Christopher B. Berendt is of counsel to the firm's Environmental & Energy Practice Groups and heads the Environmental Markets Team.  He concentrates his practice in the design and operations of the compliance and voluntary environmental markets, as well as the energy markets. He counsels clients on the creation and capture of asset value on matters ranging from market/regulatory development and strategy through investments, transactions, project development and financing.  Christopher was recently named to the CleanTech 100 by the LMG Clean Technology & Renewable Energy guide, the definitive guide to the top 100 attorneys in the United States who practice in the clean technology and renewable energy space.

Environmental and Energy Markets. Chris has more than a decade of experience working in the energy and environmental markets.  He served most recently as vice president at Pace Global Energy Services, LLC, a Siemens Company, in Fairfax, Va., where he led environmental asset offtake and financing strategy for the firm’s largest renewable energy project engagements, including land-based and offshore wind, biomass, landfill gas and PV array generation. Chris is well-versed in the current condition of the United States power markets, including the latest developments regarding Renewable Portfolio Standards (state programs and federal RES/CES proposals), retail power supply options, the Renewable Energy Certificate and Energy Efficiency Certificate markets, standard offer service/feed-in-tariffs, as well as carbon and criteria emissions market positioning. Chris is also active in the Biofuels Market. Some of the most significant actors on the supply and demand sides of the energy and environmental markets have relied on his due diligence regarding energy and environmental asset and risk disposition.

Climate Change. Chris counsels clients in the industrial, financial and energy sectors in the design and execution of carbon strategy, inventories, supply chain and product positioning, regulatory and legislative positioning, voluntary frameworks development, green investments and complex transactions as well as green business development and integration.  With a particular interest in domestic offsets, he has been active in advising carbon offset project developers, investors and offtakers on pre-compliance, compliance and voluntary market participation for all US project categories, protocols and standards. Developing origination pipeline business models for clients, Chris has advised on the creation of some of the largest domestic landfill gas and forestry carbon project portfolios.  He has advised on projects and for companies that have won numerous awards for energy and environmental market innovation.

Renewable Energy. In the renewable energy markets, Chris has counseled clients on RPS, RES and CES regulatory positioning and design since the state and federal policy arenas began consideration of these frameworks.  He has advised clients on REC transactions in every major state RPS in country and for years has been a recognized industry leader in the development of best practices as well as standard agreements for the REC markets.

Capitol Hill. Chris has worked on Capitol Hill helping to draft the first pieces of market-based climate change legislation introduced as well as multiple clean energy focused bills.  He is experienced in advising clients on present-day transactions and legislative and regulatory strategies, structuring them to anticipate the design and development of future federal, state/regional and international energy and environmental regimes.

In General. Chris earned his J.D., magna cum laude, at Vermont Law School, where he was the environmental editor and a member of the editorial board of the Law Review. He is a five time American Jurisprudence award winner. Chris is also a graduate of the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business Accelerated Executive Leadership Program. He earned his bachelor’s degree from Kenyon College with a synoptic (triple-pronged) major and spent a year abroad at the University of Copenhagen. Chris has taught both graduate and undergraduate levels and has testified before Congress.