Our Capabilities
Our lawyers help project participants achieve their business objectives in the evolving renewable energy industry by advising on:

• Financing structures and issues
• Production tax credits and other tax issues
• Power purchase agreements
• Sales of environmental attributes, emission credits and renewable energy credits
• Independent System Operator (ISO)/Regional Transmission Organization (RTO) market issues
• Transmission rights scheduling
• Grid access, including upgrade and interconnection issues
• Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requirements
• Capacity valuation
• Real estate issues, including leases, purchases and easements
• Siting, permitting and other environmental issues
• Construction and supply contracts
• Intellectual property
• Structuring and executing mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances
• Capital markets
• Carbon trading
• Litigation and arbitration
• International trade in environmental goods

In addition, Firm lawyers are thoroughly familiar with the US Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program, which makes loan guarantees to qualified clean energy projects that use innovative technologies.

Experience
We have experience within the following renewable energy industries:

Wind

C-Power Wind. We represented the European Investment Bank in its €450 million financing for the design, construction and operation of the second and third phases of a 325 megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm being developed by C-Power N.V. in the North Sea, 30 kilometers off the coast of Belgium, with a total project cost of approximately €1 billion. The C-Power financing represents a number of firsts: it is one of the largest financings to be closed in the offshore energy sector (comprising a total debt package of €1 billion); it is one of the first transactions where banks have financed the installation and operation of new generation 6 MW offshore wind turbines and it has one of the longest tenures of any financing concluded in the offshore wind sector to date. This deal was selected as "2010 European Offshore Wind Deal of the Year" by Project Finance magazine, as "2010 Europe Renewables Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International magazine and as "2010 Renewables Deal of the Year" by Infrastructure Journal.

Belwind. We represented the European Investment Bank in the €300 million financing for the construction and operation of the first phase of a 165 MW offshore wind farm being developed by Belwind NV located at Bligh Bank in the North Sea, 47 kilometers from Belgium. The first phase consists of 55 3-MW wind turbine generators and construction was completed. A second phase is planned and will bring total capacity to 330 MWs. Belwind will be the largest Belgian offshore wind farm, with a total investment value of €614 million. This deal was selected as "2009 European Power Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International magazine, "2009 European Offshore Wind Deal of the Year" by Project Finance magazine and "2009 Renewables Deal of the Year" by Infrastructure Journal.

Lost Creek. We represented BayernLB, Nord/LB, UBOC, Rabobank and Banco Santander in the US$352 million project financing of the 150 MW Lost Creek wind farm in DeKalb County, Missouri. The innovative portion of the capital structure involved a bridge loan from the banks that will be repaid at project completion from the proceeds of a Section 1603 grant made available under the US Stimulus Plan. The project will consist of 100 General Electric 1.5 MW wind turbine generators. The sponsor is Wind Capital Group, a wind development company backed by some of the former founders of the Airtricity Group.

Solar

Shams 1 Solar Power Project. We represented the mandated lead arrangers in the US$612 million financing of the Shams 1 solar power project at Madinat Zayed, United Arab Emirates. The financing for this project was provided by BNP Paribas, KfW-IPEX, Mizuho, National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Natixis, Société Générale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Union National Bank and WestLB. Shams 1 is the first solar project to reach financial close in the Middle East and the largest concentrated solar power plant in the world. Implementing innovative parabolic trough technology on an unprecedented scale, the project has a planned net capacity of approximately 110 MWs. This transaction was selected as "2010 Middle East Renewables Deal of the Year" by Project Finance magazine.

FRV Austin. We represented Bayerische Landesbank, New York branch, as sole mandated lead arranger, agent and lender, in a US$59 million construction loan and a US$33 million investment tax credit bridge loan for a 30 MW alternating current/35 MW direct current ground-mounted photovoltaic solar power plant in Webberville, Texas. Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, Inc. is the sponsor. The estimated total project cost is US$125 million.

