ESG / Climate Action, Energy and Natural Resources
ESG focussed projects, transaction and advisory mandates are now a core part of Matheson’s market leading Corporate and Commercial Department. Our specialist cross disciplinary transactional, and regulatory advisory renewable energy, real estate, M&A, planning and environmental, project finance and infrastructure lawyers advise developers, sponsors, lenders and public sector bodies on developments in the Irish energy, infrastructure, waste, manufacturing and transport sectors and we have particular experience in energy and infrastructure M&A and renewable energy advisory mandates. Over the past number of years in particular, our ESG advisory team is advising our domestic and international clients on corporate governance matters and disclosure requirements relevant to their ESG policies and strategies, which has increased extensively in the context of legislative initiatives under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Action Plan as well as our clients’ sustainability and ESG strategies and policies.
Our specialised Energy, Natural Resources and Utilities lawyers also provide legal advice covering the entire lifespan of an energy, natural resource, energy efficiency, infrastructure, transport and waste projects, from planning approval to decommissioning. Our dedicated energy lawyers (some of which, including our leadership team, have been recruited from industry) fully understand the technical and commercial issues in these regulated and complex sectors. In addition to transaction focused work, we have an excellent track record advising on regulatory reform and market design, including advising the Irish Government on the new RESS renewable energy subsidy schemes (RESS 1, RESS Offshore and RESS 2), EirGrid and SONI in relation to all aspects of the I-SEM electricity market re-design and the world’s largest technology, life science, pharma and manufacturing companies, domestic and international lenders as well as some of the largest renewable energy developers active in the Irish market on all but one of the corporate power purchase agreements that have been executed in Ireland to date as well as on their renewable energy procurement and sustainability projects.
Experience
A selection of our more recent experience is set out below:
- Advised domestic and international lenders (including
Hamburg Commercial Bank, Aviva Investors, Rabobank, ING, DNB Bank ASA, and Credit Agricole) and domestic and international renewable energy sponsors, and infrastructure, pension and private equity funds (including Brookfield Renewables, Allianz,EDF Renewables, Statkraft, Bord na Mona plc and Partners Group) in respect of their development, due diligence, project financing, acquisition and disposals of wind farm projects, solar parks as well as waste to energy plants in Ireland. - Advised Brookfield Renewables in relation to the first virtual corporate power purchase agreement entered into with Facebook for an Irish wind farm project.
- Advising a number of clients on the contracts to install electric charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
- Advised GE in relation to the first corporate power purchase agreement entered into in Ireland with Microsoft Corporation in relation to a large wind farm in Ireland.
- Advised Hanwha Energy Corporation on the development and project financing of a 200MW battery storage facility in Ireland (one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe) and the first utility scale battery storage project in Ireland.
- Advising some of the leading international technology, manufacturing, life sciences and agri-food companies in Ireland on their ‘green’ or renewable energy procurement and sustainability strategies and projects for their Irish businesses.
- Advising an international listed renewable energy fund on their acquisition and financing of the largest solar park in Ireland.
- Advised a number of global technology companies and leading domestic agri-food and manufacturing companies in relation to energy performance contracts for their Irish campuses and manufacturing plants.