Overview
(March 22, 2024) – Steptoe has been advising Rye Development on legal, policy, and strategic issues relating to their development of the Lewis Ridge Pumped Storage Project located in Bell County, Kentucky. The Steptoe team has been providing Rye advice and guidance on issues including: advocating for accurate technical modeling of such a large resource, policy and legislative issues before the Kentucky legislature and Kentucky Public Service Commission, and strategy for commercializing such a large, capital-intensive project through proactive stakeholder outreach and engagement. In part due to the advice and guidance from Steptoe attorneys, Rye Development achieved a significant milestone today when the Department of Energy (DOE) announced it was awarding Rye an $81 million grant as part of DOE's Clean Energy Demonstration Program on Current and Former Mine Land program. Our team’s strategic thinking played an important role in formulating a development strategy that included significant stakeholder outreach and engagement, and which was fundamental to Rye's efforts in seeking the DOE grant.
The Steptoe team was led by partner Chris Zentz, with support from associates Karen Bruni, Michelle Castaline, and Joe Bower. Partner Marc Spitzer was instrumental in creating stakeholder coalitions and relationships at both the Federal and State levels for Rye.
Click the following links for more information about Rye Development's Department of Energy award and the Lewis Ridge Project.
About Steptoe
In more than 110 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.
The diversity of the firm is a critical factor in its success. The firm’s chair is a woman; the majority of the firm’s elected executive committee is female; the majority of Steptoe's ten offices are managed by women; and the majority of Steptoe’s practice groups have women as leaders. The firm's six-person professional business services leadership is equally diverse, with two women of color, and other leaders who openly identify as LGBTQ+.
