Green Guide Profile: McDermott Will & Emery LLP
McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s ESG, Impact & Sustainability initiative facilitates a holistic approach to ESG-related matters by tying together a wide range of the firm’s practice areas and addressing client’s cross-disciplinary needs while also promoting ESG via thought leadership and a webinar series.
In two recent work highlights, Washington DC-based ACORE leadership council member Chris Gladbach represented Clean Path New York in the negotiation and execution of an $11bn 3.4GW clean energy infrastructure plan, and Irradiant Partners in a $100m investment in Bioenergy Devco’s anaerobic digestion facilities.
Also in Washington DC, REEEAC member Carl Fleming together with LA-based global energy and project finance practice co-head Ed Zaelke (a founding board member of the Wind Solar Alliance and former president of the American Wind Energy Association) advised a Canadian utility conglomerate on the acquisition of a number of onshore wind farms in Texas. Fleming is also representing a US-based solar developer in the development and finance of solar projects in a number of African countries.
In Miami, global energy and project finance practice co-head Phil Tingle together with colleagues in DC, New York and Miami assisted Northern Indiana Public Services Company with the financing of a 302MW wind farm, alongside other renewable energy projects.
A number of key contacts, including Fleming, Zaelke and New York-based former EPA enforcement attorney Jacob Hollinger, are heavily involved in the firm’s ESG-related thought leadership, including articles and webinars on investment opportunities in the green energy sector and ESG financial disclosures.
Key members of our team include:
Edward (Ed) Zaelke is the global co-head of the Energy & Project Finance Practice. He focuses his practice on project finance and private equity in renewable energy transactional matters. With more than 30 years of experience, he advises clients on all elements of alternative energy development and finance, including equity and debt financing, merger and acquisition transactions, equipment purchase and sale agreements, power purchase agreements, siting and other real property issues, governmental approvals, and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts.
Philip (Phil) Tingle represents energy companies such as utilities, independent power producers and financial institutions on a wide range of energy tax-related matters. He is the global co-head of the Energy & Project Finance Practice. Phil provides advice regarding all aspects of renewable-energy projects, including tax equity structures, refinancings, acquisitions and dispositions, restructurings and workouts. He has extensive experience with the production tax credit and with the application of renewable credits to new technologies. He works with the investment tax credit for numerous kinds of solar projects.
Emeka C. Chinwuba focuses his practice on project development and financing transactions, particularly for power and infrastructure projects in North America, South America, Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa. His practice also includes US public private partnerships for transportation and social infrastructure projects, as well as general bank finance transactions, including acquisition financings, investment grade financings and asset-based lending transactions.
Heather Cooper works on federal income tax matters, with a focus on energy tax issues. She represents clients in restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, and other transactional energy related matters.
Heather’s national practice includes advising on all aspects of renewable energy transactions such as solar and wind projects. She has experience with respect to the production tax credit as it applies to wind, geothermal, biomass, hydro, waste, fuel cell and refined coal. She has also worked with the investment tax credit for renewable projects, including utility-scale solar facilities and residential solar portfolio projects.
Robert da Silva Ashley focuses his practice on complex cross-border and domestic project finance and corporate lending transactions, particularly in energy. Robert advises international and domestic financial institutions, project sponsors and developers, investment funds and multinational corporations. Robert is a highly recognized advisor in the Latin American region amongst project sponsors, international banks, investment funds and multinational corporations. He counsels clients on high-value financings of energy and infrastructure projects and other corporate business interests across the most important markets in Latin America. Robert serves on the Firm’s Latin America Practice leadership committee.
Carl J. Fleming is a transactional lawyer whose principal areas of practice are renewable energy and private equity. He leads transactions throughout the US and worldwide for a number of the renewable industry’s leading developers, global private equity funds and Fortune 500 companies. He provides legal, commercial and strategic advice on the development, purchase and sale and financing of renewable energy projects in wind, solar, energy storage, electric vehicles and other low carbon solutions. A partner in our Washington, DC office, he also advises on a number of energy and climate change policy issues. Carl is currently an appointee to the Biden administration’s Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee (REEEAC) where he advises the Secretary of Commerce on wind, solar, battery storage, electric vehicles and other low carbon solutions.
