Mintz Levin Energy Technology

Energy Technology Connections Newsletter

Your Law Firm Link to Industry News

FEBRUARY 2017

A Note from the Editors

Our February edition of Energy Technology Connections brings you recent industry highlights and features a list of upcoming energy industry events throughout the nation. In Leaders in the News, we profile our client Gradiant Energy Services (GES), a provider of integrated water management solutions to the energy industry. Our Innovator Profile spotlights our client ThreatReady Resources, a leading cyber security risk management firm that provides employee behavioral training services for companies across a wide range of industries, including utilities and energy companies. For event highlights, we feature two exciting upcoming events: the 3rd Annual U.S./Canada Cross-Border Energy Trade Summit, which will take place March 1-2, and NECEC’s Emerging Trends Series: Cybersecurity & the 21st Century Electricity System, which will be held on March 23. Finally, our Washington Update highlights leadership changes to energy and environment congressional committees and cabinet confirmations for the Trump administration. The update also details the reintroduction of the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act by Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH).

For links to industry grant opportunities and stories from the business, policy, and research sectors of the energy and clean technology industry, please see our Energy Navigator.

You can read and subscribe to our Energy Technology Matters blog here.

We would also like to remind our readers that you can always ask us anything at http://mintzedge.com/ask-anything/. We built the MintzEdge website as a resource for entrepreneurs and investors, and hope that all of you take advantage of the site and see how it can help you.

Contents

Leaders in the News: Gradiant Energy Services (GES)

This month we feature Gradiant Energy Services (GES), a provider of integrated water management solutions to the energy industry. GES is an oilfield services company addressing the toughest water challenges through custom-engineered solutions and game-changing technologies. It serves oil and gas operators seeking safe, economic, environmental, and efficient treatment, reuse, and recycling of water resources.

GES recently secured a capital investment from Turnbridge Capital, an energy-focused private equity firm. The growth capital will help fund the execution of GES’s new contracts and its expansion into multiple basins across the United States. “GES was extremely focused on funding our growth plans with a firm that shared [our] values of quality, safety and leading the industry in technological innovation with the highest level of service,” said Danny Jimenez, CEO of GES. “With the proper capital support in place, we are ready to execute on our mission – providing an integrated solution for water management in all major domestic basins.”

The company’s expansion will focus on deploying its three product and service lines in all major U.S. basins: Selective Chemical Extraction (SCE™) is a clean brine treatment service that allows for reuse of flowback and produced water in hydraulic fracturing; Carrier Gas Concentration (CGC™) is a mobile evaporative disposal service targeting disposal constrained environments; and Free Radical Disinfection (FRD™) is a fully transportable, safe, and effective on-the-fly disinfection service. These services are targeted and applicable for all E&P operators, from small independents to super-majors. GES works closely with E&P operators to provide high quality services through technology-driven solutions and award-winning operations plants.

GES is an affiliate of Gradiant, a technology-driven water services company launched out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that offers solutions for oil and gas and water-critical industrial applications. Since its launch, GES has a proven record of safely treating bacteria, producing varying grades of clean brine for reuse — and saving millions of gallons of water, and dollars, a year. The company’s first 12,000 barrel (BPD) water treatment system in the Permian Basin was awarded the “Industrial Water Project of the Year” by the 2014 Global Water Summit. Congratulations to GES and Gradiant on their continued success in the water services industry!

Return to top

Innovator Profile: ThreatReady Resources

This month we feature our friends at ThreatReady Resources, a leading cyber security risk management firm that provides employee behavioral training services for companies across a wide range of industries, including utilities and energy companies. ThreatReady Resources inspires people to build a culture of cyber awareness and assists companies in creating a human firewall as an effective first line of defense against cyberattacks.

Most companies don’t realize that the greatest threat to their cybersecurity is not external; as ThreatReady Resources has identified, it is company employees who often pose the greatest risk. Every time an employee clicks on a web link using a company computer, connects to the corporate network using public Wi-Fi, or misplaces a mobile device they use for work, he or she creates a possible entry point for hackers to exploit and launch an attack. As companies handle more data than ever before, particularly sensitive information about employees, customers, vendors, and the company itself, the costs of a potential cyber breach are also increasing. A company that suffers a cyberattack will now spend on average of $6.5 million to fix the breach, make financial reparations to the victims, and investigate the cause, in addition to any lost revenues that result from damaged reputation or other legal liabilities.

According to ThreatReady Resources, of all the industries targeted by hackers, the utilities and energy market seems to be the most alarming. Interrupting the flow of electricity or water to consumers on a large scale could create health, safety, and financial repercussions for municipalities, cities, and even entire regions. Greater cyber security awareness and training will be needed as more regulations are enacted in response to the growing cyber threats that energy and utility companies face.

To ensure their employees are learning safer cyber security habits, companies need to provide them with effective training. ThreatReady Resources believes that making people care about cyber threats and the serious consequences that can result from an attack is the first step to creating lasting behavior change. Using proven techniques from advertising and advanced learning, ThreatReady Resources has developed quick-hit campaigns that provide valuable information to employees in a concise and engaging manner.

In the current business environment, managing cybersecurity risks is of the utmost importance. Our own Tom Burton, Member of the firm’s Corporate & Securities Practice and founder and Chair of the firm’s Energy Technology Practice, was recently interviewed by Marcus McInnis, Director of Operations for Lockheed Martin’s Cybersecurity Innovation Center, on this increasingly popular topic. In the interview, featured by ThreatReady Resources, Tom discusses the impact of data breaches in the M&A context, prevention methods, and more.

For tips on protecting your company, read the full interview here.

