ProjectsPlus

Milbank's Magazine for Energy & Infrastructure Projects

The Winter 2023-24 issue of ProjectsPlus leads off with our latest podcast episode, “The Geopolitics of Energy: ‘Shifting Sands,’” featuring Dr. Carolyn Kissane, a professor at NYU’s SPS Center for Global Affairs, and host Allan Marks.

Other articles in this issue highlight the first-ever Asian cross-border wind power project; financing structures for battery storage projects after enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act; a discussion of two new state laws that require major corporations doing business in California to disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related risks; the impact that the UN’s Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement will have on mining; third-party environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings (and how they’re often misunderstood, oversimplified or misapplied); the structuring and implementation of a first-of-its-kind project sukuk issuance; an analysis of the Biden administration’s proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for new and existing fossil fuel–burning power plants; an innovative initiative focused on improving both human and environmental health in Uganda; a Q&A with Milbank Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance partner Carolina Walther-Meade; a discussion of the structures, financing options and risks typically associated with the oil and gas industry; a review of the complex legal issues in multi-sourced project financings; the US Department of Energy’s awarding of up to $7 billion in funding for seven new, regional clean hydrogen hubs; and a podcast focused on the impact of rising interest rates on project finance, M&A and renewable energy investing.

Our goal, as always, is to offer the facts that can spur conversations and spark new ideas. Please share your comments and questions with us at projectsplus@milbank.com.

Scroll down for the latest articles.

Past Issues

“The Geopolitics of Energy: ‘Shifting Sands’”

What blind spots are we missing in the global conversation about energy and geopolitics? In this podcast episode, “The Geopolitics of Energy: “’Shifting Sands,’” Dr. Carolyn Kissane, a professor at New York University’s SPS Center for Global Affairs, and host Allan Marks address this question and more. Public policies in Europe, the US and China are stimulating massive capital investment in renewable energy, EVs, batteries and the energy transition, and India is a rapidly rising economy. Mr. Marks and Dr. Kissane look at these interrelated issues and the outsized effects of wars and climate change on global resource security, energy use, water supplies and demographics. They also assess the challenges of climate risks, increased electricity demand, uneven economic growth, national security risks, and the controversial roles of natural gas and hydrogen in decarbonization.

Monsoon Wind: A Roadmap for Electricity Connectivity in Asia

Earlier this year, Milbank advised Asian Development Bank (“ADB”) and other senior secured parties on an historic $692 million non-recourse project financing to construct and operate the Monsoon Wind Power Project located in Laos PDR. The project, which will export electricity to Vietnam, will be the first wind power plant in Laos, the largest in Southeast Asia and the first Asian cross-border wind power project. Singapore-based Milbank partner James Murray and associate Rosaline Yusman discuss the landmark project.

Battery Energy Storage Financing Structures and Revenue Strategies Post-Inflation Reduction Act

Milbank partner Michael Klaus discusses financing structures for battery storage projects after enactment of the Inflation Reduction Act. He also addresses the fixed and variable revenue sources available to battery storage projects based on the benefits they offer to electricity customers and grid operators. These benefits include shifting delivery of energy to times of high demand, frequency regulation, demand charge management and voltage control.

Read “Battery Energy Storage Financing Structures and Revenue Strategies Post-Inflation Reduction Act”

The California Effect: Visionary Climate Disclosure Laws Will Have Far-Reaching Impact

In this article, previously published by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance on November 10, 2023, partners Allan Marks and Matthew Ahrens, with associate Allison Sloto, discuss two recent climate disclosure bills, SB253 (The Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act) and SB261 (The Climate-Related Financial Risk Act), which require major corporations doing business in California to disclose their greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions and certain other climate-related risk data.

Read “The California Effect: Visionary Climate Disclosure Laws Will Have Far-reaching Impact” →

Critical Considerations for Critical Minerals

Governments all over the world are accelerating their implementation of measures to fulfill their obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement, as well as other international legal instruments. Milbank partners Viren Mascarenhas and Alexander Borisoff, with associate Montplaisir Bazan, discuss how meeting those targets as part of the energy transition will require increased mining of critical minerals.