Christopher Gladbach counsels clients in energy M&A, project development, tax equity and project finance transactions. Chris works with energy clients in structuring complex equity and debt investments, advises both buyers and sellers in the power sector in mergers and acquisitions, and joint ventures, and on the development of large-scale energy projects. He assists his clients in mitigating and allocating risk associated with these transactions in conjunction with achieving their primary business and financial objectives. Chris has extensive experience advising clients pursuing opportunities involving the development and financing of United States Department of Defense (DoD) energy projects.
Debra Harrison focuses her practice on renewable energy transactions, general corporate matters, franchising, licensing and distribution matters, as well as other business growth strategies. She has extensive experience advising clients on renewable energy transactions, including the structuring, development and financing of renewable projects throughout North America and Europe. Debra’s corporate practice includes counseling clients, both publicly and privately held, on transactions related to capital formation, mergers and acquisitions, reorganizations, brand extension programs, joint ventures and strategic alliances in a variety of industries.
Jacob Hollinger is a commercial litigator and environmental lawyer in McDermott’s Energy and Project Finance practice group. He represents energy and manufacturing clients in commercial and environmental disputes and provides counseling on climate change, carbon finance, environmental compliance and environmental risk management. Prior to joining McDermott, Jacob was an environmental enforcement attorney for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and New York State, with a particular focus on Clean Air Act matters, and a commercial litigator for a highly regarded AmLaw 100 firm. His energy-related matters have involved engines, fuels, power plants, refineries, solar installations, landfills, waste-to-energy projects, wind farms, storage facilities, tax equity investments and multiple types of carbon-related regulatory credits.
Joel A. Hugenberger advises clients on project finance, project development and tax equity transactions in the energy and infrastructure sectors with a particular emphasis on transactions relating to renewable energy. Joel represents tax equity investors, sponsors, developers, borrowers, lenders and arrangers in the financing of complex energy and infrastructure projects, domestically and internationally, and in the structuring and negotiation of various secured and unsecured loan facilities, joint ventures and tax equity investment structures.
Robert Lamkin represents energy trading firms, electric power generators, renewables project developers and other energy industry participants in energy trading and energy regulatory matters, including matters relating to compliance with CFTC regulation of swaps under the Dodd-Frank Act. Rob regularly represents clients in a variety of wholesale and retail energy trading matters, including negotiation of structured physical and financial hedging and other structured energy transactions utilizing bespoke contract forms as well as industry standard energy trading documentation. Rob also regularly advises clients on energy management agreements, asset management agreements and other agreements related to power production and energy trading.
Lloyd MacNeil represents developers, sponsors, investors and lenders of capital and infrastructure projects. His principal focus is on renewable energy and emerging energy technologies, where he has been a leading advisor since the emergence of wind energy as a competitor to fossil fuels as an energy source. He advises commercial and industrial clients on energy portfolio services and energy efficiency solutions.
James Salerno focuses his practice on all stages of development for constructing and financing domestic and international energy and infrastructure projects. He represents developers, sponsors, investors and lenders in structuring and negotiating renewable power, energy storage, carbon capture, renewables, geothermal, hydro and nuclear generation projects, including the drafting and negotiation of project documents and related financing. Jim also advises developers and lenders in the oil and gas industry, primarily in the Latin American and sub-Saharan Africa markets.
At McDermott, we understand the unique challenges of directing capital to generate social and environmental benefit, while ensuring desirable returns for our clients throughout the process. With decades of experience representing private sector and government clients in impact investing and climate change transactions throughout the US and in more than 40 countries worldwide, we are the firm of choice for investors seeking sophisticated counsel in this unique and rapidly growing space. Our 50+ Energy and Project Finance and Environmental team is deeply immersed in the industry. We are a leader in the development, construction, financing and acquisition of impact investing and social enterprise projects because our lawyers are market front-runners steeped in the industry.
- A cost-effective one-firm solution. Our deep experience across all impact investing and energy sectors, as well as our tax equity, tax, private equity, environmental and regulatory specializations, ensure that our advice is coordinated, centralized and seamless. With our one-firm solution, clients can expect shorter transaction timelines and reduced deal cost and risk. We also leverage proprietary McDermott efficiency tools (such as scaling due diligence) to help further reduce cost.
