C. Baird Brown is a partner in the firm's Environment and Energy Practice Groups. His practice includes the development and financing of power plants, waste disposal and recycling facilities, toll roads, and other infrastructure projects. Baird currently focuses on renewable energy, including wind, solar, biomass, tidal, geothermal, and biofuels.
He represents state and local sustainability agencies charged with promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency and green infrastructure. Baird is also active in climate change issues, including trading of renewable energy credits and carbon credits.
He handles mergers and acquisitions of energy and environmental companies, including restructuring and workouts of troubled projects. Baird has counseled clients in connection with taxable and tax-exempt, rated and unrated, and registered and unregistered financings, credit enhancements, and leveraged leases. He has worked extensively on public/private partnerships and privatization of public services.
Baird has represented an independent system operator on market design issues and has assisted in the establishment of a private energy trading platform. He provides corporate advice to emerging energy technology companies and assists with venture and private equity investments in such companies. Baird has worked on a next-generation nuclear power project.
He began his legal career in the Office of General Counsel of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Professional Affiliations
American Bar Association (Member, Section of Environment, Energy and Resources? Co-chair, Renewable and Distributed Energy Resources Committee? Co-Chair, Energy and Carbon Trading and Finance Committee? serves as Co-chair of a joint effort between these two committees, the American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE), and the Environmental Markets Association that drafted a model Master Renewable Energy Purchase and Sale Agreement and is working on a Master Verified Emissions Reduction (VER) Purchase and Sale Agreement for use in the U.S. voluntary carbon market? also serves as an adviser on environmental law to the Program Committee of ALI-ABA Continuing Professional Education); International Bar Association(Member, Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law? past Co-chair, Power Law Committee); and Philadelphia Bar Association (Member, Business Law and Public Interest Sections).
Publications and Speaking Engagements
"Public-Private Partnerships in Sustainability," Financing Renewable Energy in the Mid-Atlantic Symposium, University of Maryland Environmental Finance Center, September 22, 2009
"A Technology Company in a Project Finance World," conference materials for Solar Energy: Awareness, Challenges and Opportunities, Penn State, 2009
"Greening Your Project: Making the Most of Clean Energy Incentives," conference materials for Environmental Law Forum 2009, Pennsylvania Bar Institute, Harrisburg, 2009
"Financing Sustainable Cities and Towns: Making the Least and Most Community Energy Demand," conference materials for CDFA Sustainable Public Finance Symposium, Washington, D.C., 2009
"The Finance Agenda: What's Next for Clean Energy Incentives," conference materials for Phase II of Renewable Energy in America, National Policy Forum, Washington, D.C., 2008
"Who Owns Biodiversity? Promotion Sustainable Economic Activity," conference materials for The Law of Sustainability, International Bar Association Annual Meeting, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2008
"University Energy Assets: Making the Least and Most of Campus Energy Demand," conference materials for Climate Change and Renewable Energy Issues in Higher Education, Harrisburg, 2008
"Think Globally, Act Locally: Climate Change and CCS in the United States," conference materials for Section on Energy, Environment, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Law, International Bar Association, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2008
"Project Finance for Clean Energy," conference materials for NRL Industry Growth Forum, Philadelphia, 2006
"Economics of Biodiversity," Biodiversity Conservation Handbook, Robert B. McKinstry, Jr., Coreen M. Ripp, and Emily Lisy, eds., 2006
"Learning from the Fed: Lessons for Federal Electricity Regulation," The Electricity Journal, April 2005
"Of Index Prices and Wash Trades: Law and Legal Ethics in the Energy Trading Environment," conference materials for Second Annual Gas and Power Institute, 2003
"Games and Professional Responsibilities in Electricity Markets," conference materials for Gas and Power Institute, 2002
"What Are Reserves and Should Markets Provide Them?" conference materials for Infocast Power Markets Conference, 2002
"Unregistered Offerings and Project Finance under United States Law," International Securities Law and Regulation, Dennis Campbell and Robert A. Solomon, eds., 2000
Professional & Civic Associations
· American Bar Association
· International Bar Association
· Philadelphia Bar Association
· Pennsylvania Bar Association
Speaking Engagements
6/5/2012, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
"Webinar on New Structures for Pooled Financings of Aggregated Renewable and Energy Efficiency Projects"
Baird Brown, Christopher Berendt