Orrick Advises OCI Solar on $1 Billion Solar Installation Deal with CPS Energy

August.01.2012

Orrick has represented OCI Solar Power LLC, a subsidiary of South Korean chemical producer OCI Co. Ltd, in negotiating what will become the largest municipal solar installation in the United States with CPS Energy, San Antonio’s municipal utility. The transaction involved a complex mix of economic development requirements and incentives and development of renewable energy projects.

As part of the transaction, OCI Solar Power will relocate its headquarters to San Antonio and bring several solar component manufacturing facilities to the area which will create over 800 high-value jobs. In return, CPS Energy has agreed to purchase 400 MW worth of solar power for 25 years, providing enough electricity for 70,000 households. The total value of the deal is estimated at over $1 billion.

The Orrick team included energy and infrastructure partners David Spielberg and Eric Stephens, corporate partner David Cho, energy and infrastructure associates Kelly Giddens and Julianne Spears and corporate managing associate Christie Tang.

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Eric Stephens Partner, Renewable Energy, Mergers & Acquisitions

San Francisco

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D:+1 415 773 5529
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Practice:

Energy & Infrastructure Sector
Renewable Energy
Mergers & Acquisitions
Energy
Infrastructure

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Eric Stephens Partner

San Francisco

Eric helps clients design and build successful renewable energy businesses by advising on how projects and portfolios large and small can maximize their value through well-informed negotiation, efficient diligence and acquisition techniques, and responsive and creative problem solving.

Eric has particularly deep knowledge in helping developers strategically procure the equipment and services necessary to develop, construct, commission, operate and sell renewable energy projects of all sizes, and in helping investors evaluate the development work of potential investments. Development and procurement managers excel at sourcing and pricing a project’s needs, and Eric can build on this by bringing these contracts to completion with deep market knowledge, in a way best suited to the client’s commercial objectives and so that they withstand the scrutiny of project investors, lenders and buyers. Eric balances work for utility-scale projects with the growing distributed energy generation and storage sector, both of which recently include negotiation of contracts to “safe harbor” equipment or construction activities to preserve higher levels of ITC or PTC. He has represented energy project developers, equipment suppliers and installers, publicly-owned utilities, private equity investors and other parties in developing energy projects from very early stages of securing technology and land/resource rights to buying and selling operating assets, and everything in between.