Member Article

Anesco appoints law firm Dundas & Wilson

National energy efficiency solutions company, Anesco, has appointed Dundas & Wilson as its external legal team.

Anesco is a national company dedicated to helping businesses, local authorities and homeowners reduce their carbon emissions through a blend of energy efficiency measures.

As external counsel, Dundas & Wilson will work with Anesco to assist on all day to day tasks as well as larger and more complex projects, for which specialist advice may be required.

Major projects recently handled by Anesco have included a £3m installation and £750k operation and maintenance project for Westcountry Housing, one of the largest social housing energy schemes of its kind.

It has also worked with Lancashire County Council on a project to insulate 1,100 homes and a similar initiative for Preston County Council for 1,500 homes, a contract with Whitbread to bring ‘green’ power to its sites and a 5MW ground mounted solar PV system in the New Forest.

“With renewable energy an emerging market we need to keep up with constant changes to legislation and incentives, balancing the need for legal accuracy and protection with staying commercial and ensuring that as an organisation we do not miss out on key deals for lack of risk; balancing a typical lawyer’s bias for caution with the necessary entrepreneurial approach of our industry,” explains Jeremy Cross, head of legal at Anesco.

“We are also creating legal frameworks with no precedent, such as for Anesco’s innovative ESCO model, which assesses the current energy usage of an organisation before calculating the financial savings that could be made through the implementation of a range of energy efficiency measures. Our challenge is to create contracts which embrace the delivery of multiple energy efficiency solutions into buildings and homes.”

Further legal frameworks affecting the renewable sector include the draft Energy Bill recently announced by the government. Renewable energy law is also strongly affected by international agreements and decisions made by the EU, and in the UK, renewable energy policies such as the Energy Acts of 2008, 2010 and 2011.

The Climate Change Act 2008 is another legally binding framework introduced into the UK which effects operations, because it sets targets for the reduction of emissions and tackles the dangers of climate change, including information on how businesses like Anesco will need to adapt.

Adrian Pike, CEO of Anesco, said: “I have known the team at Dundas & Wilson for over 10 years now, from my time working with SSE. They have a fantastic work ethic and the specialist knowledge and experience that we need for Anesco.

“We will be working closely with their corporate, tax and real estate teams, as well as the experienced renewables team, whose experience will be vital for our more complex projects. They have excellent experience and we are looking forward to a great relationship going forward.”

Douglas Land, Partner at Dundas & Wilson said: “We are delighted to have been appointed as Anesco’s external legal counsel and to have the opportunity to build on our relationship with Anesco’s dynamic management team. The renewable energy sector is a key focus for us and our breadth of experience advising contractors, developers, investors, funders, off-takers and landowners is essential to providing legal advice with the correct commercial focus in what is a fast evolving sector”.

Dundas & Wilson is a national UK law firm with 81 partners and 452 staff based across offices in London, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Aberdeen. The firm acts for a wide range of UK and international clients from FTSE 100 companies and other household names in commerce and industry to small privately owned entrepreneurial businesses.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adrian Pike .