Title: Navigating Renewable Energy: Insights from the ACP Siting and Permitting Conference
Speakers: Josh Kaplowitz and Morgan Gerard
Josh Kaplowitz (00:07):
Hey, I am Josh Kaplowitz. I’m a senior counsel at Troutman Pepper Locke.
Morgan Gerard (00:13):
And I’m Morgan Gerard, an associate at Troutman Pepper Locke. Recently we attended the ACP Siting and Permitting Conference in Seattle, and we wanted to run through our takeaways from the conference and also just catch up a little bit.
Josh Kaplowitz (00:25):
I’m fairly new to the firm — legacy Locke Lord — and even though we’re in the same office, it was great to go across the country and get to spend time with you and Andrea and Ben and bond with the renewable energy team in an exotic locale. Well, Seattle — that’s how I would consider Seattle.
Morgan Gerard (00:52):
Yeah, no, it was great. It was very much helped by the fact that we got nice weather. That really sells the trip.
Josh Kaplowitz (01:02):
It would’ve been great if ACP had just held the conference outdoors.
Morgan Gerard (01:07):
I think it would’ve worked.
Josh Kaplowitz (01:12):
For me, it was about getting integrated with an industry that I’ve been involved with on the periphery but have only just recently started to do a lot more intensive work in. Really, the best part was seeing clients that we had worked with over Zoom and virtually, and getting to see them in person — having dinner with them, sidebar conversations. Setting aside the panels, which I thought were quite good, that to me is sort of the heart of conferences: having those one-on-one interactions.
It was really well attended, and it was just a packed house with a lot more energy than even I was expecting. Renewable permitting gets me pretty excited.
Morgan Gerard (02:06):
No, I really agree. It was a much bigger conference than what I was expecting and very well attended. The panels were very well attended, and there was a lot of — what’s the right word — good talent at the front of the room presenting.
As a lawyer, I really liked hearing from the developers about the challenges they have with their projects, moving their projects forward, and the internal frustrations that they have that we don’t really get to see when we’re trying to help them with the process. I thought that was really insightful and I really enjoyed hearing from them.
There were things that I found educational and things that I think captured the trend, but a couple of trends I thought were really interesting. One was a huge focus on biodiversity and projects — promoting biodiversity. I thought that was very intriguing, that companies are setting biodiversity goals. And as the lawyers, I start wondering: what does that mean? How do you measure those metrics? Very, very interesting.
How about you — anything that you think was a trend that was spotted at the conference?
Josh Kaplowitz (03:28):
Well, there was definitely a bit of a duality in terms of how people viewed the current political climate. The panel that stuck out for me the most was the one talking about all the executive actions. I have to give a shout out to our colleague Ben Cowen for his excellent job sitting on that panel. I was one of the last people to get into the room.
Morgan Gerard (03:57):
it was standing room only.
Josh Kaplowitz (03:59):
If there was any indication of what was really on everyone’s mind, it was that: what are the knock-on effects of these executive actions? That, plus a lot of the side conversations, really focused on that — obviously through the lens of what everyone’s going through with their projects on a day-to-day basis. That’s the one that really stuck out to me.
Morgan Gerard (04:25):
Yeah, I agree. That was kind of the panel highlight. But there were a couple of other micro trends that were kicking around. There was so much focus — at least that I saw — on battery storage and fire. I thought that was very interesting after Moss Landing, and how developers are starting to think about and grapple with that issue, and how investors are getting much more interested in it. That was a big one for me.
And then in side conversations, there was so much interest around the Inflation Reduction Act and energy communities brownfield qualification. That wasn’t a panel, but it seemed to be very top of mind for the folks that I was talking to.
How about you — anything top of mind in the folks that you were talking to?
Josh Kaplowitz (05:19):
Yeah, first off, I share your surprise that energy communities wasn’t a panel. We’ll have to let the fine folks at ACP know that should be a panel next year.
Building off of what I was saying about the uncertainty with federal policy, it was interesting to go to some of the state policy panels. I saw one — I think it was actually one of the last panels — a panel full of folks from Minnesota talking about their permitting reform efforts and how they were able to streamline the wind and solar siting process. I was furiously taking notes on the lessons that we could learn in all the many other states that we practice in.
With so much uncertainty at the federal level, people are redesigning their projects to avoid federal permitting and really focusing on state-level permitting as the primary barrier to getting approvals and being able to get financing. I think a lot of attention is going to shift to how we can do better at the state level and get these projects moving in a more efficient fashion. Learning how a state on the vanguard of that managed to do it — while keeping stakeholders very involved — I think was really useful, and those learnings can be applied to a lot of the states in which we operate.
Morgan Gerard (07:01):
Yeah, I completely agree. Among the other points of hot discussion — to dovetail off what you’re saying — is community engagement, tribal engagement, and dealing with local stakeholders: how you communicate your message to the people around you and around your project, and being a good community steward. I think that is really going to focus in on the states and getting state approvals. That was a major, major point.
Josh Kaplowitz (07:37):
It gave me hope. I’m not going to lie — it’s tough being in renewable energy and being here in DC. But getting outside of DC and actually meeting the folks that are on the ground making these projects happen, still having a lot of enthusiasm and success and sharing that with everyone — that was a big boost to the spirits and made me feel like renewable energy can not just survive, but thrive in the next four years.
Morgan Gerard (08:10):
Yeah, I agree. It was nice to hear about all the projects that are kicking off, all the projects in the pipeline — people really getting their hands dirty and putting developments together and continuing to invest in a clean energy future. It’s really nice to be out there and meet all those people.
Josh Kaplowitz (08:33):
Absolutely. I’ll wrap it up by reiterating how great it was to be around the rest of the renewable energy team, or at least most of it. I really look forward to future conference opportunities.
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