Hilary Lefko

Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Hilary Lefko

Hilary Lefko

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Biography

Hilary Lefko is a Partner at Norton Rose Fulbright's Washington, DC office. She focuses her practice on all areas of federal income tax law, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy and project finance tax issues. She represents developers, lenders and investors in various energy and renewable energy projects, including transactions involving section 45 production tax credits, section 48 investment tax credits and other renewable energy incentives. Most recently, Hilary has been advising clients on the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Hilary frequently represents purchasers and sellers of renewable energy projects. Hilary regularly advises buyers, sellers, brokers and lenders on transferability. She also advises non-US businesses of US companies, offshore funds and multinationals on tax aspects of domestic and international project finance and a variety of US inbound international business transactions.

Earlier in her career, Hilary served as an aide to Senator Joseph I. Lieberman and to Congressman Cal Dooley.


Professional experience

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  • LLM, Taxation, with distinction, Georgetown University Law Center, 2008
  • JD, SMU Dedman School of Law, 2007
  • BA, Government, with college honors, The University of Texas at Austin, 2001
  • District of Columbia Bar

Solar Projects

  • Project Lake Trout Solar. Represented EDF Renewables North America in the sale of 100% of the equity interests in Lake Trout Solar, 318 MWdc (245 MWac) to Indiana Michigan Power following the completion of construction activities under a Purchase and Sale Agreement (PSA).
  • SolarStone. Represented Matrix Renewables in relation to an acquisition and joint venture with SolarStone Partners for the purpose of jointly developing a 4.6 GW utility-scale solar energy portfolio across the central US.
  • Belltown Power/Engie. Represented Belltown Power USA Development in relation to a platform sale of more than 6 GW of utility-scale solar and energy storage projects to Engie North America. Located in ERCOT, PJM, MISO and WECC, the portfolio consists of 33 project companies, each developing one or more utility-scale solar and/or energy storage facilities across the US.
  • Represented multiple institutions in partnership-flip structure tax equity investments in over 770 megawatts of utility-scale solar energy generation, with an aggregate investment value of over US$570 million, including:
    • a 156 MW project in Colorado, which was the largest solar project east of the Rockies when constructed;
    • a 130 MW project in California, which was the largest project with a power purchase agreement with a Community Choice Aggregator (CCA) when constructed;
    • a 200 MW project in Illinois, which was the largest project in Illinois when constructed;
    • a 49 MW project in Hawaii, which was the largest solar project in Hawaii when constructed;
    • a 182 MW project in Texas, which was the largest solar project in Texas when constructed; anda 26 MW project in Connecticut, which is one of the largest solar projects in New England.

Wind Projects

  • Prairie Switch Wind Project. Represented Fengate in its construction and term financing with MUFG to fund the construction and operation of the project, and tax equity financing with GE Energy Financial Services and Tyr Energy to monetize the production tax credits for the 160 MW Prairie Switch Wind project located in Wharton County outside of Houston, Texas from Triple Oak Power.
  • Prairie Switch. Represented Fengate in its acquisition of the ready-to-build 160 MW Prairie Switch Wind project located in Wharton County outside of Houston, Texas from Triple Oak Power.
  • Represented multiple institutions in partnership-flip structure tax equity investments in over 14.2 gigawatts of wind energy generation in seventeen states, with an aggregate investment value of over US$15 billion.
  • Represented tax equity investors in transactions involving over 30 repowered wind projects.

Battery Storage

  • Eolian L.P. Represented Eolian LP, a portfolio company of Global Infrastructure Partners, in the first-of-its-kind tax equity financing of two standalone utility-scale battery storage projects in Mission, Texas.

General Renewables

  • Renewables portfolio. Represented IRG Acquisition Holdings, a partnership between Invenergy, CDPQ and funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure, in the purchase of a 1,365 MW unregulated, contracted renewables portfolio from American Electric Power for an enterprise value of US$1.5 billion. The landmark transaction represents one of the largest, fully-operational renewables portfolios to come to market in years. Spanning 11 states, the portfolio includes 14 projects comprised of 1,200 MW of wind and 165 MW of solar energy.
  • Green Gas Colorado. Represented Canadian developer on the closing of project financing for a pipeline of renewable natural gas projects.

