Clean Energy

With the UK setting ambitious energy targets, clean energy is key to the future of energy generation and consumption. Our energy lawyers have over 30 years' experience delivering cutting-edge advice on ground-breaking renewable energy projects, both in the UK and overseas. We understand the regulatory and policy challenges our clients and have the experience to guide their renewable energy projects to completion.

Many of our clean energy lawyers are recognised as experts in their field, and we are recognised by Chambers and Partners and the Legal 500 as one of the leading practices for energy advice.

We understand the key technologies at the heart of the clean energy sector and are adept at keeping close to the ever evolving new technologies. Our experience spans offshore and onshore wind, wave and tidal, low carbon infrastructure, hydro, biomass, energy from waste and more.

Working closely and taking a proactive role in the sector’s key strategy groups – including RenewableUK, Scottish Renewables and CBI Energy Group – we are at the forefront of energy policy in the UK, helping to shape the future of clean energy.

For more information on how our clean energy lawyers can assist you please get in touch.

Who we work with

Offshore wind

Our market-leading offshore wind practice advises prominent developers, including work on four of the seven Round 3 projects in UK waters, and we continue to support the delivery, financing, operation and maintenance of more established offshore wind farms.  

We advised on what will be the world’s largest offshore wind farm, currently being developed by the Danish energy group Ørsted. Shepherd and Wedderburn also represented Neart na Gaoithe Offshore Wind (NnG) in judicial review proceedings brought by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), challenging the decision by the Scottish Ministers to grant consent for the development of four offshore wind farms located in the Forth and Tay. 

Following an initial court victory for the RSPB, our expert team successfully challenged the decision and the Court of Session refused an application from the RSPB for the case to be sent to the Supreme Court, allowing the ground-breaking project to move forward. It is estimated that the wind farms could generate up to £1.2 billion for the Scottish economy and power 1.4 million homes.

Our success in offshore wind comes from our unique understanding of the regulatory framework in both the UK and Europe, and how it continues to adapt and develop in support of the offshore wind market.
 

Onshore: storage, wind, and hydro

Shepherd and Wedderburn has been at the forefront of the onshore wind development since the sector’s inception. Our team advised ScottishPower on its first three wind farms, which were built in Northern Ireland in the 1990s. As the development of onshore wind in Scotland and the UK has gathered pace, our expertise has grown, and our clean energy lawyers are now renowned for their ‘whole of life’ knowledge. 

Our team has since cultivated market-leading onshore wind experience, having advised on more than 250 successful onshore wind projects in the UK alone. We act as adviser to many of the UK’s prominent organisations within the onshore wind sector, including regulators, utilities, developers, funders, investors and supply chain partners. 
 

Wave and tidal/floating

The UK is a market-leading jurisdiction for the development of marine energy, offering abundant natural resources, world renowned testing facilities and a supply chain with expertise in developing projects offshore projects.

However the sector is not without its challenges and its continued development requires collaboration across the industry: promoters and developers, investors and funders, technology innovators and providers, the wider supply chain, industry bodies and research organisations. Our approach is no different. 

Shepherd and Wedderburn has a wide range of experience acting for clients on innovative projects in the marine energy sector, so our team understands the market and challenges facing businesses. Our experts work to identify issues and risks from a variety of perspectives and provide practical and innovative insight for clients, adding real value to projects. 

Our team of expert energy lawyers act on a variety of ground-breaking projects, including acting as lead adviser to REIF on the world famous MeyGen tidal array project. This project is ground-breaking for the marine and tidal sector, and critical for Scotland’s profile as an innovator in the development of marine energy. 
 

Low Carbon

A low carbon future will see a move away from traditional energy generation towards energy efficient, sustainable infrastructure and the creation and development of intelligent, smart cities that utilise and optimise effective data management. 

At Shepherd and Wedderburn our three key sectors — energy, real estate and infrastructure, and finance — are at the heart of the significant growth required in the move towards a low carbon future. Our in-depth understanding and experience in these sectors helps our clients to shape and implement successful propositions in the ‘low carbon space’. 

We advise funders and investors, utilities, the public sector, developers, landowners, and joint ventures on all aspects of their low carbon transactions, including both large and small-scale renewables projects. Our expert team understands the connection between energy, technology, infrastructure and finance and the way our cities will connect and use that infrastructure and data in the future. 

The move to low carbon also includes a move away from decentralised energy generation towards smaller scale localised alternatives, district heating schemes chief among them. Our energy experts have a range of experience in the funding and delivery of District Heating Schemes (including CHP) for a number of stakeholders including private sector, local authorities, housing associations and utilities.

Our energy experts have also worked closely with clients in establishing Energy Service Company – which often take ownership of the District Heating Scheme and charge the various owners or tenants within the development for both provision of energy and upkeep of the system – providing support in relation to the consultation process for long term energy contracts under the Landlord and Tenant Act including negotiation with the Land Valuation Tribunal and dispensation applications.

"They have got a lot of knowledge in renewables. From a Scottish perspective, they are one of the leading energy law firms."
– Chambers, Renewables & Alternative Energy

"Extremely impressive, absolutely top-class!" – Chambers, Renewables & Alternative Energy