Deanne Barrow

Senior Associate
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Deanne Barrow

Deanne Barrow

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Biography

Deanne Barrow is a corporate lawyer focusing on energy and infrastructure projects. Drawing on her background as a chemical engineer, she helps companies develop and finance solar, wind, energy storage, EV charging infrastructure, hydrogen and carbon capture projects. Her clients include developers, sponsors, lenders and investors.  

As a senior associate in NRF's projects group, Deanne plays the role of transaction quarterback, helping push deals over the finish line so that financial closing can be achieved on budget and on time. She is skilled in every aspect of complex closings, where she typically takes the lead on drafting, structuring and negotiating debt and tax equity financing agreements, project documents, depositary agreements, MIPAs, LLCAs, security documents, share pledge agreements, consents, estoppels, equity contribution agreements, sponsor guarantees, officers certificates, corporate resolutions, legal opinions and more.


Professional experience

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  • LL.M, with highest honors, Energy and Environmental Law, Thomas Burgenthal Scholarship, George Washington University Law School
  • BA, with honors, Law, University of Cambridge
  • BS, with highest honors, Chemical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
  • California State Bar
  • New York State Bar
  • US Patent and Trademark Attorney

Carbon capture and hydrogen

  • Represented OCI N.V. and its subsidiary Iowa Fertilizer Company, opposite Navigator CO2 Ventures, on the structuring, drafting and negotiation of CO2 capture, transportation and sequestration agreements with respect to the 1,300-mile Heartland Greenway CO2 pipeline and sequestration facility.
  • Currently representing the sponsor on the development of multiple carbon capture and sequestration projects at ethanol plants in the Midwest that will take advantage of section 45Q tax credits and LCFS credits. 
  • Currently representing a project developer on the drafting and negotiation of a hydrogen offtake agreement and a carbon capture and sequestration agreement for a biomass-to-hydrogen project in California.
  • Currently representing a project developer on a joint venture for a large-scale hydrogen project. 

Energy storage

  • Represented BNP Paribas on a $75 million tax equity financing for a 150 MW battery storage project in Brazoria County, Texas. 
  • Represented the North American Development Bank and Siemens Financial Services on a US$78.2 million debt financing for EnerSmart's 330 MWh portfolio of standalone battery storage projects in California. The deal marked a milestone as the first reported project financing of fully-merchant battery storage projects.
  • Represented Jupiter Power on a US$177.8 million portfolio debt financing for six stand-alone battery storage projects with 650 MWh capacity in Texas.
  • Represented Shikun & Binui on its acquisition from Capital Dynamics of a 49% interest in the 100 MW/400 MWh Saticoy battery energy storage project in Ventura County, California.
  • Represented CIT, Rabobank and Siemens Financial Services on the US$93.3 million debt financing supporting Key Capture Energy's 230 MW portfolio of six battery energy storage systems in Texas.
  • Represented Momentum Energy Storage Partners on a hybrid debt/equity financing provided by Leyline Renewable Capital to support development-stage energy storage assets in PJM, ERCOT and other regions.
  • Represented Sustainable Energy Light & Power as sponsor on a construction/term loan financing from AVANA Capital for battery storage projects in New York City.
  • Represented Ullico Infrastructure Fund on its acquisition of a 35% interest in the Southland portfolio of CCGT and standalone battery storage projects from AES.
  • Represented the A$170 billion (US$114 billion) AustralianSuper pension fund in connection with, alongside other investors, an aggregate US$1.5 billion equity raise by Generate Capital to fund deployment of behind-the-meter battery storage projects and other distributed sustainable infrastructure. 
  • Represented a consortium of lenders in connection with the US$2.3 billion financing of the CCGT/ standalone battery storage Southland project in California sponsored by The AES Corporation. The transaction was named "North American Power Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International. 
  • Represented Société Générale and Silicon Valley Bank in connection with the US$40.6 million term loan financing of the Lawa'i solar and battery storage project in Kauai, Hawaii. The transaction was named "North America Battery Storage Deal of the Year" by IJ Global.
  • Represented SUSI Partners on its acquisition of a 340MWh portfolio of C&I battery storage systems in southern California from Macquarie Capital's Green Investment Group.
  • Represented a tax equity investor on a master partnership flip facility to finance a large portfolio of residential solar installations including batteries.
  • Represented Innolith Science and Technology GmbH on drafting and negotiation of commercial agreements for the development and commercialization of a novel battery technology.
  • Advised a leading South Korean OEM on warranties for its debut residential energy storage product in the US.


