Wouter Vandorpe

Career

I am a Partner in the Brussels office of Fieldfisher in the Energy and Utilities team, and more broadly involved in the EU Regulatory department. I primarily advise on energy law related matters (electricity/gas), renewable energy projects and drafting of energy contracts. This further comprises environmental and climate issues, and public procurement. I am also, from a procedural side, involved in EU regulatory matters including biocides & marketing of products.

I assist companies and public authorities mainly in energy law matters, more specifically in relation to the regulation of the electricity and gas markets, renewable energy projects, questions relating to energy efficiency, energy contracts, hydrogen, heat networks, and grid configuration issues. I also advise on specific legal issues relating to public procurement, state aid, public law, waste and water legislation. To this end, I regularly represent the Belgian Council of State and the Constitutional Court, as well as the European Court of Justice. I try to be a versatile, focused and determined lawyer with a practical approach. I gather information and then proceed to identify problems and solutions in files and projects.

I have often been invited as a speaker for new energy-related issues such as hydrogen, charging stations, offshore wind and closed distribution systems. I gave lectures on these topics at the universities of Leuven, Oxford, Moscow, Tromsö (NO), Joensuu (FI), the Flemish Chamber of Commerce (VOKA), CREG, and Flux50, among others. I have been invited several times as an energy expert by the Climate and Innovation and Networks Executive Agency to review CEF Energy Calls, and I am an International Member of the United Kingdom Energy Law and Policy Association (UKELPA).

Furthermore, I am also a free scientific collaborator at the Institute of Environmental and Energy Law at K.U. Leuven and a member of the core editorial board of the journal "Environmental and Energy Law" (M.E.R.). As a specialist in European and Belgian energy law, I regularly write on various topics related to energy and public law.

As a member of the Brussels Bar, I speak French, English and Spanish in addition to Dutch (mother tongue), I have a good level in German and a basic knowledge of Catalan, Italian and Russian.