Read “Critical Considerations for Critical Minerals: Mitigating ESG Risk and Potential Disputes in an Energy Transitioning World”

What Investors Should Know About ESG Ratings

Institutional investors increasingly consider third-party environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings as part of their credit and risk assessment process for potential investments. Too often, these ESG ratings are misunderstood, oversimplified or misapplied as part of a check-the-box compliance exercise divorced from their real utility in assessing key questions. In “What Investors Should Know About ESG Ratings,” published in Institutional Investing in Infrastructure (i3), Allan Marks discusses the value ESG ratings can have when taken together with other risk assessments, targeted due diligence and credit analysis, and when aligned with the investor’s goals.

Read “What Investors Should Know About ESG Ratings”

Structuring a First-of-its-Kind Project Sukuk Issuance

In February 2023, Milbank advised the managers on the landmark $1.5 billion project sukuk issuance by TMS Issuer S.à r.l for the refinancing of bridge facility entered into in connection with GreenSaif Pipelines BidCo S.à r.l acquisition of a minority stake in Aramco Gas Pipelines Company, a subsidiary of Saudi Arabian Oil Company. (Sukuk are financial products whose terms and structures comply with Shariah.) Milbank partners John Dewar and Munib Hussain, with associate Bader Thabti, discuss the landmark transaction in an Islamic Finance News Special Report.

Read “GreenSaif Sukuk Issuance Based on Shares”

Assessing the Biden Administration’s Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emission Standards

The Biden administration’s proposed greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for new and existing fossil fuel–burning power plants aim to reduce total carbon dioxide emissions by 617 million metric tons by 2042. Milbank partners Matthew Ahrens and Allan Marks, along with special counsel Thomas Goslin and associate Allison Sloto, assess the proposed rule in “Proposed Environmental Protection Agency Carbon Pollution Standards Would Impact Energy Sector,” published in The Journal of Federal Agency Action.

Read “Proposed Environmental Protection Agency Carbon Pollution Standards Would Impact Energy Sector”

Launching a Groundbreaking Conservation and Poverty Reduction Project in Uganda

A Milbank pro bono team advised The Margaret Pyke Trust on its agreement with The International Crane Foundation and the Rugarama Hospital in the Kabale District of southwest Uganda to launch the next stage of the groundbreaking Darwin Initiative – a UK government grants scheme for biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction in low-income countries. This initiative is focused on improving both human and environmental health in Uganda and is funded by the UK Biodiversity Challenge Funds (UKBCFs). The project is already having a significant impact on the social and economic environment in western Uganda.

Learn more about The Margaret Pyke Trust

Milbank Partner Carolina Walther-Meade Featured in Latin Lawyer International Women’s Day Q&A Series

Milbank Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance partner Carolina Walther-Meade is featured in Latin Lawyer as part of its International Women’s Day Q&A Series, which profiles leading female lawyers that are role models in the industry. Ms. Walther-Meade relates what it was like entering the legal industry as a woman, how firms can support the career growth of women lawyers, and what advice she would give to young lawyers starting out in the industry today.

Financing Options in the Oil & Gas Industry

John Dewar and special counsel Rachel Croft explore the structures, financing options and risks typically associated with the oil and gas industry in “Financing Options in the Oil and Gas Industry,” published in Practical Law. The authors discuss the aspects of funding various components of the industry, from exploration and extraction to refining, processing, storage and transportation.

Read “Financing Options in the Oil and Gas Industry”

Why the World Needs Multi-Sourced Project Financings (and Project Finance Lawyers…)

In today’s project finance market, regardless of the identity of the sponsor or the robustness of a project’s predicted future revenues, large-scale or complex projects will almost always require a sponsor to combine financing from a number of different sources in order to achieve a fully funded finance plan. In “Why the World Needs Multi-Sourced Project Financings (and Project Finance Lawyers…),” published in the International Comparative Legal Guide to Project Finance 2023, John Dewar discusses the diversity of finance and financing structures, and the accompanying complex legal issues in multi-sourced project financings.

