Renewable Energy is a gem for Japan because Japan had serious nuclear power plant accident in 2011. After the accident, Japan stopped all operation of nuclear power plants and depended primarily on thermal power plant. While world is changing to minimize CO2 emission and stop global warming, CO2 emission becomes very hot topic in the world of investment.
Recently, Renewable Energy is not only solar power but also wind power and others in Japan. Japanese companies sometimes go to foreign countries to acquire Renewable Energy projects to balance their total amount of CO2 emission to attract more investment to the company. This makes sense since it will affect many kinds of indicators to evaluate the company.
In the meantime, renewable energy projects have various unique aspects. Even though it sounds environmentally friendly, almost all kinds of renewable energy projects have environmental impacts. For instance, an offshore wind power plant might have an impact on the ecology of birds and fish. Therefore, an environmental impact assessment will be implemented to mitigate the impact.
Meantime, it has many matters in common with other types of energy projects. It’s day-to-day operation for a long time. Those have to generate sufficient energy every single day to supply energy in a more stable way. Therefore, contracts related to the operation of the project tend to have a long term to make the operation stable. If it’s biomass, it has to have stable feed stock agreements to have steady supply to keep running the generator. A maintenance agreement should also become a key to the operation of the plant.
To deal with renewable energy projects, it’s helpful to have legal professionals who have experience in renewable energy projects and are up on the latest topics in environmental matters. The environment is always changing, while topics in the world of the environment are always changing, too. It’s necessary to know what’s on the table for discussion, check on new stakeholders for the projects, and make everything right in the process of developing the projects. If something happens before the projects are completed, it will be difficult to make progress. If it’s not completed, it wil not generate energy but cost to maintain the value of the facility.
Not all lawyers could deal with renewable energy projects in Japan since it’s still one of the new practice areas. And it requires expertise in finance, development, and energy matters.
Hattori Law has experience reviewing various contracts for the Renewable Energy projects. On top of that, Shingo Hattori is a vice-chair of Environmental Preservation Committee of Daini Tokyo Bar Association and actively discusses the latest topics of the environment in Japan.
Hattori Law is here for you to support your renewable energy projects with great expertise.