Mario R. Samos

Mario’s experience at Sidley includes the following representative matters:

Renewable Energy

• Brookfield Renewable, one of the world’s largest publicly traded, pureplay renewable power platforms, in its purchase of Urban Grid, one of the largest greenfield solar and battery storage project developers in the United States.
• Cubico Sustainable Investments in the acquisition and tax equity financing of the 46.5 MW Wind Wall 1 Project located in California.
• NRG Energy in the sale of their remaining interest in Petra Nova, the largest U.S. carbon capture and storage facility of its kind, to JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, a subsidiary of Japanese energy and minerals conglomerate Eneos Holdings.
• NRG Energy in its agreement to supply the City of Houston with 100% renewable electricity.
• An institutional asset manager in its implementation of an investment program for the acquisition and financing of commercial and industrial (C&I) solar power projects on multi-tenant commercial properties.
• A renewable energy joint venture in multiple sales of early-stage solar and battery storage projects across the United States.
• A project developer in negotiating multiple power purchase agreements (PPAs) for a wind power project as part of an aggregation deal with a consortium of corporate offtakers.
• A renewables-focused private equity firm in its sale of a portfolio of early-stage solar power projects.
• A clean energy-focused private equity firm in its formation of a joint venture for the development of a wind power project.
• A solar power project developer in negotiating a PPA for the sale of energy and renewable energy credits (RECs) to a local governmental entity from a solar power project in Texas.
• A commodities trading business in its purchase of energy, capacity, and RECs from a solar power project.
• Citigroup Energy Inc. in a secured energy hedge for Rio Bravo, a 238 MW wind project in Starr County, Texas sponsored by Sammons Renewable Energy and Franklin Park.
• Citigroup Energy Inc. in a secured energy hedge for Midway Wind, a 163 MW wind project in San Patricio County, Texas sponsored by Sammons Renewable Energy and Franklin Park.
• Citigroup Energy Inc. in its establishment of an energy hedging program to support the repowering of multiple wind power projects in Texas.
• Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. in a secured energy hedge for Live Oak, a 200 MW wind project in Schleicher County, Texas sponsored by ENGIE North America.
• Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. in a secured energy hedge for Tahoka Wind, a 300 MW wind project in Lynn County, Texas sponsored by Lincoln Clean Energy.

Conventional Power

• Argo Infrastructure Partners in connection with its acquisition of the equity interests of the holding company owning the Hog Bayou Energy Center, a 240 MW combined-cycle power plant in Mobile, Alabama, from a portfolio company of LS Power Equity Partners.
• Argo Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition of the equity interests of the holding companies owning the Oneta Power Generation Project, a 1,127 MW power plant in Coweta, Oklahoma, and the Carville Power Generation Project, a 516 MW power plant in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, from a portfolio company of LS Power Equity Partners.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in its simultaneous acquisition of two power generation facilities in the northeastern United States from GenOn Energy and NRG Energy, which was recognized as the 2018 Conventional Power M&A Deal of the Year by Power Finance & Risk.
• Rockland Capital in the refinancing of the Eagle Point Power Generation facility, a 265 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired facility located in New Jersey.
• Rockland Capital in the financing of the Lee County Generating Station facility, a 640 MW simple cycle, natural gas-fired facility located in Illinois.
• Rockland Capital in financing its acquisition of six simple cycle natural gas-fired facilities.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

• Pilot Company in its agreement with GM to build out a national DC fast charging network powered by EVgo eXtend at up to 500 Pilot and Flying J travel centers.
• An operator of an electric vehicle charging station network in a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with a project developer for power and renewable energy credits from a new solar power project in California.
• A financial institution in a debt financing for an electric vehicle charge point operator.

Utility Securitization

• Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) in connection with the issuance by The Oklahoma Development Finance Authority of $696,920,000 in ratepayer-backed bonds for the purpose of allowing PSO to recover certain costs it incurred as a result of Winter Storm Uri.
• RBC Capital Markets, as representative of the underwriters, in connection with the issuance by The Oklahoma Development Finance Authority of $761,654,000 in ratepayer-backed bonds for the purpose of allowing Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) to recover certain costs it incurred as a result of Winter Storm Uri.
• AEP Texas in the issuance of senior secured bonds to recover certain distribution-related system restoration costs related to Hurricane Harvey and certain other weather-related events.
• Power and gas utilities in connection with multiple cost-recovery securitizations across the United States.

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