Experienced Counsel and Advocacy for Drivers of the Clean Energy Transition
Services
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Title review and curative
Lease drafting and negotiation
Subordination, Non-Distrubance, and Atttornement Agreements
Easements and Rights-of-Way
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Land use and zoning ordinance analysis
Conditional use and special exception permits; variances
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Draft and negotiate power purchase agreements
State and local permitting
Renewable energy credit agreements and consulting
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Net metering
Community solar
Interconnection
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Project certification
Subscription agreements
Regulatory counseling
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Daniel represents community development corporations and others seekingto create and preserve affordable housing through Pennsylvania’s Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act
About Daniel P. Craig
Biography
A dedicated practitioner with over a decade of experience representing the energy industry in real estate development, transactions, and litigation, Daniel provides high-level legal counsel and advocacy to renewable energy project developers, landowners, and offtakers. His practice includes real estate title review and curative, land use, zoning, and regulatory matters. His understanding of FERC-regulated wholesale power markets and RTO/ISO tariffs brings value to both energy developers and commercial or industrial clients purchasing bulk power through fixed or variable rate power purchase agreements. Daniel devotes considerable time and attention to understanding how the transitioning energy economy impacts the business and legal needs of his clients. His considerable experience representing clients in state and federal courts across Ohio and Pennsylvania gives him strong insight into identifying and mitigating risks to successful project development.
Daniel’s strong sense of community informs his practice. An advocate for the passage of vital community solar enabling legislation in both Ohio and Pennsylvania, Daniel’s deep understanding of community solar project development in states that have enabled the model brings value to developers seeking to hit the ground running when legislation is finally enacted in his home states. Moreover, Daniel represents non-profit community development organizations seeking to create and preserve affordable housing in Pennsylvania through the Abandoned and Blighted Property Conservatorship Act.
Born and raised in and around Youngstown, Ohio, Daniel became interested in energy at an early age. In junior high, he participated in the Ohio Energy Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to inspiring leadership and energy innovation in Ohio students and teachers. During his undergraduate studies at Ohio State University, Daniel worked as a field organizer for the Ohio Public Interest Research Group and Environment Ohio on campaigns advocating for the state to join the Midwest Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord and to fund the Three C high speed rail projected that would link Cleveland, Columbus, and Cincinnati. During law school, Daniel worked with his sister to form Pittsburgh Environmental Action for Kids (PEAK), a non-profit organization that provided environmental education to an after-school program at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh. He also received the CALI award for best grade in State Constitutional Law for his paper on the impact of the Environmental Rights Amendment to the Pennsylvania Constitution on what was at the time a bourgeoning unconventional natural gas industry, a version of which was later published in the Pennsylvania Bar Association Quarterly.
Daniel launched his legal career working for a boutique firm representing clients in the natural gas industry. In 2015, he joined an AmLaw 200 firm, where he shifted his focus towards renewable energy project development. He also served as the Editor-in-Chielf of that firm’s Diversity & Inclusion Quarterly Report, and on its Diversity Scholarship and DEI Survey Committees.
Daniel serves on the board of trustees of the Energy & Mineral Law Foundation and is an active member of the Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition. He has previously served on the board of directors of the Bloomfield Development Corporation, the registered community organization representing the neighborhood which he called home for many years.
Daniel lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with his wife and two children. When not working in service of the needs of his clients and community, Daniel enjoys spending time with his family, playing soccer, skiing, hiking, and camping.
