Energy & Infrastructure
Baird Holm represents energy and infrastructure developers and utilities pursuing complex projects throughout the Midwest. We help developers secure entitlements, manage regulatory risk, pass or defeat legislation and move projects from early-stage planning to construction and operation. Our attorneys understand how development decisions intersect with land use, politics, utility regulation, taxes and financing. We deliver practical guidance grounded in the local legal and regulatory landscape.
Renewable Energy and Electrical Infrastructure
We have advised renewable energy developers since the industry’s emergence in the Midwest. In 2008, our attorneys helped pass the legislation that enabled utility‑scale renewable energy development in Nebraska. Since then, we have represented the developer or investor on nearly every utility‑scale wind, solar and battery storage project in the state. We have also developed projects in Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, South Dakota, and Wyoming.
We have experience assisting developers with:
- Site control
- Leasing and easements
- Zoning and land use approvals
- Water rights
- Environmental permitting
- Power purchase agreements
- Interconnection agreements
- Financing and tax matters
- Repowering
We also advise on next‑generation energy infrastructure, including:
- Utility-scale wind and solar
- Battery storage
- Electric‑vehicle charging networks
- Data centers
- Sustainable aviation fuel facilities
- Hydrogen production
- Nuclear energy facilities
- Telecommunications facilities
- Transmission lines
We have continued to play an instrumental role in advancing legislation to support the energy industry. Our experience allows developers to anticipate opposition, coordinate agency approvals and maintain project schedules.
Mining and Pipelines
We represent developers on mining, pipeline and other linear infrastructure projects. Our attorneys served as local counsel on Nebraska’s first successfully developed carbon dioxide pipeline.
We have experience assisting developers with:
- Carbon capture and storage facilities
- Geothermal development
- Natural gas generation facilities
- Mining and production
- Pipelines
- Water rights
We advise developers on:
- Lease and right‑of‑way acquisition
- Eminent domain strategy
- Exempt Entity Certification
- State administrative proceedings
- Environmental permitting
- Land use and zoning
We regularly coordinate with multi‑state development teams to advance complex infrastructure projects efficiently and strategically.
Renewable Fuels
We advise renewable fuel developers across the full lifecycle of ethanol, biofuel and emerging fuel projects. Our experience spans from the earliest ethanol facilities to modern, large‑scale renewable fuel developments. We focus on removing regulatory barriers early, coordinating agency approvals and positioning projects for stable operation, refinancing or exit.
We have experience assisting developers with:
- Advanced biofuels
- Biodiesel and biogas
- Cellulosic ethanol
- Hydrogen
- Sustainable aviation fuel
- Renewable diesel.
We advise developers on:
- Structure projects
- Secure sites
- Navigating zoning and environmental permitting
- Finance construction
- Manage complex tax and regulatory regimes
- Acquisitions
- Joint ventures
- Financing structures
- Incentive programs
- Transportation logistics
- Long‑term operational issues.
Litigation and Project Disputes
We represent developers in litigation at every stage of project development and operation and advise developers on dispute‑avoidance strategies to reduce litigation risk. When disputes arise, we litigate aggressively while remaining focused on practical outcomes that allow projects to move forward.
We have experience assisting developers with:
- Zoning and land‑use challenges
- Permit appeals
- Eminent domain and right‑of‑way disputes
- Administrative and regulatory litigation
- Injunction actions brought to delay or stop development
We have a proven record of successfully defending energy infrastructure projects against organized opposition. Our attorneys have secured numerous victories before the Nebraska Supreme Court and other state and federal courts, including final appellate and precedent‑setting decisions that protect project approvals and development rights. Recent victories have preserved conditional use permits, confirmed vested property rights, defeated injunction efforts, and upheld agency and local government approvals—allowing major energy projects to proceed in the face of coordinated legal challenges.
