Energy

WINDS of change blowing through energy industries are felt nowhere more strongly than in boardrooms.

From operators of small wind farms to huge coal-burning power generators, business decisions need increasingly to be informed by sector specialists able to respond at the speed of often volatile markets.

The penalty for the badly-advised is needless exposure to some merciless competitive forces, according to Luke Gabb, an energy law expert at firm Bond Pearce.

From green roots in small-scale wind farms, Bond Pearce has grown rapidly to provide a national grid of specialist legal services across the energy sector, with a client base including utilities and international pipeline constructors as well as pioneers of renewables.

"We cover the entire process," Luke says. "We are there when exploration begins, we work on consent and development and we're experts in energy trading.

"Clients who've used our expertise in, for example, power generation are turning to us in greater numbers for advice on mergers and acquisitions, or financing.

"We can advise about wave energy. We're equally able to advise energy industry clients what they need to know across the spectrum of business law - banking, property, litigation, construction and health and safety."

With over 50 lawyers providing comprehensive legal services for the energy sector the Bond Pearce team provides strength and depth that few competitors can match.

That means painstaking work at planning inquiries. Or it could mean negotiating energy supply contracts, advising utilities, or encouraging clients to get the most from the system of climate change Levy Exemption Certificates (LECs) and Renewables Obligation Certificates (ROCs).

The team's expertise means it is a leading provider of legal services to the oil and gas industry in the UK and internationally. With many years' experience upstream and downstream at the disposal of clients at all levels, Bond Pearce's status in the energy sector proves attractive to lawyers working in-house for oil and gas companies. It is an equally compelling reason for the management of smaller companies to seek advice

Bond Pearce energy solicitors are also canny Whitehall and Brussels watchers, alert to the constant changes in the political and regulatory landscape.

Their knowledge can help build a power station or sell it - even if it is a nuclear station.

"We have more than 50 clients in the energy sector and they represent the breadth of the energy industry," Luke says. "They are all in a sector where they have to respond quickly to change, whether that change concerns wave power, LNG terminals or nuclear generation.

Current and recent work includes:

• Wave Hub - offshore testing station (25MW) for wave energy devices off North Cornwall
• Newhaven waste to energy - a large waste processing facility to serve East Sussex
• London Array - the largest of the Round Two offshore wind farms (1000MW) including public inquiry into the associated onshore works
• Easington gas terminal - reception facility for a major gas import scheme from Norway.