News

24 Jun 2020

Law firm unveils new team after surge in renewable energy instructions

Law firm Lodders has unveiled details of a new service launched this month following a surge in new instructions and work from landowners and businesses planning to install renewable energy solutions.

The firm’s new Renewables Team draws expertise from across its top ranking real estate, agriculture, landed estates, commercial property and private client practices, to provide an end-to-end, comprehensive legal advice solution on the legal implications of installing renewable energy solutions such as wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) solar panels.

Lodders has formalised its renewable energy services following a ‘significant increase’ in recent months from property developers, landowners, farmers and rural enterprises, seeking legal advice around renewable energy system installations, as Alastair Frew, a partner in the Real Estate practice and a member of the new team, explains:

“Knowledge of and interest in renewables has reached unprecedented levels, as landowners and developers embrace the technology to minimise running and business interruption through loss of energy, and take advantage of the potential cost savings and reduced business overheads that come from being self-sufficient and ‘off-grid’.

“Renewable energy has truly come of age, and developers and operators are busy building this new green infrastructure, increasingly planning to install wind turbines and solar panels, ensuring secure energy supplies for now, and the future,” he says.

“With huge improvements in renewable energy efficiency and legacy, growth in awareness of environmental issues – fueled by government policy and its Smart Export Guarantee – we are supporting a growing number of clients with their renewable energy plans.”

Currently, around one-third of the UK’s electricity needs are produced from renewable sources, the majority of it coming from wind turbines and solar farms. In May 2020, the UK National Grid burned no coal.

Alastair adds: “Developers and operators need land and buildings to make this new green energy infrastructure possible, so are approaching landowners to strike a deal.

“For the landowners themselves, there is much to consider to be sure they get the best and right deal. Not just on the sale of land, but also clarity on the tax savings and complex tax planning that surrounds these transactions. Getting agreements water-tight from the off is vital, whether developing land for the production of solar energy for a new settlement, erecting a single wind turbine, installing a reserve power station, or installing a bank of public car-charging points.”

Lodders’ Renewable Energy team of specialists has been put together to provide expert guidance on every legal implication of installing renewable energy. Along with Alastair Frew, the team includes Mark Miller and Dan MacLeod (Real Estate), James Spreckley (Agriculture) and John Rouse (Private Client and tax planning).

Paul Mourton, Lodders’ managing partner, adds: “Lodders is known for its excellent legal advice and client service, but particularly for being a firm that continually evolves and adapts to ensure its services are relevant to clients’ needs today. The creation of our new Renewable Energy team typifies how the firm continues to be responsive and agile, and its launch follows hot on the heels of the new service for landowners and developers that focuses on advice on the biodiversity net gain scheme featured in the Environment Bill.”

Lodders is a premier law firm in Stratford upon Avon, Cheltenham, Birmingham and Henley in Arden. The firm has 26 partners and over 160 fee earners and support staff across its office network. With its portfolio of sector and market specific top-ranking legal teams, the firm has recorded year-on-year growth in recent years. For more information: www.lodders.co.uk.