Sky C. Stanfield

Experience

Sky Stanfield’s practice focuses on the intersection between renewable energy regulation and environmental and land use law, with a particular focus on regulatory policy implementation, compliance and permitting processes. Ms. Stanfield regularly works on the development and refinement of state and federally regulated interconnection standards in California, playing an active role in improving the clarity and efficiency of these processes. She participates in rulemakings before state public utility commissions and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission surrounding creation of market rate policies for wholesale renewables, net metering, community solar and related topics.

This understanding of the energy regulatory environment accompanies Ms. Stanfield’s substantial experience with the land use and environmental review statutes that projects must navigate prior to achieving commercial operation. She has extensive experience with the National Environmental Policy Act and its state equivalents. She has guided numerous projects of different sizes through the required environmental and land use review processes. Along with handling the comprehensive environmental reviews prepared for projects, Ms. Stanfield assists clients in obtaining or modifying necessary permits under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, and other federal and state statutes. In addition to project-specific work, Ms. Stanfield also participates in the development of improved permitting processes for ground-mounted and rooftop solar systems.

Prior to joining Keyes & Fox, Ms. Stanfield was an environmental law associate at Farella, Braun + Martel, LLP in San Francisco and also clerked for the Honorable Lawrence K. Karlton of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California.

Representative Work

Achieved significant improvements in FERC regulated interconnection procedures in California through participation in stakeholder process and regulatory filings at FERC on behalf of a leading renewable-energy focused non-profit.
Advocated for favorable rate development of California’s Renewable Auction Mechanism (RAM) and newly expanded Feed-in-Tariff under SB 32 on behalf of a major solar developer.
Lead client through a multi-year CEQA review process for a controversial and land intensive development project.
Drafted a model Solar Ready Building Code for use by a national laboratory.
Successfully overturned a major BLM Land Management Plan for the Western Mojave for failure to adequately address the impacts that off-road vehicles have on public lands on behalf of eight non-profit environmental organizations.

Professional Honors and Activities

2011 Super Lawyers “Rising Star”
Recipient of the 2010 California Lawyer Attorney of the Year (CLAY) award for environmental and pro bono advocacy.

Presentations

California’s Renewable Energy Policy Goals: Can We Meet Them?, San Francisco Bar Association, San Francisco, CA, April 2011.
Break Out Session on Permitting and Interconnection, SolarTech Leadership Summit, Santa Clara, CA, March 2011.
California Interconnection 101 An Update on Reform: What’s Happening and Why it is Important, Vote Solar and Interstate Renewable Energy Council Webinar, available at: http://votesolar.org/resources/get-some-sun-solar-webinars/, March 2011.
Interconnection Panel, SolarTech Permitting & Interconnection Symposium, Irwindale, CA, February 2011.
The State of Distributed Generation Panel, Power to the People Distributed Generation & Microgrids, Berkeley-Stanford CleanTech Conference, San Francisco, CA, December 2010.
Project Development: Planning Ahead to Address the New Greenhouse Gas CEQA Guidelines, Farella Braun + Martel Environmental Symposium, San Francisco, CA, January, 2010.
Climate Change Legislation’s Impact on the Physical Landscape, BrightTalk Seminar, available at: http://www.brighttalk.com/community/environmental-law/webcast/1035/3606, August, 2009.
SB375, CEQA and Climate Change: Expediting Infill Development, Farella Braun + Martel’s 2009 Developers Conference: Moving Forward in Tough Times, San Francisco, CA, March, 2009.

Publications

Sky Stanfield, A Call for Comprehensive Planning: By Initiating a Broader Planning Process, Cities and Counties Can Help Get Distributed Renewable Energy Sited Quickly and Efficiently, Solar Today, July/August 2011.
Sky Stanfield and Douglas Ruley, Greenhouse Gas Regulation and Litigation: Opportunities To Move Renewable Energy Forward and Get the Job Growth Message Out, Solar Today, June 2011.
Sky Stanfield and Steve Vettel, On the Hot Seat: Climate Action Plans Become a New Reality for California Cities’ Long-Term Master Plans and Land Use Documents, The Registry, July 2009
Sky Stanfield, The Mobile Source Air Toxics Rule: How Does the Greatest Reduction Become No Reduction?, 31 Ecology L.Q. 563 (2004).

Education

JD, Boalt Hall School of Law, University of California at Berkeley, 2005
Environmental Law Certificate
Articles and Executive Editor for the Ecology Law Quarterly
Joe Sax Environmental Fellowship
American Jurisprudence Award in California Environmental Issues

BA, William Smith College, magna cum laude, 2000
Phi Beta Kappa
High Honors for Thesis in Environmental Studies, Reducing Carbon Emissions from Transportation: The Potential of Alternative Fuel Vehicles