The Lawyers Who Decide Where Energy Gets Built

Lawyers are the behind-the-scenes operators who make energy projects actually happen, and Kerry McGrath broke down what that world really looks like. She’s spent more than 15 years helping companies get pipelines, wind farms, mines, nuclear plants, pretty much anything that produces or moves energy, through the maze of permits, regulations, and agency sign-offs. We talked about everything from negotiating with federal regulators to dealing with endangered species rules to how legal teams keep up with new tech like carbon capture. It’s a side of the industry most people never see, but it’s the difference between a project idea and a project that actually gets built.

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Click here to view the episode transcript.

00:00 - Intro
02:16 - First Step in Project Management
06:41 - Initial Steps in Drilling Process
10:02 - Offshore Project Initiation
11:48 - Overview of Offshore Wind Energy
15:24 - Nihilism in Energy Discussions
18:53 - Political Landscape of Energy Policy
23:30 - Reasons for Delays in Energy Projects
26:09 - High Performance Computing in Energy
28:45 - Insights on Nuclear Energy
30:28 - Current Developments in Energy Sector
35:16 - Carbon Capture Utilization and Sequestration (CCUS) Explained
39:24 - Learning About Emerging Energy Industries
42:15 - Importance of Rare Earth Minerals
44:45 - Blunt Nosed Leopard Lizard in Energy Context
47:10 - Houston as the Energy Capital of the World

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