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Independent Power ProjectsSchwartz Cooper has an active practice representing parties involved in independent power projects, including district energy systems. District energy systems involve a central plant to produce hot water or cold water, which is then piped to a “campus” of buildings in the vicinity. It is an attractive way to foster development of the “campus” area by centralizing the plant for these services and obtaining economies of scale in operation and service. The “customer” buildings also save space which would otherwise be needed for their own HVAC production plant. In some markets, notably Chicago, district cooling also allows “load shifting” of electric power by the production of ice during off-peak hours which is then used during peak hours to chill water which is piped to the customer buildings and used to air condition them. This saves money for the customers and can also significantly reduce emissions which might otherwise be generated by fossil fuel electric generation during peak hours to meet air conditioning demands. Such load shifting can also alleviate the danger of “brown outs” when demand exceeds electricity peak supply. Thus, district cooling can be an environmental plus in more than one sense. District energy entails real estate, finance, construction, regulatory and contract law issues. Our Independent Power Project practice has included projects in Chicago, Las Vegas, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Nashville and Windsor, Ontario and has included negotiation and documentation of the development and service contracts with customers, the construction contracts with general contractors building plants, financing the construction of such plants and real estate leases and purchases for the sites where the plants have been located and the easements for the service piping. Our clients have included Exelon Thermal, Constellation Energy Source and APS Energy Services, each of which is a subsidiary of a major utility holding company.
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