Solar in NH: Clearing the Path for Development

Join NH Business Review and McLane Middleton on Thursday, April 3 for a no-nonsense look at what it takes to get a solar project off the ground in New Hampshire. Whether you’re a developer, part of the industry, or a municipal leader considering hosting solar, this webinar will break down the key challenges and opportunities.

What You’ll Learn:

• Permitting 101: Barry Needleman will kick things off with a practical overview of the permitting paths for solar projects.
• Local & Environmental Hurdles: Rebecca Walkley will cover challenges developers face with town regulations and state environmental permitting.
• Emerging Issues: Viggo Fish will discuss state and federal regulatory and policy changes affecting financing, siting, and permitting of solar facilities.

The second half will feature a Q&A, tackling the biggest concerns from developers and municipalities alike.

Solar projects in New Hampshire lag behind the rest of New England, but there’s momentum. The right regulatory and policy framework could make all the difference. Join the discussion and get up to speed on what’s next for solar in the state.

Join us for a free webinar

Thursday, April 3, 2025 from 11 a.m. until noon

Panelists

Barry NeedlemanDirector, Administrative Law Department and Managing Director of the Concord Office
McLane Middleton

Barry chairs McLane Middleton’s Energy Practice Group and he was the firm’s Managing Partner from 2019 through 2024. He has over 30 years of experience handling environmental and energy matters for regional and national clients. Barry does a substantial amount of energy facility siting work, primarily before the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee, on numerous types of projects ranging from fossil and renewable generation, to electric and gas transmission. He has experience litigating a variety of environmental cases in state and federal courts such as insurance and third-party cost recovery claims at former manufactured gas plants and the defense of State-wide MTBE contamination claims. He also litigates administrative matters before state appellate councils regarding permit appeals under various environmental programs. He regularly represents clients in environmental matters involving permitting, compliance counseling, and defense of administrative and judicial enforcement actions.

Rebecca S. Walkley
Counsel, Administrative Law Department
McLane Middleton

Rebecca is an attorney in the Administrative Law Department where she advises clients in State, federal and municipal, environmental and energy regulatory and litigation cases. Rebecca has been counsel in several large energy facility projects before the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee including a nine-turbine wind farm and several utility-scale electric transmission projects. Rebecca handles permitting and enforcement cases before the Department of Environmental Services and the USEPA involving the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, the New Hampshire Shoreland Protection Act and wetlands regulations as well as site remediation and monitoring under Superfund and analogous State waste regulatory programs. In addition to her focus on environmental matters, Rebecca has also assisted clients before other State administrative agencies and board including the New Hampshire Commission for Human Rights, New Hampshire Department of Insurance, and the New Hampshire Retirement System.

Viggo C. Fish
Counsel, Administrative Law Department
McLane Middleton

Viggo is a member of the firm’s Administrative Law Department where he maintains a diverse environmental and energy regulatory and litigation practice. His practice involves representation of clients in energy and environmental permitting, including permitting of energy facilities before the New Hampshire Site Evaluation Committee, environmental enforcement and litigation and compliance counseling involving the broad range of State, federal and local environmental laws. Viggo has experience representing clients before State agencies, boards, commissions, the State environmental appeals councils, and in both State and federal courts. He successfully represented a major solid waste management company in an appeal of its solid waste facility permit before the New Hampshire Waste Management Council. Viggo has experience with per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other contaminants of concern in regulatory and litigation cases. Viggo also represents clients before State licensing boards.

Moderator

Ernesto Burden
Vice President and Publisher
Yankee Publishing | New Hampshire Group 

Ernesto has been vice president digital for Newspapers of New England (NNE), group publisher at PennWell,  vice president of digital media for The Telegraph and NH.com and related sites, as well as digital media director for the Rutland Herald and Times Argus newspapers in Vermont, online editor for The Telegraph and NH.com, and a print editor and reporter with daily and weekly newspapers. He’s spent his career at the intersection of publishing, digital evolution and marketing helping both publishers and advertisers maximize their digital visibility.