Curt Whittaker

Shareholder

603-410-4342

M. Curtis Whittaker has been a shareholder of the firm since 1991. Curt is a lead member of the firm’s Energy Practice Group, representing developers, owners, operators, investors, and lenders in the alternative energy area, including biomass, hydropower, wind, solar, cogeneration, and alternative fuels.

While at Harvard Law School, Curt took aim at a career in the alternative energy sector by authoring a law review article on the history of hydropower regulation in the United States. From there he moved on to the Washington, D.C. office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he was the first associate hired by their newly-formed Energy Department.

After helping set up Skadden’s West Coast energy practice in Los Angeles, Curt was lured to Rath, Young and Pignatelli by a combination of personal imperatives and the fact that the firm had been retained by Northeast Utilities in its effort to acquire Public Service Company of New Hampshire. On the heels of that successful transaction, Curt led the firm’s effort to carve out a niche in serving the sophisticated needs of the alternative energy sector.

The firm’s clients have developed large percentages of the nation’s biomass and landfill gas-fueled power plants, and the firm has an outsized presence in the hydropower and commercial solar sectors. Each of these sectors is very different, with their own sets of business risks and regulatory features. Curt brings decades of real world experience with these sectors in advising clients and designing practical transactions and diligence plans.

Curt and the Energy Group work closely with the Tax Group in crafting approaches to maximize the value of the “regulatory assets” often associated with alternative energy projects, including federal tax credits and renewable energy incentive programs.

Prior to joining the firm in 1990, Curt practiced law with Skadden, Arps, in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Aside from his work for clients, Curt privately has developed two hydropower plants, one landfill gas-fueled power plant, and large wind project. Curt has published several articles and given numerous presentations throughout the country on different aspects of the alternative energy industry and sat on several energy corporate and investment boards.

Curt Whittaker

Shareholder

M. Curtis Whittaker has been a shareholder of the firm since 1991. Curt is a lead member of the firm’s Energy Practice Group, representing developers, owners, operators, investors, and lenders in the alternative energy area, including biomass, hydropower, wind, solar, cogeneration, and alternative fuels.

While at Harvard Law School, Curt took aim at a career in the alternative energy sector by authoring a law review article on the history of hydropower regulation in the United States. From there he moved on to the Washington, D.C. office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he was the first associate hired by their newly-formed Energy Department.

After helping set up Skadden’s West Coast energy practice in Los Angeles, Curt was lured to Rath, Young and Pignatelli by a combination of personal imperatives and the fact that the firm had been retained by Northeast Utilities in its effort to acquire Public Service Company of New Hampshire. On the heels of that successful transaction, Curt led the firm’s effort to carve out a niche in serving the sophisticated needs of the alternative energy sector.

The firm’s clients have developed large percentages of the nation’s biomass and landfill gas-fueled power plants, and the firm has an outsized presence in the hydropower and commercial solar sectors. Each of these sectors is very different, with their own sets of business risks and regulatory features. Curt brings decades of real world experience with these sectors in advising clients and designing practical transactions and diligence plans.

Curt and the Energy Group work closely with the Tax Group in crafting approaches to maximize the value of the “regulatory assets” often associated with alternative energy projects, including federal tax credits and renewable energy incentive programs.

Prior to joining the firm in 1990, Curt practiced law with Skadden, Arps, in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles. Aside from his work for clients, Curt privately has developed two hydropower plants, one landfill gas-fueled power plant, and large wind project. Curt has published several articles and given numerous presentations throughout the country on different aspects of the alternative energy industry and sat on several energy corporate and investment boards.

Education and Bar Admissions

Education:

  • Harvard Law School, J.D., 1985
  • College of William & Mary, B.A., 1982

 

Bar Admissions:

  • New Hampshire
  • District of Columbia
  • Virginia

Representative Matters

  • Representing a New York lending institution in the financing of up to 20 direct use commercial solar power installations in California and New Jersey, including the development of a transaction structure that allowed for multi-party construction and term financing and allocations of federal tax credits to a third party investor.
  • Representing a developer in the acquisition of a biomass-fueled power plant in Maine, together with the negotiation of engineering/procurement/construct agreements and construction financing for a plant retrofit designed to enable the plant’s output to qualify for renewable energy credits in various state renewable portfolio standard programs.
  • Representing a Canadian power development company in the acquisition of hydropower plants located in New York and Virginia.
  • Representing a Colorado-based developer in the development and financing of a commercial wind project.
  • Assisting a Fortune 200 company in California develop an internal cogeneration plant fueled in part by landfill gas from a nearby landfill, including advising on utility interconnections and local regulations.
  • Analyzing a Fortune 100 company’s energy plant portfolio, and developing plans for structuring project-level financings and improving after-tax returns.

Community Involvement

Noteworthy

  • Curt was on a three-man relay team that successfully swam the English Channel in 2014.

Awards and Recognitions