Chadbourne Advises Lenders on Mariah North Wind Project in Texas

Chadbourne & Parke LLP represented the senior construction loan lenders, Citibank, N.A. and HSBC Bank USA, National Association, and the back-leverage lender, CIT Bank, N.A. on the US$350 million Mariah North wind project in Texas. The project is being developed by First Reserve, which recently announced the acquisition of the project from developer Mariah Acquisition.

Chadbourne represented the lenders on the senior construction loan, letter of credit facility and back leveraged loan. Mariah Acquisition will continue to oversee project development and will partner with affiliate Harvest Energy Services, Inc. to construct and operate the facility. The facility is expected to begin commercial operation at the end of 2016.

Upon completion, the project is expected to generate 230 MW of wind power, serving the high-demand Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) market, with a 13-year, fixed price hedge for its power production. The project will also construct and own a 27-mile, 345 kV transmission line to interconnect with the ERCOT CREZ system, and is the first phase of an expected 600 MW development.  

The Chadbourne team was led by partners Ikenna Emehelu and Paul Weber and included partners Eli Katz and Bob Shapiro, counsels Sue Cowell, Kat Gamache and Monica Szymanski and associates Xerona Duke, Eric Kamerman, David Lamb, Severine Losembe, Janson Mao and Richard Waddington.

Chadbourne has recently advised on a number of significant renewable energy projects in Texas, including the Shannon Wind Farm and the Roserock Solar Project. According to research from IJGlobal, Chadbourne was the #1 legal advisor for renewables projects in North America in 2015.

About Chadbourne & Parke

For more than a century, Chadbourne & Parke has counseled innovators around the world. We are a full-service law firm that leverages the extraordinary talent from our 11 international offices to offer the highest caliber client service in more than 80 countries and across every region on the globe. Today, we are recognized internationally for our groundbreaking work in emerging economies and our deep experience in energy and infrastructure, corporate and finance transactions, international disputes, and bankruptcy and financial restructuring.