Read “Why the World Needs Multi-Sourced Project Financings (and Project Finance Lawyers…)”

So it is Written…

Our lawyers continue to provide practical guidance and invaluable insights in leading industry publications. John Dewar served as contributing editor of Getting The Deal Through’s Electricity Regulation 2024 guide and co-authored the United Kingdom chapter with special counsel Seyda Duman. Mr. Dewar also acted as contributing editor for The International Comparative Legal Guide: Mining Law 2024, published by ICLG, and co-authored the UK chapter with associate Emily Whittaker. Munib Hussain authored the Islamic Finance chapter of the 5th edition of The Project Finance Law Review. And Milbank partners Matt Ahrens, Allan Marks, Iliana Ongun, Neil Whoriskey and associate Allison Sloto contributed to the 2023 International Comparative Legal Guide - Environmental, Social, & Governance Law.

US Department of Energy Awards up to $7B in Funding for Seven New, Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs

Allan Marks discusses the US Department of Energy’s (DOE) award of up to $7 billion in funding for seven new, regional clean hydrogen hubs on New Project Media’s (NPM) Interconnections podcast. Mr. Marks discusses how this federal funding will stimulate up to $40 billion in additional private investment. He also explains how the DOE’s decision will split funding between green hydrogen and blue hydrogen projects.

Listen to the podcast

How are Rising Interest Rates and Bank Failures Impacting Project Finance, M&A and Renewable Energy Investing?

Allan Marks discusses the market impacts of rising interest rates and the Silicon Valley Bank collapse on investment in solar power, wind energy and other renewables on New Project Media’s (NPM) Interconnections podcast. Speaking with NPM’s Managing Editor Jon Berke, Mr. Marks addresses liquidity in debt markets, valuations in energy M&A, and why the US remains an attractive market for foreign investment in renewable energy projects.

Listen to the podcast

In Case You Missed These Podcasts…

The Energy Transition in Europe and the United States: "Blue Skies Ahead"
By 2030, renewables - mainly wind and solar power - are forecast to generate most of Europe’s power and almost half the power in the United States and China. Other sectors, like transportation and heavy industry, are also decarbonizing. What drives this energy transition away from fossil fuels toward cleaner energy sources and greater energy efficiency?

International Climate Change Litigation: “Full Court Press”
Treaties and international tribunals interpreting and applying those treaties can impact how governments behave and how companies invest, bringing about concrete effects in the real world. Today, international courts are being summoned to answer questions about responsibility and liability for climate change impacts under international law.

Climate Change Outlook: “Good COP, Bad COP"
This report from the COP27 UN Climate Change Conference covers global clean energy investment, the special role of oceans, negotiations for a new international fund to redress the “loss and damage” from climate change impacts, and the gap between climate pledges and progress in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions.

Expanding Our Energy Regulatory Bench with the Addition of Jenna McGrath

Jenna McGrath joined our Washington, DC office as a partner in November. Ms. McGrath focuses her practice on both transactional and litigation work in the energy regulatory space. She advises developers, lenders, private equity, utilities and large industrial electricity customers (e.g., data centers and mining operations) on laws and regulations governing development of electric generation and transmission projects, and revenues for wholesale and retail electricity and transmission services.

Meet Jenna McGrath

Exceptional Clients, Extraordinary Results

We are privileged to work with outstanding clients on their most sophisticated and ambitious transactions. From the largest wind power projects in Southeast Asia and Egypt to one of the largest copper mine in Indonesia, and from FPSO vessels off the coast of Brazil and natural gas power plants in the United States to an international Airport in Peru, our work for top-tier, forward-thinking clients in the Americas, Europe, South America and across Asia continues to garner praise. Some recent accolades include:

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