Professional Experience
● Led team of attorneys serving as special state and local permitting counsel for utility-scale solar projects closing on financing transactions
● Draft, negotiate, and advise solar industry clients on commercial contracts including lease options, leases, easements, surface use agreements, non-disturbance and attornment agreements, physical and virtual power purchase agreements, energy services agreements, and installation contracts
● Advise solar energy clients (utility-scale and DERs) on real estate and regulatory matters including title insurance, curing title defects, restrictive covenants, zoning, interconnection, net metering, valuing excess generation from net metered systems, virtual meter aggregation, parcel splitting, renewable energy credits, and legislative developments impacting strategy for companies entering new markets
● Draft and negotiate power purchase agreements for solar developers and bulk power purchasers
● Advise solar industry clients on interconnection requirements and application process of PJM Interconnection, Inc., the largest of the federally regulated RTOs/ISOs
● Perform due diligence for acquisitions of portfolios of solar projects
● Draft and negotiate settlement agreements for pending or threatened litigation
● Defend largest natural gas production company in Ohio in real estate title litigation
● Served as lead attorney at AmLaw 200 firm for issues related to wholesale power markets, FERC rulemaking proceedings, and RTO/ISO tariffs
● Served as lead attorney at AmLaw 200 firm counseling clients on certification of community solar project in various jurisdictions
● Represent clients before Environmental Hearing Board in appeals of Department of Environmental Protection actions
● Represent clients in litigation in state and federal courts
● Represent community development organizations working to create and preserve affordable housing
● Advised major financial institution serving as corporate trustee of a trust developing distributed solar projects on regulatory and C-PACE financing issues
● Advised utility-scale solar developer on whether addition of battery storage to existing solar project would trigger Ohio Power Siting Board review
● Assisted utility-scale solar developer building project on former U.S. Army munitions testing facility in identifying locations on property subject to restrictive covenants concerning buried unexploded ordinance, archeological preservation sites, and Indiana bat (protected species) roosting grounds
● Developed process for identifying agricultural conservation easements (which exclude solar energy development) on target project acreage in advance of title abstracting for industry-leading utility-scale solar energy developer
● Represented energy industry clients in permitting disputes before regulatory bodies and federal courts
● Advised coal mine owner regarding joint venture with solar energy developer
● Won appeal of a $15 million judgment in a case involving oil and gas lease dispute
● Successfully defended oil and gas zoning permit in challenges brought by environmental groups and landowners before local zoning hearing boards and state trial and appellate courts
● Represented energy industry clients in contract, tort, real estate, regulatory and zoning cases in municipal, state, and federal courts; researched and drafted pleadings, motions, briefs, subpoenas, and case memoranda; appeared at depositions, arguments, and evidentiary hearings
● Drafted oil and gas drilling title opinions, and conducted rapid response due diligence in connection with large land acquisitions for oil and gas companies operating in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays
● Drafted first compulsory pooling application filed for an unconventional oil & gas well in Pennsylvania
Bar Admissions
Pennsylvania, 2011
Ohio, 2012
U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, 2014
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, 2016
Education
Duquesne University School of Law, Juris Doctor, 2011
Ohio State University, Bachelor of Arts, 2008
Civic Engagement
Energy & Mineral Law Foundation | Board of Trustees
2021 – Present
Bloomfield Development Corporation | Board of Directors, Legal Counsel
2019 – 2022
Pittsburgh Legal Diversity & Inclusion Coalition | Facilitator and Active Member
2018 – Present
Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund Name Change Project | Volunteer Attorney
2021-Present
Voter Protection PA | Democratic Party Poll Observer
2020 and 2022 General Elections
Insights
Daniel’s published articles and presentations:
Daniel P. Craig, Roger G. Hanshaw, Kara H. Herrnstein, and Andrew R. Smith, “State Solar Regulation in Appalachia,” 42 Energy & Min. Law Inst. 186 (2022).
Daniel P. Craig, “Challenges Ahead For U.S. Generator Interconnection Process,” Law360 Expert Analysis, < https://www.law360.com/newjersey/articles/1479779/challenges-ahead-for-us-generator-interconnection-process> (April 4, 2022).
Daniel P. Craig, Ericson Kimbel, Bryan DiLucente, and Sammy Germany, “FERC Order 841: Removing barriers to electric storage technology in wholesale power markets,” Virtual Poster Presentation, North American Smart Energy Week (2020).
Daniel P. Craig and Kevin L. Colosimo, “Legal Ethics and American Political Scandal: Pennsylvania’s Recent Supreme Court Scandal Explored Through the Lens of the Historical Development of American Legal Ethics,” 37 Energy & Min. Law Inst. 1 (2017).
Daniel P. Craig, Kevin L. Colosimo and James D. Mozzocco, “Recent Decisions in Oil and Gas Jurisprudence,” 36 Energy & Min. L. Inst. 733 (2015).
Daniel P. Craig and Kevin L. Colosimo, “Jurisdictional Considerations for the Oil Gas Practitioner,” 34 Energy & Min. L. Inst. 621 (2013).
Daniel P. Craig, Kevin L. Colosimo and Andrew Jenkins, “2012 United States Oil and Gas Law Update,” Institute for Energy Law 64th Annual Oil and Gas Law Conference (Feb. 21-22, 2013, Houston, Texas).
Daniel P. Craig and Kevin L. Colosimo, “Compulsory Pooling and Unitization in the Marcellus Shale: Pennsylvania’s Challenges and Opportunities,” 83 Pa.B.A.Q. 47 (April 2012).
Contact
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