McGuireWoods partner Vishwa Link, chair of the firm’s Regulatory & Compliance Department, was named to The National Law Journal’s list of Energy/Environmental Law Trailblazers.
Link was recognized for representing Dominion Energy in groundbreaking renewable energy projects before the Virginia State Corporation Commission. She assisted Dominion in state proceedings to approve a first-in-the-nation offshore wind demonstration project. The two turbines 27 miles off Virginia’s coast are the first installed in federal waters under a federal permitting project.
In 2020, after the state passed the Virginia Clean Economy Act, Link further represented Dominion Energy Virginia in state proceedings to approve the program’s first three battery energy storage systems. Link told the NLJ she expects more states to implement net-zero or zero carbon emissions programs.
“The challenge will be in making sure there are enough resources of all types to achieve these goals almost simultaneously, all while honoring and preserving social and environmental resources,” she said. “It’s an exciting time to be an energy lawyer because we are directly building a better future.”
Link focuses on administrative litigation before state public utility commissions. She represents electric and gas utilities in rate, energy conservation and integrated planning proceedings, and helps electric utility clients secure permits for generating plants and transmission lines before state regulatory agencies.
Link was recently named to the inaugural Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers list.
“Vishwa has excelled at helping clients advance innovations that are reshaping the energy industry,” said Richard Viola, deputy managing partner of McGuireWoods’ corporate practice. “She is an outstanding lawyer and leader and we are proud to see her receive this honor.”
McGuireWoods lawyers and consultants represent clients across the energy spectrum, including utilities, conventional oil and gas investors and operators, leading sponsors and developers of solar, wind and thermal generation, and financial institutions. The firm was named a finalist for best energy practice in The American Lawyer’s inaugural Corporate Departments of the Year awards.