Attorneys in Hunton’s carbon capture and storage (CCS) practice have a wide array of experience in multiple legal disciplines relevant to CCS projects and transactions. CCS is a vital technology for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change. As a burgeoning CCS practice, we serve as project counsel for many underground storage projects. For example, we represent over 40% of project proponents with currently pending EPA Class VI permit applications as identified in our permit tracker. We work with clients to navigate regulatory requirements and permitting hurdles to enable them to deliver safe and reliable CCS solutions.
CCS projects are expected to proliferate over the coming years as companies work to comply with de-carbonization mandates, capitalize on carbon credit markets, and meet corporate sustainability goals. International experts consider the technology indispensable to meeting global emission reduction targets. States and the federal government have adopted a number of policies and incentives over the past decade to encourage CCS. Our attorneys have years of practical experience working in each of the fields relevant to CCS, including the following:
Hunton’s energy tax credit lawyers have extensive experience in energy tax credit transactions, including Section 45Q, Section 45, Section 48, Section 48A, Section 48B, Section 48C, and various renewable fuels tax credit transactions. Our lawyers have worked with a wide range of clients in all aspects of transactions from due diligence through transaction audits. In addition, our lawyers routinely represent clients before Congress, the Treasury Department (Treasury), and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain guidance and to preserve and extend the benefits of the credits. Our lawyers worked directly with Treasury and the IRS on the guidance and final regulations for the Section 45Q tax credit. Our energy tax credit lawyers are recognized as leaders in Chambers Global in Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy and listed for Energy: Renewable/Alternative in Legal 500 United States.
Hunton has one of the largest environmental practice groups in the country, with attorneys who counsel on all areas relevant to CCS projects, including EPA’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) permit program; Clean Air Act New Source Review (NSR) and Title V permitting; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review; environmental justice; and other regulatory programs including the Clean Water Act (CWA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), and other acts and statutes. In addition to several former counsel to congressional committees, as well as lawyers whose legal careers have focused on legislation, administrative, and regulatory matters, our team also includes a former EPA attorney who helped write the Class VI UIC regulations. Our environmental team and many of our individual lawyers are ranked Band 1 nationally by Chambers USA and Chambers Global. We maintain the top national ranking for environmental law and water law and regionally in each state where our environmental lawyers are based in US News-Best Lawyers. We are top ranked by Legal 500 and, since 2012, we have been designated an Environmental Group of the Year by Law360 eleven times, most recently in 2023.
Hunton has been involved in development of federal and state CCS policy for more than a decade. We have drafted and advocated for federal and state legislation on a variety of CCS issues, prepared comments on various CCS regulatory issues, formed and represented CCS advocacy groups, hosted international CCS conferences, and shaped policy on issues including CCS risk management, long-term liability, incentives, environmental requirements, tax issues, and property rights. Our lawyers served as the lead authors of the National Coal Council’s 2015 report on policy parity (focused on CCS) and have contributed to other prominent CCS policy reports. Our team includes attorneys who have served as Committee Counsel on environmental and energy issues on Capitol Hill.
Hunton’s attorneys provide comprehensive finance, development, and infrastructure counsel at every step of a project, from initial conception through obtaining regulatory approvals. We draft, document, and negotiate joint venture, purchase, and other agreements, advise on intergovernmental arrangements, and provide guidance on construction, operational, and management issues. We have deep, focused experience in complex areas of finance, credit, and lending to address the specific needs of commercial banks and other financial institutions, institutional lenders, and investment funds. In addition, we regularly assist clients in obtaining federal and state aid, and in creating tax-efficient structures that provide access to the capital markets.
Our coordinated approach provides clients with a comprehensive team of talent advising clients on the full spectrum of project and energy-related matters. Our energy and infrastructure lawyers are recognized as a Leaders in Chambers USA in Projects – USA – Nationwide and in Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy – USA – Nationwide. In addition, they are recognized as leaders in Chambers Global in Projects – USA and in Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy – USA.
CCS projects often require pipeline construction or repurposing for CO2 transportation to a storage site. Hunton has extensive experience counseling pipeline project sponsors on a variety of issues, including permitting, construction and operation, and long- term environmental compliance. Our team has worked to secure federal and state authorizations needed for complex energy projects, including greenfield pipeline construction, pipeline expansion and maintenance, and related projects such as construction and upgrades to storage facilities and compressor stations. We have advised clients in securing property rights across private, state, and federal lands, and have assisted clients on NEPA environmental review, CWA water quality certification and dredge-and-fill permitting, design review under the Pipeline Safety Act, and resource consultations under the ESA and National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). We also advise clients on compliance with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pipeline safety standards and our attorneys are active before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and multiple state utility commissions across the country.
Our attorneys have extensive experience handling all aspects of energy asset and equity transactions, joint ventures, strategic partnerships, and the operation of such assets and companies. In particular, Hunton has the expertise required to structure transactions that involve mineral rights, rights-of-way, oil & gas property, and associated liabilities. US News & World Report ranked us as a Tier 1 law firm for Energy Law, Legal 500 USA has recognized us as one of the most recommended law firms for Energy Transactions: Oil & Gas, and Chambers USA recognized us as one of the leading Oil & Gas (Transactional) practices in the United States. We also have in-house land professionals capable of facilitating complex land due diligence and title review.
Generation of marketable credits under the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) is an important incentive for CCS project development. The attorneys in our California offices have advised numerous clients on LCFS credit generation pathways and are well-acquainted with the California Air Resources Board (CARB) Carbon Capture and Sequestration protocol for CCS projects—including the interplay of the protocol criteria with other regulatory requirements, such as EPA’s UIC Class VI permanence and well integrity requirements.
Hunton’s oil & gas attorneys have extensive experience with commercial midstream, marketing, transportation, compression, processing, and sales agreements, including in the major unconventional and conventional plays across North America. Our attorneys advise clients on such oil & gas midstream matters as gas gathering, compression, dedication, storage, processing, fractionation, and oil & gas purchase and sale/supply agreements, including familiarity with NAESB gas sales forms.
