HAGAI ZAIFMAN is a leading practitioner in the renewable energy and energy transition tax space. He advises developers, sponsors, leading private equity and strategic investors, and lenders in connection with wind, solar, battery storage, clean hydrogen, fuel cell, biogas, carbon capture, and other alternative energy projects, as well as conventional power generation facilities.
Hagai has extensive experience structuring, planning, and negotiating infrastructure and renewable energy transactions, with particular emphasis on tax equity financing through flip partnerships and leases, projects’ development, repowering transactions and dispositions, including advising on the qualification for, and monetization of the various available clean energy tax credits, such as the IRC Section 45 production tax credits (PTC), IRC Section 48 investment tax credits (ITC), IRC Section 45Q carbon capture and sequestration tax credits, IRC section 45V clean hydrogen tax credits, and other renewable energy tax incentives and credits under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
Hagai has been recognized by Chambers USA in Nationwide Projects: Renewables & Alternative Energy (2024), where he is described by a client as “very knowledgeable and practical.”
Hagai is also a frequent speaker in conferences and webinars and is the author of numerous articles and thought leadership alerts on the tax aspects and incentives in all renewable energy and energy transition transactions.
Prior to joining Sidley, Hagai worked at General Electric Capital (GE) where he served in several tax leadership roles, including as the Tax Director at GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS), one of the leading investors in renewable energy projects in the United States. In this role, Hagai led the GE EFS tax team and oversaw all tax aspects of the business, including underwriting, structuring, investing, managing, and disposing of more than US$10+ billion debt and equity portfolio of US and foreign wind and solar projects.