Dorothy Black Franzoni is a member of Sutherland's Energy and Environmental Practice Group and chair of Sutherland's Renewable and Alternative Energy Team. She focuses her practice on commercial transactions, project development and finance transactions in the electric industry, including nuclear, coal, natural gas and renewable energy projects. Her experience includes power purchase and sale arrangements, power plant joint-ownership arrangements, project development for electric generating plants, power scheduling and bulk system operations matters, federal loan and loan guarantee programs, secured and unsecured loan arrangements, tax-advantaged leasing transactions, and publicly issued and privately placed debt financings. Dorothy's work has also involved a wide range of corporate and regulatory issues affecting electric utilities and general corporate representation including mergers and acquisitions and federal securities laws disclosure and compliance matters. In addition, Dorothy serves on Sutherland's Climate Change law team, working with clients to identify and capitalize on opportunities and respond to business challenges impacted by climate change policies and regulations. Representative Experience Dorothy's extensive representative experience includes: · Representing sellers and purchasers in long-term power sales arrangements for coal-, gas-, biomass-, wind- and hydro-powered electric generating facilities. · Representing co-owners in negotiating and managing power plant joint-ownership arrangements. · Representing borrowers in government-guaranteed financings for the construction and acquisition of electric generating and transmission facilities, including the U.S. Department of Energy's loan guarantee program and the Rural Utilities Service's loan and loan guarantee programs. · Advising renewable energy project developers on requirements for qualifying for federal and state tax incentives. · Representing generation and transmission cooperatives in negotiating and implementing innovative wholesale power contracts with their distribution cooperative members. · Representing commercial lenders in secured, syndicated, acquisition, capital expenditure and working capital financings. Professional Honors and Awards · Recognized by Chambers USA: Guide to Leading Business Lawyers in the area of energy (2009-2011) · Named to The Best Lawyers in America in the area of energy law (2012) Professional and Community Involvement · Council Group Member, Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section, American Bar Association (2011-2014) · Chair, Electricity Committee, Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section, American Bar Association · Vice Chair, Renewable Energy Committee, Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section, American Bar Association · Member, Environmental and Renewable Energy Section, American Bar Association · Member, Electric Cooperative Bar Association · Advisory Board Member and past President, Genesis Shelter Inc., Atlanta Recent Publications and Speaking Engagements · Co-author, "Smart Grid: Will It Get Renewables to Market and Promote Energy Efficiency?" Infrastructure, Volume 49, Number 3, American Bar Association (Spring 2010) · Author, "RUS Amends Accounting Requirements; Defers Rulemaking on Accounting for Renewable Energy Credits," Lorman Education Services Accounting and Tax Update Newsletter (June 2008) · Speaker, "Protecting Your Confidential Business Information from Disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act," G&T Legal Seminar (November 4, 2011) · Speaker, "Considerations in Renewable Energy," Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues (October 25, 2011) · Speaker, "Joint Ownership Arrangements," Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues (September 13, 2011) · Speaker, "Electric Cooperative Mergers & Combinations," G&T Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference (June 21, 2011) · Speaker, "Electric Cooperative Mergers & Reorganizations," Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues (May 24, 2011) · Speaker, "Smart Grid," Council Group Meeting, Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section, American Bar Association (October 9, 2009) · Speaker, "Let's Make a Deal: Power Purchase Arrangements," Southeast Bioenergy Conference 2009 (August 12, 2009) · Speaker, "Co-Ownership Issues with IOUs, Muni's, Other Co-ops, Consumers," NRECA G&T Legal Seminar (November 8, 2007) · Speaker, "The State of Renewables in North America," NewEnergy Forum 2005: Insight and Advantage (May 2-5, 2005) · Speaker, "Legal Ethics: Opinions of Counsel," NRECA G&T Legal Seminar (November 11-12, 2004) Industries Electric Power News Sutherland's New Blog Captures Cutting-Edge Developments in Coop Industry
