Masahiro Tanabe
Biography
Overview
Masahiro Tanabe is counsel in the Project Development and Finance group based in Tokyo. His practice focuses on matters relating to renewable energy, electricity power markets and LNG.
Mr. Tanabe has extensive experience advising clients on project acquisitions and developments and on electricity-related regulatory and transactional work, including corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs). He regularly advises across a variety of asset types, including battery energy storage systems (ESS), data centers, offshore wind, solar and LNG projects and has advised on a number of first-of-a-kind transactions in Japan.
Mr. Tanabe is ranked in Chambers Asia-Pacific for Projects & Energy: Domestic in Japan, and also recognized as "Rising Star" for Projects and Energy in Japan by The Legal 500.
Prior to joining White & Case, Mr. Tanabe was counsel at a leading international law firm where he was involved in a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions.
Mr. Tanabe was raised and educated in both Japan and the United States and is fluent in both English and his native language of Japanese.
Experience
Northland Power Inc. on its joint venture with Shizen Energy Inc. for the development of offshore wind projects in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.*
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. on its investment in Principle Power Inc., a leading floating wind power technology company based in the US.*
EDP Renewables on its acquisition of a 87.4% stake in Sunseap, which has a 5.5 GW portfolio of renewable projects at different stages of development.*
Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. on its investment in and strategic alliance with UK-based Octopus Energy Group Limited, to market and supply energy services in Japan.*
The first-ever foreign electricity retailer to obtain an electricity retail license in Japan*
International sponsor on the drafting and negotiation of one of the first-ever onsite corporate PPAs in Japan*
International data center company on the negotiation of a power supply agreement for its hyperscale data center in Japan*
International sponsor on the development of one of the first-ever stand-alone battery projects in Japan*
Major Japanese electricity utility on one of the first-ever Japanese-language LNG sale and purchase agreements*
*Experience prior to joining White & Case
"Inside Japan's Second Round Offshore Wind Tender and Criteria Assessments," APAC Wind Energy Week 2023, Leader Associates, February 2023 (Speaker)
"Ramping up Capacity – What Policy and Regulatory Challenges Remain and What Progress Can We Expect in 2022," Japan Offshore Wind Updates 2022, Leader Associates, April 2022 (Speaker)
"Japanese Offshore Wind Market: Recent Developments and Opportunities for German Companies," German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan, February 2020 (Speaker)
"Corporate Sourcing of Renewable Energy: Japan," Corporates in the Global Energy Transition webcast series, GWEC and RE100, October 2020 (Speaker)
"The Outlook for the Energy Resource Aggregation Business in Japan," IPFA, September 2019 (Panelist)
