new hire

Law firm expands energy transition-focused, Houston-based team

Jenny Speck joined Vinson & Elkins as a Houston-based partner in its Energy Transition and Tax Practices. Photo via velaw.com

An energy transition-focused legal team has on boarded its newest member.

Jenny Speck joined Vinson & Elkins as a Houston-based partner in its Energy Transition and Tax Practices. According to V&E, she will advise clients on energy transition tax incentives. Her experience includes working on renewable projects from onshore and offshore wind, solar, combined heat and power to biogas property, carbon capture, hydrogen, and more.

“Jenny has a commercial sensibility that our clients will value. She knows how to get deals done and is adept at calibrating tax advice to a company’s strategic objectives,” Vinson & Elkins Partner Sean Moran, one of the leaders of the firm’s Energy Transition Practice, says in a news release. “She is another phenomenal addition to our Renewable Energy and Tax Practices, which are booming as the Inflation Reduction Act continues to drive unprecedented investment and development in renewable energy.”

Joining V&E from Bracewell, Speck previously served as the senior manager of tax and regulatory compliance at Navigator CO2 Ventures LLC and also worked in the National Tax practice of Deloitte Tax LLP in Washington, D.C. She earned her undergraduate degree from Northeastern State University and her Juris Doctorate from the University of Tulsa College of Law. She's been ranked by Legal 500 U.S. and included in the Lawdragon 500 Leading US Energy Lawyers guide for “Energy Transition Incentives.”

“I have worked across from Vinson & Elkins on transactions and have seen the depth of their experience, along with the efficiency and camaraderie they bring to projects,” Speck adds. “I look forward to joining my new colleagues and strengthening their tax and energy powerhouse.”

She will work with partners Moran and Lauren Collins, who joined V&E along with four renewable energy and tax lawyers in 2021, as well as Jorge Medina, who was on boarded to the team earlier this year.

Trending News

A View From HETI

A new Houston battery storage facility has come online in just six weeks. Photo courtesy FlexGen

Colorado-based energy storage company SMT Energy and North Carolina-based software company FlexGen have begun operations of Houston IV, a 160-megawatt utility-scale battery storage facility that aims to support the ERCOT grid.

The companies delivered the project in just six weeks, according to a news release. Mississippi-based Irby Construction Company served as the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) partner, and CenterPoint Energy will serve as the interconnecting utility.

“FlexGen’s distinctive combination of software automation, our remote operations center, and on-the-ground field expertise all work together to accelerate battery deployment,” Jason Rislov, SVP of operations at FlexGen, said in the release. “What used to take 25-plus weeks took us six. That time saved translates directly into giving the grid and consumers what they need most right now: a more reliable, resilient energy system.”

Houston IV is one of more than 12 projects that SMT and FlexGen have built to connect to ERCOT, according to Energy Storage News.

“Bringing a 160-MW battery storage facility online in just six weeks required disciplined planning, seamless coordination, and an unwavering focus on safety and quality,” Shaun Coleman, project manager at Irby Construction, said in a news release. “The SMT Energy, FlexGen, and Irby Construction teams coordinated engineering, procurement, and construction to keep every workstream aligned, identify challenges early, and maintain safety and quality at an accelerated pace. That integration is critical, not only to delivering projects quickly, but also to ensuring battery storage facilities perform reliably over the long term.”

Houston IV is expected to store and provide enough electricity to power 8,800 homes in Texas annually. In March, SMT Energy secured $135 million in funding for the project from Macquarie and KeyBanc Capital Markets as joint lead arrangers. SMT and FlexGen broke ground to signal the start of the process in May.

In 2023, SMT Energy and joint venture partner SUSI Partners also announced plans to add 10 battery storage projects to Texas, which would double capacity from 100 megawatts to 200 megawatts in the Houston and Dallas areas.

Trending News