Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
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Rupert. In the recent clean-energy call, it submitted a proposal for a 700-megawatt wind farm on nearby Banks Island under the guise of North Coast Wind Energy Corp., a joint venture with Germany's Deutsche Bank AG. So far, the company has made progress on the engineering and environmental assessment work needed to get the project off the ground. But Katabatic has run into roadblocks with its nearby Mount Hays wind farm, which was supposed to be built and generating power by the fall. "One of the issues, I think, was turbine supplies," says Antanavicius, explaining the delay. The goal now is to finish Mount Hays by the end of 2009, he notes. Katabatic's challenges, however, look favourable compared to those of one of its competitors, EarthFirst Canada Inc. It is already building a 144-megawatt wind farm called Dokie 1 in northeastern British Columbia's Peace River area, but a short- age of financing blamed on tight credit markets led it to file for creditor protection in November. According to the company, it doesn't have enough cash to meet its obligations as well as its commitments to the Dokie project, and as a result it's seeking a sale. Antanavicius, though, says despite the financial crunch, he believes the industry and his own company's projects are vi- able. "North Coast Wind Energy Corporation is kind of lucky at this point in time because the partner in the project is Deutsche Bank, so the project is financed. Until now, I'd say there's no problem with financing. It's a reliable bank, and they're willing to proceed." At another private power developer, Plutonic Power Corp., senior vice president for legal affairs Rupert Legge says the com- pany has enough financing to last through 2009. But after bid- ding for two small-scale, run-of-river hydro projects in B.C., the company could find itself looking for money by the summer if the proposals are successful. "Hopefully, the markets are going to be in a much better position then," he says. "But if we had to go to the market right now, it would be tough. I don't know that we would be able to raise the necessary funds to develop our projects." Despite the financial challenges, the biggest issue for corpo- rate lawyers is native land claims. "Virtually all of these run-of- river sites are located in territory that's claimed by one or more First Nation," says Legge. "So you've got the whole gamut of ab- original law that you have to deal with there. Our philosophy is to get the First Nations involved at the earliest stage possible." Typically, Legge says Plutonic begins consultations with First Nations communities once it identifies a site and applies for a water licence. From there, the goal is to negotiate an impact- benefit agreement that might include an upfront cash payment to the band, an access fee to allow the company onto the land during construction, and a royalty on the project's eventual revenues. In many cases, the deals will include provisions for [Across the street, down the block or Canada wide — our commercial team is ready for you. ] For over 100 years, legal professionals have trusted Stewart Title to provide title insurance for their commercial real estate transactions. Some of the world's best hotels, golf courses, resorts, office towers and business centres are insured by Stewart Title. Our global reach and financial strength, combined with the expertise of our Commercial Team, enable us to handle the most complex transactions. We can facilitate specialized commercial endorsements for almost any situation. Our title insurance services provide efficient closings and fast turnaround times. With Stewart Title you can close real estate transactions with security and peace of mind. Visit www.stewart.ca to view some of our recent transactions, or call us for a quotation on your next transaction to see us in action. 1.888.667.5151 Untitled-3 1 INHOUSE FEBRUARY 2009 • 12/19/08 10:28:59 AM 21