Investing in the Future of Energy
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OUR COMPANY MISSION
To combat climate change by developing sustainable and economically viable renewable energy generation, while maximizing the creation of jobs and minimizing the impact to the environment.
As part of its corporate mission to combat climate change, Allco seeks to enforce rights of a special type of renewable energy generators called Qualifying Facilities or QFs generally. It engages in that part of its mission by participating in various proceedings to enforce laws that benefit developers of renewable energy QFs on a broad scale, so as to open up markets broadly to QFs by overcoming the traditional reluctance of utilities to purchase renewable energy from QFs.
President Barack Obama has rightly called climate change the greatest threat to national security. We now regularly see reports of collapsing glaciers in Antarctica caused by the continued inaction on climate change [1]. Since 2000 the planet has experienced 14 of the hottest years on record, and recently scientists at the US National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration have debunked the notion that climate change has slowed down [2]. In June researchers at Stanford, Princeton and Berkeley issued a report that the effects of climate change, pollution and deforestation have caused the Earth to enter the beginning of a new extinction phase where humans could be among the first casualties [3]. The evidence that dramatic and immediate action is required continues every day. Just a couple of months ago, a study written by NASA’s former lead climate scientist and 16 co-authors, “concludes that glaciers in Greenland and Antarctica will melt 10 times faster than previous consensus estimates, resulting in sea level rise of at least 10 feet in as little as 50 years.” [4] Allco’s corporate mission includes advancing the goals of fighting the devastating impacts from climate change by seeking to open up markets to QFs broadly, and challenge utilities actions that are contrary to their obligations under federal law to QFs.
Meet Our Team
Thomas Melone
Tom joined Allco in 1994 from the law firm of Hunton & Williams where he was a tax partner. In 1995, Tom led Allco to a pre‐eminent position in the large asset finance market. Prior to joining Hunton & Williams in 1991, Tom was Director, European Leasing for Chase Investment Bank in London. Prior to joining Chase in 1989, Tom practiced law at Cravath, Swaine & Moore (from 1982) and specialized in leveraged leasing and project finance. From 1978 to 1982, Tom served as a Revenue Agent with the US Internal Revenue Service, where he was the project coordinator for DISCs (Domestic International Sales Corporations), which were the predecessor to FSCs (Foreign Sales Corporations).
Tom was the founding benefactor of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Ballet at American Ballet Theatre in New York. Tom is also the founding benefactor and designer of the artistic and educational retreat in Edgartown, Massachusetts, which is home to the Vineyard Arts Project, an incubator for the creation of new work in dance and theatre, and the education of young adults. http://www.vineyardarts.org/about/. Works created/developed at Vineyard Arts Project have premiered in London, Paris, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York, and have also received such accolades as 2014 Tony Award nominations, the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and the 2012 and 2014 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theatre.
Tom currently is a member of the Board of Advisors and the litigation committee of the Institute for Policy Integrity at New York University School of Law, a non-partisan think tank dedicated to improving the quality of government decisionmaking. Tom received his JD with high honors from Rutgers Law School ‐ Newark in 1983, his Master of Laws (LLM in taxation) from New York University School of Law in 1989 and his CPA certificate in 1980.
Tom is admitted to practice law in the States of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Florida. Tom spends much of his time advancing Allco’s corporate mission of fighting the devastating impacts from climate change by seeking to open up markets to distributed renewable energy generators, and by challenging utilities’ and state agency and municipal actions that are contrary to their obligations under federal or state law or that do not act sufficiently to address climate change. See, e.g., Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peevey, 293 F. Supp. 3d 980 (N.D. Cal. 2017), appeal docketed (9th Cir. December 22, 2017) (declaring California’s implementation of PURPA under its Re-MAT program invalid); Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. Mass. Elec. Co., 208 F. Supp. 3d 390 (D. Mass. 2016) aff’d 875 F.3d 64 (1st Cir. 2017) (declaring Massachusetts’ implementation of PURPA invalid); Windham Solar LLC, 156 FERC ¶61,042 (2016), Windham Solar LLC, 157 FERC ¶61,134 (2016) (declaring Connecticut’s implementation of PURPA invalid); Allco Renewable Energy Ltd. v. USDA Forest Service, Docket No. 1:18-cv-00445-JL (D. N.H. filed May 25, 2018) (challenging under the NEPA the USDA Forest Service’s approval of the Northern Pass transmission line).
Michael Melone
Michael joined Allco in 2013. Prior to joining Allco, Michael was a corporate finance attorney at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP in their New York, Los Angeles and Miami offices where he specialized in entertainment finance. While at Morgan Lewis, Michael represented commercial banks, hedge funds and individuals with respect to their investments in the entertainment industry, including film and television. Prior to Morgan Lewis, Michael was an entertainment attorney at O’Melveny & Myers LLP in their New York and Los Angeles offices where he represented film studios, producers, distributors and talent. Michael received his law degree from NYU School of Law in New York and his undergraduate degree from Middlebury College in Vermont.
Josh Dines
Josh became part of the Allco team in 2022, equipped with extensive knowledge in both finance and data analytics. Before his tenure at Allco, Josh’s professional journey spanned across Capital Markets and Treasury roles, during which he oversaw the management of UK master trusts for both Virgin Money and National Australia Bank. His proficiency was also showcased in his impactful work with various Fintech startups, including Lendinvest, where he played a key role in the negotiation and management of several forward flow agreements and took charge of mitigating interest rate risk in the banking book.
Josh holds a bachelor’s degree in Financial Economics from Kingston University.
