Jason A. Johns

Jason Johns advises independent power producers, utilities, investors, and large users of gas and power resources with matters arising in power markets and state and federal energy regulatory arenas. Jason appears regularly in proceedings before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and in negotiations at the ISO/RTO level, where he represents independent power developers and utilities. His experience includes the negotiation of major facility contracts, such as interconnection, transmission, and power purchase agreements, the prosecution of disputes at FERC, and counseling and defending clients on issues related to regulatory compliance.

Jason also works closely with large commercial and industrial users of electricity and gas, such as aerospace companies, pulp and paper mills, steel mills, and tech company data centers. In that role, Jason helps clients negotiate power and gas supply contracts, interstate pipeline capacity asset management agreements, and pipeline bypass agreements. Jason has also assisted these clients with demand management agreements, the installation of on-site resources (such as battery storage, fuel cells, and solar PV), and retail and wholesale power purchase agreements for renewable energy and other resources. Jason also serves as a board member of The Climate Trust, a national leader in carbon offset projects and innovative climate change solutions.

Education

University of Montana School of Law, J.D., with honors; Technical Editor, Montana Law Review

University of California, B.S., Chemistry

Admissions

Oregon

United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

United States Patent and Trademark Office

• National FERC counsel for a Top 5 Fortune 500 Tech company.
• Representation of sPower in a tax equity investment and syndicated construction and term loan facility totaling $786 million. The debt facility, raised by a syndicate of lenders led by KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., will finance a portfolio of nine solar projects in Lancaster, California, with a total nameplate capacity of 339.4 MW.
• Representation of Fortune 500 aerospace company in negotiating contracts for the installation of Tesla battery storage facilities and Bloom fuel cells.
• Representation of new industrial facility in South Carolina in negotiating anchor tenant agreements for pipeline expansion, as well as power, gas, and water supply agreements.
• Lead FERC counsel in AltaGas Ltd.’s (a Canadian utility) due diligence and acquisition of Decker Energy International’s biomass facilities and LS Power’s 507 MW Blythe gas-fired power plant in the California ISO (2013), and three cogeneration facilities owned by Veresen (2014-15).
• Representation of independent power producers in negotiating power purchase agreements for wind, solar, geothermal, and natural gas-fired facilities in California, Nevada, Arizona, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and North Carolina.
• FERC counsel in defending $875 million claim related to a long-term contract that was challenged as the result of the 2000-01 California energy crisis.
• Section 203 counsel in major cash and tax equity transactions involving General Electric, JPMorgan, Wells Fargo, MetLife, and State Street.
• Representation of independent power producers in defense of claims of non-compliance before Western Electricity Coordinating Council and FERC’s Office of Enforcement.

Insights & Presentations

• “FERC Accepts PJM’s Interconnection Queue Reform” (co-author), Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, November 30, 2022
• “FERC Proposes Broad Reforms to Interconnection Process” (co-author), Stoel Rives LLP legal alert, June 22, 2022
• “Regulatory and Transmission-Related Issues” (co-author), Chapter 5, The Law of Solar Energy: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Sixth Edition, 2022
• “Regulatory and Transmission-Related Issues” (co-author), Chapter 13, The Law of Wind: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Ninth Edition, 2022
• “In Search of Middle Ground Between State Public Policy and Federal Regulation” (co-author), POWER magazine, November 2020
• “FERC acts to narrow PURPA yet again” (co-author), pv magazine, July 2020
• “FERC Eases Regulations During COVID-19 Crisis” (co-author), T&D World, April 2020
• “You get MOPR’d! And you get MOPR’d!,” Renewable Energy World, February 2020
• “Ninth Circuit Strikes Down California ReMAT In Winding Creek Solar Case” (co-author), Solar Industry, August 2019
• “If You Build It, They Will Come: The Deal Structures That Are Bringing More Buyers to the Renewables Market” (co-author), RenewableEnergyWorld.com, May 2018
• Moderator, “Expanding the All Important Corporate Market,” Wind Power Finance and Investment Summit, 2018
• “Power Purchase Agreements: Utility-Scale Projects” (co-author), Chapter 3, The Law of Solar Energy: A Guide to Business and Legal Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Fifth Edition, 2017
• “Corporate Energy Procurement—Best Practices, Trends & Strategies,” Infocast Webinar, 2017
• “The Federal Backdrop for Development of Renewable Energy Resources in the Midwest; Issues at the State/ Federal Divide; Other Factors Affecting State Policy Flexibility,” Renewable Energy in the Midwest, Law Seminars International, 2017
• “Identifying, Assessing and Managing Risks,” Infocast’s Corporate Renewables Summit, Washington DC, 2016
• “Emerging Trends in Power Markets,” Infocast’s Wind Power Finance and Investment Summit, 2015
• “The Path to Cost Recovery,” Infocast’s Storage Week, 2014

• Included in The Best Lawyers in America^® (Energy Regulatory Law), 2023–present

Professional

• Oregon State Bar Association, Member
• American Bar Association, Member
• Energy Bar Association, Member
• Renewable Northwest Project

Civic

• The Climate Trust, Board Member
• Murrayhill Little League, President