May 23, 2011 Sutherland Attorneys, Practices Top Chambers USA 2011 Rankings
April 14, 2011 Sutherland Earns Top Chambers USA 2010 Rankings
July 7, 2010 Legal Alerts Legal Alert: Wireless Network Patent Owner Accusing Electricity Coops of Infringement
June 20, 2011 Legal Alert: Sierra Club Wins Challenge to RUS Approvals of Coop Plant Expansion
April 20, 2011 Legal Alert: Renewable Energy Treasury Grant Program Extended
December 20, 2010 Legal Alert: Sierra Club Challenges RUS Lien Accommodation Regulation
August 26, 2010 Legal Alert: Treasury Revises Guidance for Renewable Energy Grant Program
March 19, 2010 Legal Alert: FERC Seeks Comments on Efficient Integration of Renewables
February 4, 2010 Legal Alert: FERC Seeks Comments on Expanding Reporting Requirement to Cooperatives and Others
January 25, 2010 Legal Alert: EPA Publishes Tailoring Rule Requirements for Greenhouse Gases from Stationary Sources
October 29, 2009 Legal Alert: DOE Creates Financial Institution Partnership Program in Connection with Solicitation for Renewable Energy Loan Guarantee Applications
October 12, 2009 Legal Alert: Sierra Club Challenges RUS Coal Plant Approvals
August 10, 2009 Legal Alert: Treasury Issues Guidance for Renewable Energy Grant Program
July 13, 2009 Legal Alert: Effects of the Proposed EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule on Electric Cooperatives
March 25, 2009 Legal Alert: Stimulus Bill Provides a Boost for Renewable and Other Energy Investments
February 16, 2009 Legal Alert: FERC Asserts Jurisdiction Over Hydroelectric Projects on the Outer Continental Shelf; Challenges MMS Jurisdiction
October 17, 2008 Legal Alert: California Takes Another Step Towards Allowing the Use of Tradable RECs for RPS Compliance
August 25, 2008 Legal Alert: MMS Proposes Offshore Alternative Energy Program Regulations
July 9, 2008 Legal Alert: RUS Amends Accounting Requirements; Defers Rulemaking on Accounting for Renewable Energy Credits
June 4, 2008 Legal Alert: MMS Issues Notice of Proposed Limited Alternative Energy Leases on the OCS
April 21, 2008 Legal Alert: Regulators' Award of Renewable Energy Credits to Power Purchasers Survives Constitutional Challenge
October 31, 2007 Legal Alert: Florida and North Carolina Move Toward Joining National Trend Requiring Renewable Energy Generation
July 30, 2007 Legal Alert: New Model Agreement Promises to Expedite Trading of Renewable Energy Credits
March 5, 2007 Legal Alert: Court Ruling Clouds Power Producers Ownership of Renewable Energy Credits
January 31, 2007 Legal Alert: Florida Moves to Open Wholesale Electric Marketplace to Renewable Energy Suppliers
January 23, 2007 Legal Alert: Georgia Energy Strategy Identifies Business Development Opportunities for Energy Sector
January 17, 2007 Legal Alert: Application and Allocation Process for Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
December 28, 2005 Legal Alert: Congress Approves Creation of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
August 10, 2005 Publications Smart Grid: Will It Get Renewables to Market and Promote Energy Efficiency?
Spring 2010 Reprinted with permission Infrastructure, Volume 49, Number 3, and the American Bar Association RUS Amends Accounting Requirements; Defers Rulemaking on Accounting for Renewable Energy Credits
June 2008 Lorman Education Services Accounting and Tax Update Newsletter Events G&T Legal Seminar
November 4, 2011 Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues - "Considerations in Renewable Energy"
October 25, 2011 Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues - "Joint Ownership Arrangements"
September 13, 2011 G&T Accounting and Finance Association Annual Conference
June 21, 2011 Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues - "Electric Cooperative Mergers & Combinations"
May 24, 2011 Council Group Meeting, Public Utility, Communications and Transportation Law Section, American Bar Association
October 9, 2009 2009 Southeast Bioenergy Conference
August 11-13, 2009 NRECA G&T Legal Seminar
November 8, 2007 NewEnergy Forum 2005: Insight and Advantage
May 2-5, 2005 NRECA G&T Legal Seminar
November 11-12, 2004 Client Groups Electric Cooperatives Electric Power Producers |