The CLF Team

Jerry Elmer is a Staff Attorney. Jerry is a graduate of Rhode Island College (summa cum laude) and Harvard Law School (cum laude). ­Jerry’s responsibilities include advocacy and litigation in Federal and state courts and before administrative agencies primarily in the areas of climate change and renewable energy.  He has litigated in the Public Utilities Commission and in court to enforce Rhode Island’s renewable energy laws (In re Town of New Shoreham Project, 19 A.3d 1226 (R.I. 2011)); litigated in the First Circuit Court of Appeals to prevent siting of a liquefied natural gas facility in densely populated Fall River, Massachusetts (City of Fall River v. F.E.R.C., 507 F.3d 1 (1st Cir. 2007)); and litigated in Rhode Island Superior Court (Champlin’s Realty Assoc. v. Tikoian et al., 2008 WL 5707848 (R.I.Super. Feb. 26, 2009)), and Supreme Court (Champlin’s Realty Assoc. v. Tikoian et al., 989 A.2d 427 (R.I. 2010)) to prevent the expansion of Champlin’s Marina in Block Island’s Great Salt Pond.  Jerry is a principal author of three of Rhode Island’s four major renewable energy statutes:  (1) The Long-Term Contracting Statute (2009) that obligates Rhode Island’s electric utility eventually to obtain up to 24% of its peak load from long-term contracts for renewable energy, R. I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.1-1, et seq.; (2) The Net Metering Statute (2011) that creates a comprehensive statewide legal framework net metering, R. I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.4-1, et seq.; and (3) Distributed Generation Standard Contracts Statute (2011) that creates a comprehensive statewide legal framework to encourage development of small-scale, local renewable energy projects, R. I. Gen. Laws § 39-26.2-1, et seq.  In addition, Jerry represents CLF in the ISO-New England, the operator of New England’s wholesale electricity markets, on the ISO’s Markets Committee and Distributed Generation Forecast Working Group.  Before coming to CLF in August 2006, Jerry was a commercial litigator who specialized in banking law.