Rhode Island – February 18, 2022 – Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara LLC (PLDO) is pleased to have facilitated a landmark agreement for a consortium of seven independent Rhode Island schools and one industrial arts education center to purchase clean, renewable energy from the Pawtucket Hydroelectric Facility at the Bridge Mill Power Station on the Blackstone River.
PLDO Partner Benjamin L. Rackliffe served as legal advisor and represented the consortium in negotiating the 20-year net metering agreement with Gravity Renewables, a national owner, operator, and developer of small hydroelectric power plants, which purchased the hydro dam in 2014. The historic partnership allows the consortium to substantially underwrite energy costs while supporting reinvestment in locally produced hydroelectric power and creating educational opportunities for Rhode Island students.
The consortium, led by the Gordon School in East Providence, R.I., also includes St. Andrew’s School (Barrington, R.I.), Wheeler School (Providence, R.I.), La Salle Academy (Providence, R.I.), The Grace School (Providence, R.I.), Lincoln School (Providence, R.I.), and Highlander Charter School (Warren and Providence, R.I.), as well as The Steel Yard (Providence, R.I.), a non-profit industrial art center. Together they represent 3,500 students from across the Ocean State and Southeast Massachusetts in pre-K through 12th grade, as well as adult learners.
Attorney Rackliffe is a member of the firm’s Corporate & Business and Nonprofit Organizations Teams, providing counsel in a wide range of areas to closely held business and tax-exempt organizations. As a leading authority in the areas of corporate and regulatory compliance, his practice includes advising developers, financing parties and institutional clients participating in renewable energy projects, and provides representation to clients, including investors, in the emerging cannabis industry throughout the country.
He earned his J.D. from Roger Williams University School of Law and is licensed to practice in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and the U.S. District Court District of Rhode Island and the U.S. Court of Appeals 1st Circuit.
To contact Attorney Rackliffe, email brackliffe@pldolaw.com or call 401-824-5100. For more information about PLDO, visit www.pldolaw.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
