Overview
(September 25, 2024) – Steptoe LLP advised BrightNight on their agreement with Puget Sound Energy (PSE) to provide storage capacity from a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) on a commercial industrial site in Pierce County, Washington (known as the Greenwater project). The facility will provide critical energy storage to PSE, its customers, and the region.
BrightNight, a leading renewable power company that provides utility and commercial and industrial customers with clean, dispatchable renewable power solutions, will design and install the facility, using lithium-ion batteries. The project is scheduled to be operational by mid-year 2027.
The battery storage system will help with peak electricity demand, avoid the need for additional generation infrastructure, and provide a more reliable and efficient energy supply to PSE and its customers. Battery storage systems are designed to store excess energy generated during periods of high generation output (including from wind and solar farms), and release it to the grid during periods of high demand.
Steptoe was lead counsel for negotiating and drafting the agreement between BrightNight and PSE, which role also included analyzing the risks of evolving market dynamics and programs, advising on State and Federal programs implicated by the transaction, and counseling on timing risks and strategies to mitigate potential interconnection-related delays.
The team advising BrightNight was led by partner Chris Zentz, and included of counsel John Cobb and associate Thomas Donadio.
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.
