Brian J. Nese

Brian Nese is a partner in Stoel Rives’ Energy Development group and one of California’s most respected renewable and alternative energy attorneys. For nearly two decades, Brian has been at the forefront of the U.S. transition to renewable and alternative energy—leading the Stoel Rives renewable energy team in California, working on renewable energy projects across the nation, and furthering the work of innovative sustainable energy organizations dedicated to reducing the country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Brian focuses his practice on representing renewable energy project developers, owners, and operators in project development and M&A transactions. Brian regularly drafts and negotiates various transaction documents and project development documents, including membership interest purchase agreements; engineering, procurement and construction agreements; operation and maintenance agreements; balance of plant agreements; supply agreements; and real property agreements.

Education

University of Southern California Law Center, J.D., 2004; Order of the Coif; Staff, Southern California Law Review, 2003–2004

Georgetown University, B.A, 2001, cum laude

Admissions

California

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States District Courts for the Central and Southern Districts of California

Languages

• Represented owner in connection with the sale of a portfolio of 21 operating distributed generation solar projects in New York and Maryland totaling almost 60 MW .
• Represented an independent power producer in connection with the acquisition of approximately 88 MW of operating distributed generation solar projects across the U.S.
• Represented DIF Capital Partners in connection with the acquisition of a majority interest of Green Street Power Partners, a developer, financier, owner, and operator of over 300 MW of distributed generation solar projects in the U.S.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with the acquisition of distressed distributed generation solar projects located in North Carolina, New Mexico, and Massachusetts.
• Represented Copia Power in connection with structuring, negotiating, and contracting for equipment supply, EPC, O&M contracts for several solar projects with a total capacity of 450 MWac and a standalone battery storage project sized at 300MWac/1200MWh in the state of Arizona.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with negotiation of an EPC agreement for a 220 MW project in Pennsylvania.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with negotiation of an EPC agreement for a 200 MW solar plus 100 MW energy storage project in Yuma County, Arizona.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with negotiation of EPC agreements for a portfolio of five 20 MW solar projects in New York.
• Represented battery energy storage system technology provider in connection with negotiation of integration agreement and long-term services agreement for 240 MW BESS project in California.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with negotiation of module supply agreement with tier-one supplier for supply of 530 MW of PV modules.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with negotiation of multiyear framework agreement with tier-one suppler for supply of 1 GW+ of PV modules.
• Represented independent power producer in connection with negotiation of O&M agreements for a portfolio of solar projects located throughout the Midwest.
• Represented solar developer in connection with EPC and O&M agreements for a 3 MW solar project in Napa County, California.
• Represented independent power producer with development, supply, O&M, and EPC agreements for 1 GW portfolio of solar projects.
• Assisted solar project developer with sale of multiple portfolios of small utility scale solar projects (CREST) and negotiation of related EPC agreements, module and inverter supply agreements, and O&M agreements.
• Assisted solar project developer with development and sale of two 20 MW utility scale solar projects (RAM), including permitting, labor negotiation, request for proposal for EPC services and EPC agreement, and membership interest purchase and sale agreement.
• Assisted equity investor with acquisition of multiple development stage solar projects, including related project development pipelines and operating assets in California, Indiana, New Jersey, Arizona, and Hawaii.
• Assisted PV module manufacturer with negotiating and drafting of EPC agreements, O&M agreements, PV module supply agreements and membership interest purchase and sale agreements for projects in Puerto Rico, California, Georgia, and Missouri.
• Assisted solar project developer with negotiating and drafting of project documents for 250 MW solar photovoltaic facility, including EPC agreement valued over $1 billion and other related agreements; assisted with project development efforts and obtaining Department of Energy Loan Guaranty under Section 1705 of the Energy Policy Act.
• Assisted solar project developer with negotiating and drafting of site rights agreements for solar project to be located at a mining operation in Chile.
• Assisted solar project developer with structuring, negotiating, and contracting for 9 MW rooftop solar photovoltaic project, which, at the time, was the largest rooftop system in the United States. Key project documents included EPC, O&M, Performance Guaranty, and Solar Renewable Energy Credit Purchase and Sale agreements.
• Assisted wind project developer with balance of plant and O&M agreement for 60 MW project in southeast Utah.
• Assisted wind project developer with build-transfer agreement for 301 MW wind project in Kansas.
• Assisted wind project developer with build-transfer agreement for 50 MW wind project in Minnesota.
• Assisted wind project developer with master O&M agreement for 564 MW portfolio of five wind projects in New Mexico, California, Colorado, and Texas.
• Represented independent power producer in heavily contested licensing proceeding for thermal power plant before the California Energy Commission.
• Assisted solar project developer with obtaining conditional use permit for 90 MW solar photovoltaic project in Los Angeles County based on a mitigated negative declaration.
• Represented wind project operator in litigation with project owner over operations and maintenance contracts, obtaining jury verdict in client’s favor after month-long trial in Orange County.

