Benjamin Jacobi serves energy industry clients and has been working with the industry for nearly 10 years. Ben represents developers of renewable energy projects, such as wind, ground-mounted and floating solar, battery storage, transmission, carbon sequestration pipelines, hydrogen and biofuel. 

At the local level, Ben is an experienced land use attorney and represents community and utility-scale renewable energy project developers in all phases of permitting before local government. Ben also counsels clients on road use agreements, drainage district agreements, community benefit and development agreements, annexation agreements and other transactions with local governments necessary to develop renewable energy projects. 

At the state level, Ben regularly appears before the Illinois Commerce Commission and recently assisted a developer of a high-voltage direct-current transmission line to obtain a certificate of public convenience and necessity. Ben also assists with environmental permitting, including water, air and wildlife compliance, and assists clients to comply with FAA regulations, obtain determinations of no hazard and request approval for aircraft detection lighting systems. Ben also counsels clients on Agricultural Impact Mitigation Agreement negotiations with the Illinois Department of Agriculture, High Impact Business designations with the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and enterprise zone incentives and expansion with local enterprise zone administrators.

Ben’s transactional experience also includes negotiating royalty agreements, drafting and reviewing land leases for project infrastructure, drafting and reviewing wind wake agreements and easements, counseling on power purchase agreements, interconnection agreements and renewable energy credit contracts and counseling on purchase and sale agreements. Ben has also led real estate, permitting and regulatory due diligence reviews of renewable energy assets.