making the residence virtually energy self-sufficient.  Click here to see publication.

Working closely with the client, governmental and regulatory agencies, and the project contractors themselves, The Chanler Group was instrumental in developing a renewable energy system that meets the prerequisites for State-specific credit and rebate programs.  The Chanler Group utilized its expertise to navigate the regulations and requirements of the CT ZREC/LREC (Zero/Low Emission Energy Credits) Program and the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA) rebate program for geothermal systems. 

The Connecticut ZREC Program was developed in order to increase renewable energy generation, pursuant to legislation that was signed into law in 2011.  The ZREC Program allows qualifying participants to sell their renewable energy credits (the number of which are determined by the total energy produced by each individual project) back to the Connecticut utility providers.  During the development stage of the newly-created ZREC Program, the Chanler Group obtained participant status (similar to intervenor status) which allowed us to directly impact the manner in which the program was eventually implemented. 

In addition to the ZREC/LREC programs, Connecticut, as well as a number of other states, has developed a geothermal system incentive plan that offers certain rebates to qualified businesses and homeowners who install geothermal systems to service their homes or businesses.  As part of its most recent renewable energy project, the Chanler Group was able to oversee the design and construction of a qualified geothermal system that meets the criteria for the CEFIA rebate.

As a result of our involvement in the development and implementation of Connecticut’s largest residential solar PV energy system to-date, our client could potentially receive credits and rebates in excess of $150,000.