David T. Quinby

Experience

David Quinby is Chair of the firm's Energy Development practice group. He currently works out of the firm's Minneapolis and San Diego offices. David concentrates his practice on corporate, securities, project development and finance, and merger and acquisition matters, with a particular focus on energy and clean technology clients. He has worked with early stage developers and startups major wind, solar and biomass companies; and traditional power companies and investors in such companies. He advises clients with respect to purchase and sale agreements, wind leases, feedstock and fuel supply agreements, off-take and power purchase agreements, EPC agreements, O&M agreements, private placement memorandums, venture capital investments, joint venture agreements, development agreements and related documentation.

David also has extensive experience representing public and private companies as both in-house and outside counsel, and has led numerous negotiations on complex transactions. Previously, David served as assistant general counsel at NRG Energy, Inc., a NYSE company, and as general counsel for NRG's $1.5 billion North American operating unit. Before joining NRG, David served as vice president, general counsel, and secretary of ValueVision International, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed direct marketing and home shopping company. David is also a CPA with four years of public accounting experience.

Representative Work

• Represented AltaGas in the acquisition of Decker Energy International, an independent power company, which owns a 50 percent interest in a 48 MW biomass power facility in North Carolina and a 30 percent working interest in a 37 MW biomass power facility in Michigan.
• Represented a major U.S. energy company in connection with its acquisition of a development portfolio (in excess of 200 MW) of California solar power projects.
• Represented Greenleaf Power in its acquisition of a 47 MW biomass power plant in Mecca, California.
• Represented an EPC contractor with respect to a 5 MW Solar PV project in Tennessee.
• Represented a developer in the sale of a 500 MW wind project in Kansas. 
• Represented a developer in the sale of two 99 MW wind projects in North Dakota.
• Represented EDF Renewable Energy (formerly enXco Inc.) in negotiating asset purchase agreements, EPC contracts and other key project documents for a $900 million wind power build-transfer transaction with Xcel Energy Inc.'s Northern States Power (NSP) unit. The transaction involved two wind projects aggregating 351 installed MW in Minnesota and North Dakota. The transaction included a planned 201 MW project in southwest Minnesota's Nobles County, the second largest wind project in Minnesota.
• Represented a project developer in the acquisition of a 248 MW wind project in Texas.
• Represented a project developer in the acquisition of an 80 MW wind project in Montana.
• Represented VBV LLC and its subsidiaries in its merger with Green Plains Renewable Energy, Inc. The merger created one of the nation's largest publicly traded ethanol production companies, with complementary grain, agronomy, feed, fuel, and ethanol marketing and distribution operations.
• Represented Bioverda US Holdings LLC in its Investment in Blendstar, LLC, an operator of ethanol splash blending facilities in Knoxville, Tennessee and Louisville, Kentucky with more facilities under construction in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Columbus, Ohio.

Presentations

• Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit (chair), San Diego, California, Feb. 2012
• "Technical Perspective: Opportunities and Challenges in Industrial Scale Biomanufacturing" (moderator), Next Generation Bio-Based Chemicals Summit, San Diego, California, Feb. 2011
• "Industry Leaders in the Development of Solar Energy" (moderator), E3 Conference, St. Paul, Minnesota, Dec. 2010
• "Taking Care of Business: Getting the Project Development Process Right" (panelist), Infocast's World Algae Summit 2010, San Diego, California, May 2010 
• "Downstream Approaches to Upgrading Biogas Quality" (moderator), BBI International Biomass Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2010
• Infocast's Bio-Based Chemical Conference (chair), San Diego, California, Feb. 2010 
• "The Venture Investors' Perspectives" (moderator), Infocast's Bio-Based Chemical Conference, San Diego, California, Feb. 2010
• Infocast's 4th Annual Cellulosic Biofuels Summit 2009 (chair), Washington, D.C., Nov. 2009
• "The Financial Community: Perspectives on Financing Cellulosic Biofuels Plants" (moderator), Infocast's 4th Annual Cellulosic Biofuels Summit 2009, Washington, D.C., Nov. 2009
• "Overview of Stimulus Act Programs and Energy Financing Mechanisms," LSI Energy in California Conference, San Francisco, California, Sept. 2009
• "Biomass to Fuels--Developers' Perspective" (moderator), Infocast Biomass Finance & Investment Conference, Miami, Florida, Jan. 2009
• "Ethanol Today & Tomorrow: Growing & Selling Considerations 'Doing the Deal'," ACE Conference, Omaha, Nebraska, Aug. 2008
• "Renewable Energy: Trends and Challenges," Bowne SEC Update Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2008
• "Restructuring Existing Ethanol Plants as Businesses" (panel chair), Optimizing Ethanol Plants Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May 2008
• "Working with Project Lenders and Investors to Secure Capital to Increase Project Competitiveness" (moderator), Optimizing Ethanol Plants Conference, Minneapolis, Minnesota, May, 2008
• "Federal Incentives & Resources for Renewable Energy Projects," Harvesting Clean Energy Projects Conference, Portland, Oregon, Jan. 2008
• 2008 Infocast Biomass Finance Conference (co-chair), Miami, Florida, Jan. 2008
• "Considerations for Wind Development in Indiana," Clinton County, Indiana, Jan. 2008
• "Opportunities for Offshore Wind Development in the Great Lakes," Manufacturing and Developing Wind Systems in Michigan, Michigan State University, Lansing, Michigan, Sept. 2007

Education

• University of Minnesota Law School, J.D., 1990, magna cum laude
  Order of the Coif
  Minnesota Law Review
• Luther College, B.A., 1983, magna cum laude
  Phi Beta Kappa

Admissions

• California
• Minnesota

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