- Our energy attorneys have vast experience in the tax incentives available for energy projects and related requirements, including Production Tax Credits (PTC) and Investment Tax Credits (ITC). We have closed several high-profile projects in the United States that benefitted from the US Department of Energy (DOE) Loan Guarantees.
- Long track record of success being entrusted by a broad range of clients to support them in strategic investments in renewable energy, agriculture, water, microfinance, roads and transportation and education.
- Advise on all legal and commercial aspects of impact investing and climate change transactions from the beginning stages of the investment or project development through equity, debt financing and tax equity financing arrangements.
- Our team has closed billions of dollars in impact investing and renewable energy and infrastructure transactions across 44 states in North America and over 40 countries throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America.
OUR CORE AREAS OF STRENGTH INCLUDE:
Environmental Risks and Opportunities. We are qualified to advise, assist and, if necessary, defend our clients in connection with the ever-expanding universe of environmental topics and environmental matters, from carbon credits to toxic torts. We advise on climate change-related risks and opportunities, carbon-related commodities, environmental insurance and disclosure obligations.
Renewable Energy and Other Natural Resources. We have one of the largest renewable energy practice groups in the world, and we use our deep experience to support strategic investments in renewable energy, agriculture, water and other natural capital projects. Our work includes:
- development, acquisition and divestiture, and financing of wind projects (onshore and offshore);
- private and publicly owned utility scale solar facilities;
- residential, commercial and industrial solar projects;
- landfill gas; biomass; digesters; fuel cells; micro turbines;
- water and a variety of other biofuels projects.
Impact and Green Finance. Our impact finance and sustainable solutions team works on some of the most innovative cross-border and domestic finance transactions targeting social interventions and achievement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for governments, non-governmental agencies, funds, global foundations, private equity houses and financial institutions.
- Our cross-border impact finance team has over a decade of experience advising on a range of impact finance initiatives, including the establishment of funds, innovative investment structures, development and social impact bonds and other capital market solutions.
- The team has represented donor governments, United Nations Agencies, global impact funds, foundations and impact investors in developing some of the most pioneering mechanisms delivering finance for a positive social impact around the world.
- We also advise a wide range of charities and not-for profit organisations, assisting with a range of matters from inception, registration with the Charity Commission and HMRC through to ongoing management and reporting obligations.
Corporate Advisory – Sustainability, Capital Markets and Governance. We work with clients on implementing new or enhanced sustainability programs and investment strategies aimed at achieving their sustainability and market objectives. We help to identify financially material risks and to capitalize on actionable opportunities around sustainability, ESG ratings and reporting, governance, M&A due diligence, shareholder proposals and compliance.
Insurance. We take a proactive approach to monitoring insurance regulator proposals with respect to climate change. We advise both US and non-US insurers on drafting various ESG disclosures, and on ESG investment issues, including analyzing proposed impact investments and green investment fund vehicles.
WHAT THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT OF 2022 MEANS FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY DEVELOPERS, INVESTORS AND MANUFACTURERS, July 2022
BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PAUSES SOLAR PANEL CIRCUMVENTION PROCEEDING TO ALLOW DOMESTIC INDUSTRY TO DEVELOP SUFFICIENT SUPPLY OF SOLAR MODULES, June 2022
CLIMATE CHANGE REGULATORY UPDATE FOR US INSURERS: April 2022
https://usadministration.mwe.com/
PLATFORM INVESTMENTS IN RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS, April 2022
https://www.mwe.com/insights/platform-investments-in-renewable-energy-projects/
WEBINAR: KEY TAKEAWAYS | RISKS, OPPORTUNITIES AND DISCLOSURE IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE, April 2022
https://www.mwe.com/events/risks-opportunities-and-disclosure-in-the-era-of-climate-change/
SEC PROPOSES LANDMARK STANDARDIZED DISCLOSURE RULES ON CLIMATE-RELATED RISKS, March 2022
MCDERMOTT REPRESENTS PRO BONO CLIENT SURFRIDER FOUNDATION IN SUCCESSFUL RESOLUTION OF CLEAN WATER ACT VIOLATION, April 2022
CASE STUDY: HASTE, NOT WASTE: FAST-MOVING ENERGY DEAL HELPS DRIVE CARBON-NEUTRAL ECONOMY