A. Cory Lankford

Partner

Washington, D.C. Office

Cory advises clients on wholesale energy market rules, regulations, and matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) relating to the development, ownership, and use of energy projects throughout the U.S.

Cory is recognized as a notable practitioner by Chambers USA, where clients describe him as "thoughtful, responsive and careful in his advice," "a subject matter expert on the regulatory side," and as an attorney who "provides swift and precise advice."

Cory's clients include developers of renewable energy and battery storage projects, electric utilities, financial institutions, and corporations with renewable energy targets. He advises clients on their rights and responsibilities under the Federal Power Act, the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act. In addition, he frequently represents clients in proceedings before FERC to obtain and maintain authorization to sell energy, capacity and ancillary services at negotiated or market-based rates and to purchase and sell direct or indirect ownership interests in energy projects. Drawing from his broad energy regulatory experience, Cory assists clients in developing and implementing programs to comply with evolving rules, regulations and standards administered and enforced by FERC and the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC).

Before joining Orrick, Cory served as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel at FERC, where he led numerous multidisciplinary teams in the development and drafting of many Commission orders addressing Regional Transmission Organizations, compliance with open access requirements, transmission, generator interconnection and qualifying facility certification. Among his accomplishments at FERC, Cory provided legal counsel on rulemaking proceedings to revise FERC's pro forma Open Access Transmission Tariff and to evaluate national and regional mandatory reliability standards proposed by NERC and its regional entities. In addition, 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.

Engagements
- Intersect Power, LLC in negotiating grid connection arrangements and obtaining authorizations and approvals from FERC for the development and operation of its portfolio of utlility-scale solar and battery storage projects.
- Avantus Energy on the negotiation of generator interconnection arrangements, including shared facility and co-tenancy arrangements, for the interconnection of multiple solar and battery storage projects in California.
- Elawan Energy, a leading wind energy developer, in obtaining FERC authorization for the sale of upstream ownership to ORIX Corporation.
- Lookout Solar Park I, LLC in obtaining from FERC a waiver of generator interconnection requirements under the Southwest Power Pool tariff necessary to preserve grid interconnection rights for a 110 MW solar project in South Dakota.
- Broadview Solar, LLC in a disputed proceeding before FERC, and subsequent D.C. Circuit appeal, to establish Qualifying Facility status for a hybrid solar and battery storage project in Yellowstone County, Montana with a gross capacity of 160 MW that was limited by its 80 MW inverters, in compliance with FERC's rules under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act.
- 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.
- CleanCapital on the purchase and sale of ownership interests in distributed solar projects and related FERC notices to maintain Qualifying Facility status.
- 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.
- A client in the acquisition of an interest in the Cricket Valley Energy Center which owns and operates a 1,000 MW combined cycle generating facility in Dutchess County, NY.