Peter McLay

Experience

Peter is a Partner in our Energy, Climate Change and Natural Resources practice, specialising in the Irish and European law, regulations and industry codes applicable to Irish energy projects. 

Peter has practised in the area since the establishment of the Single Electricity Market (the wholesale electricity market for Ireland and Northern Ireland) in 2007.  His expertise extends to advising developers and large energy consumers on energy procurement arrangements (including Corporate Power Purchase Agreements), and he has significant experience of adjacent areas of law such as environmental permitting and energy efficiency obligations. 

Key highlights include advising:

• generators, utilities, lenders and electricity trading houses in connection with the go-live of the I-SEM (Integrated Single Electricity Market) electricity trading arrangements in late September 2018, and amendments to their commercial arrangements that were required as a consequence;
• the developer of a Phase I offshore wind project (with a projected capacity of c. 1,000MW) on all aspects of the consenting, development and procurement of the project;
• a large electricity consumer on the negotiation and execution of two corporate power purchase agreements with an Irish renewables developer, in respect of two new solar farms having an anticipated combined installed generation capacity of approximately 300MWp;
• an Irish solar developer on its sale of a portfolio of over 15 solar farm projects across Ireland, having an aggregate prospective generation capacity of approximately 200MW, to a consortium of institutional investors;
• a number of Irish electricity and capacity market participants in dispute processes under the Single Electricity Market Trading & Settlement Code, and the Capacity Market Code; and
• a European utility in relation to its acquisition, and subsequent disposal, of a major portfolio of Irish thermal electricity generating stations.