Solar

  • Represented EDPR NA Distributed Generation on a sale leaseback tax equity financing for a portfolio of C&I and community solar projects.
  • Represented TortoiseEcofin on its acquisition from Capital Dynamics of a 49.5% stake in the 59.2 MW  Beacon II and 107.8 MW Beacon V solar PV projects in Kern County, California.
  • Represented Dividend Finance, LLC in connection with a US$105 million warehouse aggregation facility and subsequent securitization of residential solar loans. The transaction was named "Esoteric Asset-Backed Securities Deal of the Year" by GlobalCapital. 
  • Represented I Squared Capital on the purchase of Duke Energy's Latin American businesses in Peru, Chile, Ecuador, Guatemala, El Salvador and Argentina for a US$1.2 billion enterprise value.
  • Represented an energy infrastructure asset management firm in a tax equity financing and construction debt financing for six community solar projects in New York opposite US Bank and Seminole Financial.
  • Represented the lenders on an acquisition financing for the purchase of a 100-MW portfolio of residential solar PV projects associated with Capital Dynamics' acquisition of 8point3 Energy Partners.
  • Represented a leading solar developer in connection with a rare leveraged overlapping inverted lease financing of a utility-scale solar farm in North Carolina.
  • Represented SunPower Corporation in connection with a partnership flip tax equity financing for a portfolio of residential solar projects.
  • Represented NRG Renew LLC on a tax equity partnership flip for a portfolio of commercial and industrial solar projects.


Wind and transmission

  • Represented the lender group on the US$11 billion financing for the construction and operation of the SunZia wind and transmission line project - the largest clean energy infrastructure project in U.S. history.
  • Represented Clearway Energy on the US$381 million repowering of the 161 MW Wildorado wind project and 121.9 MW Elbow Creek wind project in Texas. The transaction was named "North America Wind Deal of the Year" by IJ Global.
  • Represented Clearway Energy Group in connection with a debt and partnership flip tax equity financing for the construction of the 419-MW Mesquite Star wind project in Texas.
  • Represented Google Inc. on an investment in the 310-MW Lake Turkana Wind Power Project in Kenya, which has a US$853 million syndicated financing package representing the single largest private investment in Kenya's history.
  • Represented Falvez Energy on a $129 million construction loan and tax equity commitment for the 163 MW Astra wind project.
  • Represented UBS Asset Management on the acquisition of a portfolio of three wind repowering projects.


Fuels cells and renewable natural gas

  • Represented the lenders on a construction loan facility to Fuel Cell Energy, Inc. for a fuel cell project at a US Navy base.
  • Represented PNC Energy Capital in connection with a sale-leaseback tax equity financing for the development of fuel cell power plants.
  • Represented Brightmark Energy on development of anaerobic digester renewable natural gas facilities.


Gas and LNG

  • Represented a syndicate of commercial bank lenders in connection with the US$4.025 billion financing of Train Two of the US$12.5 billion Freeport LNG liquefaction and export project in Texas. The transaction was named "Americas Deal of the Year" by Project Finance International.
  • Represented International Finance Corporation (IFC), Central American Bank For Economic Integration, Bancolombia, Banco General and Global Bank on the financing of the US$1 billion Colón LNG-to-power project in Panama, sponsored by The AES Corporation and Inversiones Bahía.
  • Represented Investec as lead arranger on the US$225 million refinancing of Primary Energy Recycling Corp., a portfolio of behind-the-fence generation assets sponsored by Fortistar.
  • Represented the initial purchasers in connection with the Rule 144A/Regulation S issuance of US$1.25 billion of senior secured notes by FLNG Liquefaction 2, LLC.
  • The Legal 500, Rising Star, Project Finance, The Legal 500, 2022 - 2023
  • The Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Project Finance, The Legal 500, 2022 - 2023
  • The Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Energy: Renewable/Alternative Powers, The Legal 500, 2021
  • US Patent and Trademark Office Registration (Patent Bar), 2013
  • Research Fellow, Environmental and Social Safeguards Unit, Inter-American Development Bank, 2010 – 2013
  • Spanish

Insights

Energy storage updater

Publication | November 09, 2022

Energy Storage updater

Publication | June 25, 2021

Hydrogen: The next frontier

Blog | April 19, 2021