Energy
Rising power demand is reshaping how energy infrastructure is built, financed and scaled – driving new capital into innovative energy assets. Cooley advises across a broad range of power generation, storage and optimization technologies, supporting clients from early development through financing, portfolio aggregation and strategic transactions. Drawing on elite transactional experience across capital strategy, acquisitions, dispositions and platform‑level investments, our team advises on energy and infrastructure projects worldwide, tailoring our strategic counsel to our clients’ unique business model and asset mix.
Our services
- Project development and permitting: Solar, wind, battery storage, nuclear, geothermal, biofuels and emerging energy technologies, from early development through portfolio aggregation.
- Project finance and tax structuring: Tax equity, Investment Tax Credit/Production Tax Credit transferability, construction and term debt, back-leverage, US Department of Energy loan guarantee programs, securitizations and strategic joint ventures.
- Power contracting and offtake: Power purchase agreements, tolling agreements, capacity contracts, and virtual offtake structures for generators, utilities and large-load users.
- M&A and platform transactions: Single-asset and portfolio acquisitions, sponsor-to-sponsor transactions and platform-level investments across the clean energy spectrum.
- Grid, interconnection and storage: Interconnection strategy, transmission access, and standalone and co-located storage projects.
- Energy regulatory: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act, qualifying facility compliance, Form 556 recertification obligations and market-based rate authority.
- Data center and AI energy infrastructure: Siting, permitting, power procurement and financing for compute-intensive infrastructure with high-demand, long-duration power requirements.
Sources of energy
We advise across renewable, advanced and emerging energy sources powering the future.
- Solar: Utility‑scale and distributed solar projects, portfolio formations and platform‑level transactions.
- Wind: Onshore and offshore wind development, financings and asset acquisitions/dispositions.
- Biofuels and emerging fuels: Structuring and capital support for next‑generation fuel technologies and platforms.
- Nuclear and geothermal: Transactional support for advanced and baseload energy technologies, including project and platform strategies.
- Storage/energy management: Commercial and capital strategies for technologies that manage intermittency and demand, including long duration storage and power management systems as revenue markets and data center offtake structures continue to evolve.
Energy business models and users
Energy projects are shaped as much by who uses the power as by how it is generated. Our energy platform brings business model awareness to energy project development and transactions. We advise across a range of commercialization and ownership structures.
- Utilities and power providers: Advising on development, financing, acquisitions and joint ventures involving regulated and unregulated utilities.
- Large‑load and infrastructure‑driven users: Structuring projects and platforms designed to meet long‑term, high‑demand energy needs.
- Distributed and emerging energy platforms: Supporting business models focused on localized generation, storage and evolving consumption patterns.
Storage, power management and enabling technologies
Modern energy systems depend on technologies that stabilize, store and optimize power. Cooley advises on the development, financing and acquisition of these assets as standalone projects and as integrated components of broader energy platforms.
- Battery storage: Standalone and co‑located storage projects, platform financings and portfolio transactions.
- Energy storage and power‑management systems: Commercial and capital strategies for technologies that manage intermittency and demand.
- Advanced and emerging technologies: Transactional support for next‑generation solutions that enable scalable, resilient energy infrastructure.
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