Clay Butler
Managing Partner
(512) 992-0439
- Project Structuring
- Site Control
- Energy Regulation
- Regulatory Services
- Project Finance
- Policy Support
- St. Mary’s School of Law JD, 2006
- Texas State University B.A., 2002
- U.S.M.C., 1995-1999
Clay Butler founded our firm with the goal of providing comprehensive legal services to clean and renewable generation companies. As this vision has evolved, he has recruited several of the leading energy attorneys and consultants in Texas to join our team. Mr. Butler serves as policy chair to the Texas Renewable Energy Industry Association and as outside general counsel to numerous clean generation (especially solar generation) and technology companies throughout the United States.
As managing partner of the firm, much of Mr. Butler’s attention is commanded by team operations. His legal practice primarily focuses on policy and regulatory support, project structuring, and finance. Mr. Butler is a regular speaker on these topics throughout the United States, especially concerning finance structuring and policy.
Mr. Butler is an alumnus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratories (NREL) “Energy Executives” program, St. Mary’s University School of Law, and the Texas State University. He also is a proud veteran of the United States Marine Corps.
Philip DeHart
Senior Associate
(512) 992-0794
- Lender Services
- Project Structuring
- Property Taxation
- Energy Contracts
- County, Municipality and School District Services
- University of Georgia, School of Law JD, 2006
- Pennsylvania State University B.A., 2003
Philip DeHart joined the firm after years of practicing finance and bankruptcy law and now heads the firm’s lender services practice. In addition to structuring finance and lending agreements, Mr. DeHart negotiates tax agreements (including property tax abatements and 313 agreements) and all major energy contracts on behalf of the firm’s clients. He also coordinates all 363 acquisitions in bankruptcy. Mr. DeHart has special experience working with the unique needs of biomass developers and with clients in developing markets, including isolated / stranded grids throughout the Americas. He is proficient in Spanish.
As part of a nationwide community outreach in 2013, Mr. DeHart is working with third party education providers to assist local governments in evaluating whether to develop clean generation resources. Mr. DeHart is a regular lecturer on energy and construction negotiation and drafting, including on solar EPC agreements. He is a proud alumnus of the University of Georgia School of Law and of the Pennsylvania State University, where he was captain and a nationally ranked member of its policy debate team.
Bob Webb
Of Counsel
(512) 992-0439
- Energy Regulation
- Energy Litigation
- Legislative Services
- Environmental Law
- General Counsel
- Yale Law School JD, 1969
- Amherst College B.A., 1966
Bob Webb has practiced the law of electricity and gas production, transmission, and sales for over four decades. His law practice focuses on the regulation of public utilities, energy law, and environmental law. He represents non-utility generators, energy marketers, developers of new energy technology, and industrial consumers, in addition to traditional gas, electric, and telephone utilities. He also has organized and served as general counsel to numerous independent power producers, transmission companies, and power marketers.
Mr. Webb is a graduate of Yale Law School and of Amherst College (economics). For nearly twenty-three years, he served as a professor of energy regulatory law at the University of Texas and the University of Houston. Mr. Webb twice has served as the chair of the Public Utility Section of the State Bar of Texas and has been active in various sections of the American Bar Association. As a long-time member of the Federal Power Bar Association, he served on the Committee for Cogeneration and Small Power Production from 1986 to 1994 and on the Renewables Committee from 2006 to 2008. Mr. Webb is general counsel to the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association and is a frequent lecturer on energy law and markets.
Soll Sussman
Professional Consultant
(512) 992-0439
- Site Identification
- Site Control
- Community Outreach
- County, Municipality and School District Services
- University of Texas at Austin M.A., 1975
- Johns Hopkins University B.A., 1972
Soll Sussman, managing director of S cubed Studio and coordinator of the annual U.S.-Mexico Border Energy Forum, has more than 20 successful years experience in program management, project development, international negotiations and coalition building, and in the media as a writer, correspondent and manager. Mr. Sussman serves as an independent consultant to the firm on behalf of clients and renewable energy projects through the U.S.-Mexico border region, Mexico, and several Central American nations.
Mr. Sussman has built an extensive network of contacts throughout northern Mexico and the American Southwest. He works as a consultant to the Border Environment Cooperation Commission after retiring from the Texas General Land Office. He previously was based in Mexico City as a correspondent and news editor for The Associated Press. Mr. Sussman earned his master’s degree in Latin American studies from the University of Texas and his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University.
Michael Lumbley
Professional Consultant
(512) 992-0439
- Site Identification
- Site Control
- RFP / RFQ Services
- Energy Contracts
- Community Outreach
- Certified Project Management Professional, 2003
Michael Lumbley, PMP, has more than a decade of experience in energy project development, business development, project management and project implementation. He has served as the primary point of contact for several utility scale solar developers to EPC contractors, technology vendors, engineering groups, and finance partners. In addition to serving classic project management functions, Mr. Lumbley performs site identification and control consulting, working in tandem with the firm’s attorneys to secure all necessary land rights. He also has extensive experience assisting developers /sponsors and governmental entities issue or respond to requests for proposals (RFPs) throughout the world.
Chad Blevins
Professional Consultant
(512) 992-0439
- Due Diligence
- Utility Services
- Policy and Regulatory
- Support
- Energy Markets
- University of Texas at Austin M.A., (expected 2013)
- St. Edward’s University B.A., 2003
Chad Blevins serves as the chief financial analyst and ERCOT market analyst for the firm. He advises in the disciplines of energy finance, energy policy, and emerging technology markets. His practice includes building financial cash flow models using specific market structures, statistical analyses, and incorporating uncertainty (using Excel and Monte Carlo simulator @Risk); building computational economic models of resource trading; and monitoring ERCOT and PUCT stakeholder deliberations.
Mr. Blevins is the vice chair of the Emerging Technologies Working Group at ERCOT and is on the CleanTX Leadership Council. Prior to joining the firm, he conducted due diligence, market assessments, and economic impact assessments for the ATI Clean Energy Incubator. Mr. Blevins served as the President of the Energy Resources Group at the University of Texas while he was a graduate student in the Energy & Earth Resources masters program (degree pending). During the Texas 82nd Legislative Session, Chad worked on behalf of Public Citizen to support the successful passage of ten energy efficiency bills. Mr. Blevins is an Air Force Distinguished Graduate and Summa Cum Laude alumnus of Saint Edward’s University (international relations with a thesis focus on the economics of sustainability).
Randy Sowell
Professional Consultant
(432) 301-0002
- Site Identification
- Site Control
- Property Taxation
- Community Outreach
Randy Sowell is the President of Lionshare Advisory Services and provides development consultation for utility grade wind and solar energy projects. His services include site prospecting and evaluation, land leases and purchase negotiations, local tax agreements, surface rights agreements, environmental assessment oversight, and pre-construction micro-siting and design refinement. Mr. Sowell has participated in the construction of over 900 megawatts of wind energy facilities since 2001.
Mr. Sowell is a representative of a special outreach effort of the Texas Renewable Energy Industries Association called the Rural Alliance for Renewable Energy. For over a decade he has provided advisory services to the West Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association. More recently he has been admitted as a faculty member of the University of Texas Continuing Legal Education Renewable Energy Institute for his pioneering work in the impact of mineral issues on solar energy development and negotiated surface rights agreements that are considered industry standard documents. His experience working for an international investment bank gives him early insight into finance criteria. His passion for renewable energy’s future guides his interest in ongoing public policy. Acting as a communication bridge, Mr. Sowell builds the broadest possible alliances between project developers and urban and rural stakeholders in the renewable energy arena.