Insights & Presentations

• Frequent contributor to Stoel Rives’ Renewable + Law^® blog
• “Keynote Fireside Chat: Clean Energy Financing with DOE Loan Programs Office” (moderator), Solar + Wind Finance & Investment Summit, Phoenix, AZ, March 2023
• “Solar Energy System Design, Engineering, Construction, and Installation Agreements” (co-author), Chapter 4 of The Law of Solar Energy: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Sixth Edition, 2022
• “The Future of Renewables” (moderator), Projects & Money, New Orleans, LA, January 2020
• “Emerging Trends in Financing Southeast Renewable Energy Deals” (moderator), Southeast Renewable Energy Summit, Atlanta, GA, October 2019
• “Ninth Circuit Strikes Down California ReMAT In Winding Creek Solar Case” (co-author), Solar Industry, August 2019
• “Best Practices in Service Agreements, O&M and Warranties” (moderator), Storage Week Plus, San Francisco, CA, July 2019
• “The Future of the Markets” (moderator), Projects & Money, New Orleans, LA, January 2019
• “Overcoming Unique Development Challenges in the Southeast” (moderator), Southeast Renewable Energy Summit, Atlanta, GA, November 2018
• “California lawmakers consider grid reliability fixes,” Daily Journal, June 28, 2018
• “First in nation requirement for solar in new homes” (co-author), Daily Journal, May 17, 2018
• “MISO—The Next Growth Market?” (moderator), Projects & Money, New Orleans, LA, January 2018
• “Going Smaller: Muni, Coop and Community Solar Garden Projects” (moderator), Southeast Renewable Energy Summit, Atlanta, GA, November 2017
• “Countdown to the ITC Reduction—How the Utility Scale and other Industry Sectors are Preparing” (moderator), Infocast Solar Connect Conference, La Jolla, CA, October 2017
• “What If Federal Support for Solar Disappears?” (co-author), Solar Industry, April 2017
• “California Market Outlook” (moderator), Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit, March 2017
• “Renewable Portfolio Standards: Changing the Industry” (co-author), Public Utilities Fortnightly, January 2017
• “A Blockbuster Year for Net Energy Metering Policy” (co-author), Law360, December 14, 2016
• “Plans & Prospects for Small-Scale Solar (+Storage?)” (moderator), Distributed Solar Summit, November 2016
• “M&A Activity in 2016” (panelist), CohnReznick Renewable Energy Summit, June 2016
• “Drafting and Negotiating Solar Project Agreements: What Really Matters?” (speaker), SolarWorld Installer Summit, June 2016
• “The Future of California’s Renewable Energy Market” (co-author), Law360, December 22, 2015
• “Benefits/Barriers to Renewable Energy” (speaker), Chapman University Law School Renewable Energy Symposium, October 2015
• “The Regulatory Framework for Distributed Generation” (moderator), Distributed Solar Summit West, November 2014
• “One in a Million,” pv magazine, November 2014

• Selected as one of “America’s Leading Lawyers for Business” (USA) by Chambers Global (Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy; Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional), 2017–present & (USA—Nationwide) by Chambers USA (Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy; Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional), 2017–present

• Selected by the San Diego Business Journal as a “Leader of Influence in Law,” 2024

• Listed among Rising Stars (Energy & Natural Resources), San Diego Super Lawyers^®, 2015–2019

Professional

• CleanTECH San Diego, Board Member
• Women of Renewable Industries and Sustainable Energy, San Diego Chapter
• San Diego County Bar Association