Return to top

Event Highlights

REMINDER: EUCI’s 3rd Annual U.S./Canada Cross-Border Energy Trade Summit

The United States and Canada form the largest integrated energy market in the world, operating on more than 50 grid connections of transmission wires and pipelines, according to EUCI. EUCI’s 3rd Annual U.S./Canada Cross-Border Energy Trade Summit will look at the state of energy trade in the Northeast, focusing on recent and proposed cross-border transmission projects for power and natural gas. Industry and policy-maker experts will evaluate the complex process of facilitating increased energy transactions, with emphasis on the related intricate planning, multi-party cooperation, and associated regulatory, technical, and financial issues. Taking place March 1-2 in Boston, panel discussions will evaluate the role of Canadian imports for an optimal future resource mix in the Northeast, debating how to balance the often-competing needs of competitive markets, energy security and diversity, environmental compliance, and economic growth in an increased cross-border energy future.

Our own David O’Connor, Senior Vice President for Energy & Clean Technology at ML Strategies, will moderate the panel entitled, “Integrating Markets and Public Policy (“IMAPP”): Evolving Capacity Markets to Incentivize Renewables.” The New England Power Pool (NEPOOL) initiated a stakeholder process — Integrating Markets and Public Policy (IMAPP) — to identify and explore potential changes in the wholesale power market that could be implemented to advance state public policy objectives in New England. Taking place March 1 from 1:20 – 2:45 pm, this session will explore various policy and industry perspectives on the IMAPP process.

Click here to register for this summit, and follow #EUCIEvents and #CrossBorderPower on social media to stay informed.

NECEC’s Emerging Trends Series: Cybersecurity & the 21st Century Electricity System

While not new, cyberattacks are an evolving threat to energy security, reliability, and the shift to a 21st century electricity system. Join us in our Boston office, in conjunction with NECEC, for a panel discussion on March 23 that will address the following questions and more:

How can energy innovation help address this threat?
How can clean energy businesses manage the risk of a cyberattack to the grid?
How does public policy play a role in the effort to enhance the cybersecurity of a 21st century grid?

The esteemed panel will be moderated by our own Cynthia Larose, Chair of the firm’s Privacy & Security Practice. For more information and to register, click here.

Return to top

Washington Update

Congressional Committees

The Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee has a new member with Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) taking the seat that was vacated by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. EPW Chairman John Barrasso (R-WY) also announced chairs for the committee’s four subcommittees for the 115th Congress: Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) will chair Transportation and Infrastructure; Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV) will chair Clean Air and Nuclear Safety; Sen. John Boozman (R-AR) will chair Fisheries, Water, and Wildlife; and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) will chair Superfund, Waste Management, and Regulatory Oversight. Ranking Members for the EPW subcommittees have not yet been named.

The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee also named chairs and ranking members for the committee’s four subcommittees for the 115th Congress: the Subcommittee on Energy will be led by Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Chairman and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Ranking Member; the Subcommittee on National Parks will be led by Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), Chairman and Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ranking Member; the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining will be led by Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member; and the Subcommittee on Water and Power will be led by Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), Chairman and Sen. Angus King (I-ME), Ranking Member.

Cabinet Confirmations

Texas Governor Rick Perry has been approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to serve as Energy Secretary, and is awaiting final confirmation by the full Senate, which is likely to come the week of February 27, 2017.

Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt has been approved by the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee to serve as Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, and was confirmed by the full Senate on February 17, 2017 and sworn in later the same day. Administrator Pruitt addressed agency employees on February 21, 2017, the same day he was required by an order from Judge Aletia Haynes Timmons of the District Court in Oklahoma City to release potentially thousands of emails he exchanged with fossil fuel representatives during his tenure as attorney general.

Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) has been approved by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee to serve as Interior Secretary, and is awaiting final confirmation by the full Senate, which is likely to come the week of February 27, 2017.

Rex Tillerson, until recently the CEO of Exxon Mobil, has been confirmed by the Senate as Secretary of State and was sworn in by Vice President Pence on February 1, 2017.

New Energy and Energy Efficiency Legislation

Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) have reintroduced the Energy Savings and Industrial Competitiveness Act, better known as Portman-Shaheen. The bill is cosponsored by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO), Susan Collins (R-ME), Chris Coons (D-DE), Al Franken (D-MN), Joe Manchin (D-WV), Mark Warner (D-VA), and Roger Wicker (R-MS). Portman-Shaheen was introduced in the previous three congresses with bipartisan support. The bill is aimed at using low-cost tools to make it easier for private sector energy users to become more efficient while also making the country’s largest energy user ― the federal government ― more efficient. The bill is focused on buildings, manufacturers, and the federal government. Read more about it on our Energy Technology Matters blog.

Sens. Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Jeff Flake (R-AZ), and Joe Manchin (D-WV) joined Reps. Pete Olson (R-TX), Bill Flores (R-TX), and Bob Latta (R-OH) to reintroduce the Ozone Standards Implementation Act. The bill would update how the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) addresses ozone requirements in the Clean Air Act. Currently, the EPA must review national ambient air quality standards every five years. The bill would expand the time between each review from five years to 10 years in order to make it easier and more cost-effective for states to comply.

Sens. Cory Gardner (R-CO), Chris Coons (D-DE), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) joined Reps. Adam Kinzer (R-IL) and Peter Welch (D-VT) to introduce the Energy Savings Through Public-Private Partnerships Act, which is aimed at encouraging the use of Energy Savings Performance Contracts (ESPCs) and Utility Energy Savings Contracts (UESCs) in federal buildings.

Energy Navigator

Please visit and bookmark our Energy Navigator to easily view all of the latest headlines from the most trusted publications reporting on developments in the energy and clean technology industries. It is housed on our blog, Energy Technology Matters.

Upcoming Events