Stephen J. Humes

Stephen J. Humes, co-leader of the firm’s Renewable Energy Team and an original leader of the firm’s Energy & Natural Resources Industry Sector Group, is an energy, environmental, public utility and infrastructure partner in Holland & Knight's New York and Stamford offices. He advises clients on renewable energy project development and finance, especially grid-scale and net-metered solar photovoltaics (PV), offshore wind, battery energy storage systems and geothermal throughout the U.S., Caribbean and beyond.

For decades, he has advised clients on energy transactional, regulatory and environmental issues, including those associated with conventional and renewable power plant development, cogeneration, liquefied natural gas and pipeline facilities, geothermal and other utility infrastructure matters. His energy-related environmental experience includes advising on environmental justice and climate change issues. Mr. Humes guides clients through state and federal administrative proceedings, including advancing rate cases in administrative litigation and defending clients in enforcement actions. He also counsels clients on a full range of state and federal environmental compliance and enforcement matters and handles energy and environmental issues effectively in corporate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) transactions, including acquisitions and divestitures of power plants and renewable energy portfolios.

Mr. Humes provides energy regulatory and transactional advice in support of deals involving private equity investors and state-sponsored green banks, public power and energy authorities, including solar PV from utility-scale to residential, offshore wind farms, geothermal projects in the Caribbean and Latin America, and battery and thermal energy storage projects.

Mr. Humes is well-versed in developing projects and M&A transactions for portfolios of offshore wind, solar generation, electric generation facilities, electric transmission facilities, liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities, natural gas pipelines and undersea cables. He has negotiated power purchase agreements (PPAs), engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) agreements, operations and maintenance (O&M) agreements and development services agreements (DSAs) for a wide variety of traditional and renewable energy project sponsors and investors.

Mr. Humes advises clients on all aspects of energy and environmental law. He has successfully represented clients before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), various state public utility commissions and environmental agencies, and electric regional transmission organizations (RTOs) and independent system operators. He advises independent power producers, exempt wholesale generators (EWGs), electric and gas utilities, competitive energy companies and the companies that finance them throughout the U.S.

His representative experience illustrates the sophistication of legal matters handled efficiently and effectively for clients:

• Represented state energy agency on development and procurement contract negotiations representing billions of dollars in investments for more than 5,000 MW of offshore wind under development in the Atlantic Ocean
• Represented project developers of solar PV projects across the U.S. and in Mexico, including negotiating PPAs, EPCs, easements and supply chain agreements
• Acted as general transactional and project finance counsel for 72 MW geothermal project operating successfully in Nicaragua and supported sale transaction of facilities
• Provide regulatory counsel for wholesale power generation and transmission asset owners before state public utility commissions and FERC
• Advised state-supported green banks on energy regulatory and renewable energy project finance matters to support solar PV, wind farms, biomass and biogas transactions, and green hotel financing transactions
• Advised biofuel ventures on project finance and development strategy and plant siting
• Counseled commercial real estate and multiunit housing clients on negotiating agreements for solar and other renewable energy facilities and transactions involving renewable energy certificates
• Represented clients on energy regulatory and transactional matters in support of the nationwide deployment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations
• Assisted owner of private water utility, sewage treatment plant and golf course development concerning SPDES permit enforcement and corporate transactions in New York’s Hudson River Valley
• Mediated natural gas procurement dispute successfully in energy litigation between a large group of institutional natural gas customers and a competitive energy supplier in New Jersey
• Led commercial arbitrations involving wholesale power generation, battery energy storage systems and construction disputes in geothermal project development in the U.S. and Central America
• Successfully represented respondents before the EPA in Clean Air Act environmental enforcement proceedings relating to motor vehicle idling and hazardous air pollutants
• Represented major wireless telecommunications carriers in cell tower development proceedings before Connecticut Siting Council and in litigation, including arguing the first state supreme court case to be heard nationwide on a key issue (See Zhang v. Omnipoint, 272 Conn. 627, 2005) – whether historic electric utility easements permit wireless antenna installations) and successfully litigated other important wireless facility siting issues (See Corcoran v. Connecticut Siting Council, 284 Conn. 455, 2007)
• Assisted international energy company in identifying federal, state and local permitting issues and requirements in connection with major projects to develop marine LNG terminal facilities
• Advised international investors in acquisition or divestiture transactions involving conventional, nuclear and renewable power generation facilities across the U.S., including leading on due diligence, FERC and state regulatory approvals and deal document negotiations

Mr. Humes is a frequent speaker on climate change, renewable energy, distributed generation and clean energy project development and finance issues and contributes actively to the production of cutting-edge continuing legal education programs presented nationally by the American Bar Association and by other energy and business organizations nationwide. He developed and teaches a law school class on energy regulation law and public policy at Quinnipiac University School of Law.