DLA Piper's energy lawyers deliver the focused, innovative sector advice our clients need
Energy and Natural Resources
During the last few years, we have seen growing interest from developers, investors and banks operating in the Nordic energy markets. We are keeping our position as the leading adviser on wind power investments, but are also pleased to notice the increased demand for our services within all aspects of energy-related issues. In a world where the demands for energy are growing exponentially, those operating in the energy sector are looking to their lawyers to provide more than legal skill; they are also seeking in-depth sector know-how and innovative solutions to the challenges they face. Our energy lawyers deliver the focused, innovative sector advice our clients need, wherever in the world they need it.
In a sector of relentless change, demand and complexity, private and public corporations wisely rely on experienced, global legal counsel for any matter involving energy.
We are entering an era of unprecedented demand for power generation and transmission. This dynamic, together with the challenges we all face from climate change, is creating new opportunities for alternative energy sources and new technologies.
Our energy clients receive coordinated, across-the-board coverage for their needs, including construction and projects, corporate, competition, regulatory, contractual, trading, litigation/arbitration, dispute resolution and tax issues. We understand the technical, geographical, commercial and geopolitical factors that shape the industry, and have first-hand access to contacts, sponsors and decision makers worldwide.
Our energy team includes professionals in the detailed, multi-layered and often complex regulatory frameworks that apply to energy sector projects and activities. We advise regulators, the regulated, investors and other industry participants on the implications of the regulatory framework during the planning, development and operational stages of many energy projects and activities.
- DLA Piper Finland successfully advised Prime Capital AG and Prime Green Energy Infrastructure Fund S.A. SICAV-RAIF on the acquisition of the 192k MW Lappfjärd wind farm from CPC Finland. The project will comprise 31 wind turbines with a total capacity of 192 MW, situated in Kristiinankaupunki, Finland. CPC Finland will provide engineering, procurement, and construction services. We advised on all aspects of the due diligence, acquisition, and construction agreements. Once constructed, the wind farm will have an annual production which could cover the electricity consumption of about 200,000 households. We also advise on the subsequent financing of the project.
- DLA Piper Sweden has advised Svea Vind Offshore AB in the negotiation and conclusion of framework agreements with the Spanish energy company Iberdrola (listed on the Madrid stock exchange) regarding up to eight offshore wind power projects in various early development phases. The eight projects are being developed by Svea Vind Offshore AB outside of Gävle (six projects) and Oxelösund (two projects) and have a planned future installed power of 9 GW. The first project, Utposten I outside of Gävle, is at an advanced stage in the process of being awarded an environmental permit. The projects are expected to begin operating from 2029 onwards. The framework agreement gives Iberdrola the option to acquire majority stakes in each project from Svea Vind Offshore AB.
- DLA Piper Norway has been advising MEAG Asset Management, the leading global asset management company owned by Munich Re, in the proposed investment in an onshore wind energy portfolio across Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. As part of the transaction, MEAG, Norway’s Kommunal Landspensjonskasse (KLP), and Singaporean conglomerate Keppel Corporation are committing to provide the €480m equity financing for a 49% stake in three existing windfarms in Norway and Sweden and future onshore windfarms in the UK and Sweden alongside renewable energy developer Fred Olsen Renewables AS (FORAS).
- Advised Prime Capital in the EUR 5 equity and EUR 20 million capital loan investment into P2X Solutions Oy to to construct Finland’s first industrial-scale green hydrogen production plant and methanation unit in Harjavalta
- Advising Credit Suisse Energy Infrastructure Partners (CSEIP) in the acquisition of an 80% stake in Finnish utility Fortum Oyj’s circa 500 MW Nordic onshore wind portfolio. We also advised CSEIP and Fortum on the senior project finance loan provided by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) and National Australia Bank (NAB) and the subsequent refinancing of the loan.
- Advising Cloudberry Clean Energy, the leading Nordic Region-based renewable energy company, on its sale of 50% of the shares in Cloudberry Offshore Wind AS (COW), to form a 50/50 joint venture with Hafslund Vekst AS, regarding the development and management of a 100 MW shallow-water wind project Stenkalles Grund, the world's largest clean water wind farm located in the lake of Vänern in south-central Sweden.
- Advising Nordic Wind Power, the European consortium of Energy Infrastructure Partners and BKW, on all legal matters in relation to aftermath of the ground-breaking Norwegian Supreme Court ruling declaring the facility licences for the two wind farms under Fosen Vind and Roan Vind ownership to be invalid on the basis of the wind farms infringing on Sami rights protected by international human rights.
For decades, we have represented organisations operating in the Energy and Natural Resources sector throughout the world. Our global team serves clients in power, oil and gas, renewable, nuclear, energy trading, climate change and water markets. Alongside energy companies, our clients include project sponsors, corporations, developers, financial institutions, governments, utilities and regulatory bodies.
We work with a broad scope of clients ranging from the world’s energy companies to investment banks active in energy and commodities trading and venture-backed alternative energy entrepreneurs. Our lawyers provide strategic advice on planning, development, financing and permitting matters, as well as legislative, political and regulatory issues.