Ben Busboom is a corporate and transactional attorney who helps clients structure, negotiate, and execute commercial agreements and strategic transactions across energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, natural resources, and technology-driven supply chains. He chairs Womble Bond Dickinson’s renewable energy practice, but his energy work extends well beyond renewables, including battery storage, data center power, critical minerals, mining, advanced nuclear, district energy, gas and power infrastructure, carbon management, and environmental risk allocation. Ben focuses on transactions that sit at the intersection of commercial contracting, project development, supply chain strategy, and operational risk.
Ben turns complex projects into executable commercial arrangements. He drafts and negotiates procurement and supply agreements, framework agreements, manufacturing and project delivery arrangements, logistics and supply-chain contracts, offtake, tolling, and processing arrangements, energy and utility agreements, and related IP, data, confidentiality, performance, and risk-allocation provisions. His work includes domestic and international battery-metals and raw-material supply transactions, battery energy storage system (BESS) arrangements for utility-scale and data center-adjacent deployments, renewable energy acquisitions and project development, data center site control and power supply, district energy, microgrids, and advanced nuclear and SMR projects.
Clients also rely on Ben to identify and mitigate environmental risk, assist with permit acquisition and project approvals, and resolve agency disputes that can affect commercial transactions, infrastructure projects, operating facilities, and development timelines. He draws on experience across energy, mining, environmental, real estate, engineering/construction, and land use matters to help clients move complex projects from strategy to execution.
Ben regularly works with domestic and international investors, developers, manufacturers, and project sponsors on U.S. and cross-border transactions. His matters have involved counterparties, assets, and projects in the United Kingdom, Colombia, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Canada, Liberia, and the United States. He is licensed in Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, and Nebraska, and brings particular familiarity with the business, regulatory, land use, and resource issues affecting projects across the Mountain West and Great Plains.
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
Commercial Contracting & Supply Chain
- Advised a leading global automotive manufacturer on domestic and international lithium, nickel, and other battery-metals supply-chain transactions, including offtake, processing, marketing, strategic sourcing, and related commercial arrangements.
- Advised on a portfolio of multi-jurisdictional battery-materials transactions across the United States, Australia, and Asia, structuring long-term supply arrangements for an evolving global manufacturing supply chain.
- Drafted and negotiated procurement, supply, framework, logistics, project delivery, manufacturing, and services agreements for clients in the energy, infrastructure, manufacturing, and natural resources sectors.
Battery Storage, Data Centers & Power Supply
- Advised a leading energy and manufacturing company on BESS framework agreements and project-level supply arrangements for utility-scale and data center-adjacent deployments.
- Served as a key advisor on a first-of-its-kind utility-scale BESS framework transaction involving up to 20 GWh of storage capacity and related project supply agreements.
- Advises clients on data center site control, power supply, energy infrastructure, and behind-the-meter energy solutions.
- Advises energy and midstream clients on gas supply and infrastructure arrangements supporting enhanced oil recovery and power solutions for data center and industrial users.
Renewable Energy & Cross-Border Investments
- Advised Japanese strategic investors and coordinated with Japanese counsel on U.S. renewable energy acquisitions, including a Pennsylvania solar project backed by a long-term municipal power purchase agreement.
- Advised clients on renewable energy project acquisitions and development, including projects involving active oil, gas, and mineral development on/under proposed project site.
- Advises on district energy, microgrid, and long-term energy supply and service arrangements tied to large-scale redevelopment and infrastructure projects.
Advanced Nuclear & Emerging Technologies
- Advises a major public university system on advanced nuclear and SMR projects involving site development, project structuring, regulatory positioning, and deployment strategy with advanced reactor developers.
- Represents a clean technology platform in CO₂ offtake agreements and carbon credit trading arrangements, including innovative technology-enabled transaction structures.
- Advises clients on emerging nuclear, SMR, carbon capture, and sequestration projects, including transaction structuring and regulatory positioning for next-generation assets.
Mining, Critical Minerals & Natural Resources
- Advises an international gold company on strategic mining investments and acquisitions, including due diligence and transaction structuring for Nevada mining assets and cross-border acquisition of a Canadian mining company.
- Advises clients on critical minerals projects, raw-material processing, and offtake, tolling, and smelting arrangements supporting energy-transition supply chains.
- Advises on environmental liability and transaction structuring for acquisitions, divestitures, and sales of environmentally sensitive or historically impacted assets.
Environmental, Permitting & Agency Matters
- Helps clients identify and allocate environmental risk in corporate, real estate, energy, infrastructure, and natural resources transactions.
- Performs environmental, regulatory, and land-use diligence for renewable energy, infrastructure, wireless telecommunications, and industrial projects nationwide.
- Negotiates permits, penalties, settlements, and other resolutions with federal and state administrative agencies.
- Assists clients with permitting strategy, contaminated-site issues, agency engagement, and land-use constraints that could affect project timelines.
Honors & Awards
- Selected to Great Plains Super Lawyers: Rising Stars, 2018-2021
- Recognized by Omaha Magazine as a “Top Lawyer in Omaha,” 2021
- Selected to Kansas & Missouri Super Lawyers: Rising Stars, 2017
Professional & Civic Engagement
- Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law, Trustees Council, Representative for the Nebraska State Bar Association, 2017–Present
- Nebraska State Bar Association, Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section — former Chair; former Secretary/Treasurer
- Nebraska Industrial Council on the Environment, former Member
- Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association, Environmental Law Committee, former Co-Chair (2016–2017)
Thought Leadership
Publications
- Benjamin Busboom, “Expanding the US Transmission Grid: Permitting, Siting, and Land Rights Challenges,” Womble Bond Dickinson, Feb. 19, 2026.
- Benjamin Busboom, Belton T. Zeigler & Trevor Tomlinson, “Powering Progress: Navigating the Intricacies of On-Site Nuclear Generation,” Womble Bond Dickinson, Feb. 13, 2025.
- Benjamin Busboom, Noah Zedek & Francisco Balduzzi, “Basics of an Offtake Agreement: Exploring Basic Terms and Underlying Consideration of a Typical Offtake Agreement,” 71 Natural Resources & Energy Law Institute 20-1 (2025).
- Program Co-Chair, The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law Special Institute on behind-the-meter power supply solutions, addressing legal, regulatory, project development, and market issues arising from behind-the-meter energy projects, data center power demand, battery storage, on-site generation, and related infrastructure
