Morrison & Foerster's Energy & Natural Resources practice focuses on the development, production, and conservation of conventional and alternative energy (including electric power projects, LNG, oil and gas, and pipelines) and natural resources (including water, timber, and mining). Our multidisciplinary teams, from Land Use to Cleantech to Project Finance, work closely to help our clients achieve their business objectives.
We advise on permitting, environmental review, structuring, development, financing, sale and acquisition, and ongoing operational issues of energy and natural resource projects. We provide environmental regulatory guidance, including antitrust and competition law advice, assist clients in responding to investigations and enforcement actions, and handle environmental litigation raising natural resource and environmental issues, including impacts to and the use of endangered species, wetlands, water, forests, and minerals.
We represent clients in every field of conventional and alternative and renewable energy—natural gas, oil, coal, solar, nuclear, wind, geothermal, hydroelectric, ocean, biofuels, biomass and waste-to-energy—as well as clients developing products and providing services that improve energy efficiency and intelligence. Our energy clients include generators, gas and energy traders and marketers, financial institutions, energy service providers, investor-owned and municipal utilities, pipeline companies, industrial and commercial customers, sponsors and other investors, lenders, U.S. and foreign government agencies, multilaterals, and other public entities. Our natural resource clients include energy companies, water providers, timberland owners, and mining companies.
Our Cleantech Group assists energy, natural resources, and other clients in identifying and seizing opportunities generated by new governmental mandates and consumer demand for sustainability (in addition to identifying and mitigating risk), such as protection of potential carbon reduction values.
Our attorneys work closely with state and federal agencies that regulate energy and natural resources development and production, including the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, the federal Environmental Protection Agency, the California Air Resources Board, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Fisheries, and the California Department of Fish and Game.
We also have deep expertise in permitting and regulatory work involving mobile and stationary air contaminant sources, storm and waste water discharges, wetlands, endangered species, hazardous waste characterization and management issues, water supply, recycling and reclamation, and facility closures.
Our Energy and Natural Resources clients include AES Corporation, AltraBiofuels, Campbell Timberland Management, Catchlight Energy, LLC, City and County of San Francisco, Cleantech America, Constellation New Energy, Energy Biosciences Institute, Inter-American Development Bank, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Khosla Ventures, Liberty Natural Gas, MAP Royalty, Inc., Metropolitan Water District of Southern California, The Nature Conservancy, NextLight Renewable Power LLC, OPIC, Pacific Pipeline System LLC, Rio Tinto, San Diego Gas & Electric, Southwest Gas, State of Alaska, Sumitomo Corporation, Tokyo Gas, Toshiba, U.S. Department of Energy, and Woodside Petroleum.