Carissa is an accomplished and proactive commercial lawyer, business advisor and negotiator with experience in managing risk and a broad range of legal affairs for government, start-ups, mid-market and multinational companies. She has worked in-house for large electricity generators in Alberta and British Columbia worked with technology companies, renewable power companies, energy services companies and energy trading companies.

She was appointed by the Lieutenant Governor to the Board of Directors of Energy Efficiency Alberta, a Crown Corporation and has previously served as Corporate Secretary for a joint venture between TransAlta and MidAmerican Energy. She also served as a Director of CFAR Society, a non-profit organization. Prior to working in law, Carissa began her career in commodity trading (natural gas and electricity) and midstream gas services.

While at Energy Efficiency Alberta she was in Governance, Human rights and was aboard development Member. Then at CFAR Society, she worked as a secretary, in governance, as a communications member and an audit member.

 Experience

Project Construction & Procurement

• TAMA
  • negotiation and preparation of project and P3 financing agreements for $1.78B Fort McMurray West 500kV Transmission Project
• TransAlta Centralia
  • negotiation and preparation of project construction agreements, coal purchase agreement and bond financing for $42M Fine Coal Recovery Project

Cleantech and Climate Change

• Advising on California Air Resource Board (CARB) GHG reporting and third-party verification
• Advising on Alberta carbon offset credits purchases, verifications and disputes
• Advising on LED Street Light Trial Program with the City of Richmond and Haida Gwaii communities
• Advising on electric vehicle infrastructure pilot projects with the City of Vancouver

Fintech

• Confidential Client
  • Advising on Initial Token Offering (ITO) and Initial Coin Offering (ICO) matters
• Represented Alberta Securities Commission on the Canadian Securities Commission (CSA) Derivatives Committee and Derivatives Trading Facility Subcommittee and advising on matters relating to derivative marketplaces

Renewable and Alternative Energy

• Perimeter Solar
  • Acting for project developer in the disposition of an interest in a 130MW solar project
• Doef’s Greenhouse
  • Acting for greenhouse owner on a “closed-loop” 5.5MW power/heat/CO2 project involving the installation of a co-generation facility to generate behind the fence electricity, heat and CO2 for its greenhouses to reduce energy costs and utilize the CO2 captured from the gas-fired generation not enhance the growth of its vegetable crops, including drafting and negotiating development and energy take-off agreements.
• BC Hydro
  • Advising on Electricity Procurement Standing Offer Program in British Columbia for a wind farm project, run of river hydro project and biomass project
• TransAlta Renewables
  • Advising on restructuring and refinancing of wind farms in Ontario, Quebec, and New Brunswick with a total generating capacity of 646MW
• TransAlta
  • Negotiation and drafting of Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) for 120MW natural gas cogeneration plant in Sarnia, Ontario and Coal Transition Power for Centralia Big Hanaford power plant in Washington