A. Cory Lankford

Partner

Washington, D.C. Office

Cory focuses on matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).

Cory is recognized as a notable practitioner by Chambers USA (2021), where clients describe him as "thoughtful, responsive and careful in his advice" and "a subject matter expert on the regulatory side."

Before joining Orrick, Cory served as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at FERC, where he provided expert counsel on a variety of issues arising under the Federal Power Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 2005, and the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007. During his tenure in the Office of the General Counsel, Cory led numerous multidisciplinary teams in rulemaking proceedings establishing revisions to the pro forma Open Access Transmission Tariff and evaluating national and regional mandatory reliability standards proposed by the North American Electric Reliability Corporation.

Cory also was instrumental in the development and drafting of many Commission orders addressing Regional Transmission Organizations, compliance with open access requirements, transmission, interconnection and qualifying facility certification.

Among his accomplishments, Cory coordinated with staff at the U.S. Department of Energy to draft the National Action Plan on Demand Response and the corresponding Implementation Proposal to Congress. He also managed the development of a landmark order addressing the Commission’s jurisdiction over a non-jurisdictional transmission provider.

Engagements
- GE Energy Financial Services in the sale to an affiliate of a global energy major of its 50.01% interest in Towantic Energy Holdings LLC, which owns a 49% interest in CPV Towantic LLC, operator of an 805-MW natural gas facility in Oxford, Connecticut.
- 8minutenergy Renewables, the largest independent solar power developer in the U.S., on the sale of the equity interests in its 121 MW Springbok 3 solar farm to Capital Dynamics.
- GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS) in a sale of its 24.95% share in Southeast PowerGen Holdings (Southeast) to co-investor The Carlyle Group (Carlyle). Southeast owns a 3.2 GW portfolio of six generation assets in Georgia.
- A global renewable energy company in a 15-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with Salesforce for the energy produced from its Bright Stalk Wind Farm in McLean County, Illinois. The 205 MW Bright Stalk Wind Farm will produce enough clean electricity to power more than 70,000 Illinois homes each year and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2019. A client in the acquisition of a minority interest in the Cricket Valley Energy Center which is developing a 1,000 MW combined cycle generating facility in Dutchess County, NY.