One Nevada Transmission Line. We represented Great Basin Transmission South, LLC in its sale of a 25 percent undivided interest to NV Energy in One Nevada Transmission Line (ON Line) and the development and financing of Great Basin's 75 percent undivided interest in ON Line pursuant to a US$343 million US Department of Energy (DOE) loan guarantee, which was the first DOE loan guarantee for a transmission project. ON Line is a new 235-mile, 500-kilovolt alternating current transmission line that will carry approximately 600 MWs of electricity from northern Nevada to an area outside Las Vegas in southern Nevada. ON Line is the first phase of a larger project called the Southwest Intertie Project (SWIP) that, when completed, will carry 2,000 MWs of power generated from wind, solar and geothermal sources from remote areas in Idaho, Nevada and Wyoming to users in Las Vegas, California and across the Southwestern US. Great Basin is a special-purpose entity formed by LS Power Associates, a power generation and transmission company.

Geothermal

OrCal. We represented Lehman Brothers in a US$165 million project financing, via a Rule 144A offering of senior secured notes, of two geothermal plants owned by Ormat Industries Ltd. OrCal is a special-purpose entity that owns the Heber 1 (38 MW) and 2 (34 MW) geothermal power facilities located in Imperial County, California.

Asia Clean Capital Limited. We represented Asia Clean Capital Limited, a Hong Kong clean energy company, in the development and financing of a series of projects to provide geothermal heat pump heating and cooling utilities to industrial customers in China.

Puna Geothermal. We represented AIG Annuity Insurance Company, American General Life Insurance Company and Allstate Life Insurance Company, as lenders, in the approximately US$100 million lease financing/project financing of a 30 MW geothermal power facility in Hawaii, sponsored by Ormat Technologies, Inc.

Hydroelectric

Chacayes. We represented the commercial lenders (including WestLB, Calyon, SG Americas and DnB NOR) in the 110 MW Chacayes hydroelectric power project in Chile, valued at US$428 million. Pacific Hydro Pty Ltd was the sponsor. Work on this project began during the summer of 2008; it closed in the first half of 2009.

EnerjiSA Enerji Üretim. We represented EnerjiSA Enerji Üretim A.S. in a €1 billion financing for the development of a 1.9 gigawatt power portfolio in Turkey on a merchant basis, consisting of an €865 million financing package for the first phase of the company's investment program. This financing was used to finance the first phase of their expansion plan, which consists of ten hydroelectric power plants and one gas-fired power plant.

La Yesca. We represented Constructora de Proyectos Hidroeléctricos (an international consortium led by Empresas ICA) in the financing of the two-unit 750 MW La Yesca hydroelectric generating facility (La Yesca) straddling the states of Nayarit and Jalisco, Mexico. Pursuant to an international public bidding process conducted by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad, Mexico's state-owned electricity provider, the consortium was awarded a US$767 million agreement for the development and construction of La Yesca, the largest public infrastructure project contemplated by the administration of Mexico's then-President Felipe Calderón. The financing consisted of an US$80 million working capital facility from WestLB and a US$910 million syndicated construction facility arranged by WestLB. This transaction was named "2007 Americas Power Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International magazine.

Biomass

DTE Woodland. We represented DTE Woodland LLC, as federal energy regulatory counsel, in connection with its purchase of a coal-fired cogeneration power plant in Stockton, California from an affiliate of FPL Group, Inc. The facility was converted to biomass fuel use.

Wadham Energy. We represented Wadham Energy, LLC in a five-year power purchase agreement and a gas-indexed swap transaction for a 27 MW biomass facility near Williams, California, the world's largest rice hull-to-energy plant.

Chester Resource Recovery Project. We represented the equity investor in an approximately US$300 million leveraged lease project financing of a waste-to-energy project in Pennsylvania.

Biofuels

Biofuel Energy Ethanol Restructuring. We represented BNP Paribas, as lead arranger, in the US$228 million restructuring of the existing project financing of two ethanol facilities (the Pioneer Trail facility in Wood River, Nebraska and the Buffalo Lake facility in Fairmont, Minnesota), taking into account updated projections for revenues and expenditures.

Cambridge Ethanol. We represented Société Générale, as administrative agent and lender, in connection with a US$106 million limited-recourse project financing of a dry mill ethanol production plant in Cambridge, Nebraska. This facility has undergone restructuring and the owner is currently a debtor in a bankruptcy proceeding.

Wheatland Ethanol Project. We represented Société Générale, as administrative agent and lender, in a US$70 million limited-recourse project financing of a dry mill ethanol production plant in Madrid, Nebraska. This credit facility was restructured.