Ongoing

  • Great American Insurance Group. Representing Great American Insurance Group to decide whether to write tax insurance on the historic renovation tax credits expected to be claimed on a US$57 million conversion by The Modal Group of the Formica Corporation Building and Crystal Arcade in downtown Cincinnati into 172 residential units and 125,000 square feet of commercial space.
  • LevelTen Energy as they work out concepts and documents for a platform to trade some or all of the 11 tax credits that the Inflation Reduction Act authorizes to be sold.
  • Providing New York Green Bank advice regarding the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation, Lawdragon, 2024
  • Lawdragon 500 Leading Energy Lawyers, Lawdragon, 2023
  • Chambers USA, Nationwide, Projects: Renewables and Alternative Energy, 2020 – 2024
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, Project finance: Infrastructure and PPP, The Legal 500, 2024
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, US taxes: Non-contentious, The Legal 500, 2024
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, Energy: Renewable/alternative power, The Legal 500, 2020-2021, 2023
  • Legal 500 US, Recommended Lawyer, Energy transactions: Electric power, The Legal 500, 2023
  • Strafford CLE, Solar Financing Tax Equity Structures: Sale-Leasebacks, Inverted Leases, and Partnership Flips, November 1, 2023
  • Co-author with Keith Martin, David Burton and Gabrielle Jacques, "Wage and Apprentice Requirements," Norton Rose Fulbright – Project Finance NewsWire, August 31, 2023
  • Co-author with David Burton, "Transferable Tax Credits Treated Favorably Under the OECD's Pillar Two," Norton Rose Fulbright – Tax Equity News, July 20, 2023
  • Co-author with Gabrielle Jacques, "PTC Inflation Adjustment," Norton Rose Fulbright – Tax Equity News, June 26, 2023
  • Co-author with Keith Martin and David Burton, "Purchase Price Allocations," Norton Rose Fulbright – Project Finance NewsWire, June 23, 2023
  • Co-author with Keith Martin and David Burton, "IRS Transferability Guidance," Norton Rose Fulbright – Project Finance NewsWire, June 23, 2023
  • Co-author with Viktoria Vozarova, "Clean H2 incentives in the Inflation Reduction Act," Project Finance International, May 3, 2023
  • Co-author with David Burton and Luke Edney, "Battery Storage Tax Credit Opportunities and Development Challenges," Norton Rose Fulbright – Tax Equity News, November 11, 2022
  • Co-author with David Burton and Jenna Goldman, "The IRA's Expanded Tax Credits for Homeowners and Energy Efficiency Investors," Norton Rose Fulbright – Tax Equity News, September 21, 2022
  • Co-author with David Burton, "Q&A on the Inflation Reduction Act," Norton Rose Fulbright – Tax Equity News, August 19, 2022
  • Co-author with David Burton, "Capital Account Implications for Renewable Energy Tax Credits Webinar: Q&A," Norton Rose Fulbright – Tax Equity News, June 27, 2022
  • Author, "Challenges Facing Individuals as Tax Equity Investors," Norton Rose Fulbright – Project Finance NewsWire, June 23, 2022
  • WRISE Leadership Forum 2024, Impacts of Tax Guidance on Investment and Deployment, October 10, 2024
  • Qualifying for Enhanced Credits for ITC, PTC, and Carbon Capture: New IRS Final Regs and Guidance, Prevailing Wage and Apprenticeship Requirements Under the IRA, Beginning of Construction; Strafford, August 22, 2024
  • Canadian Renewables ITC Market Update, Toronto, Ontario, July 31, 2024
  • Institute of International Bankers Annual Tax Conference, IRA Energy Credits, New York, New York, July 30, 2024
  • Briefing: Inflation Reduction Act Treasury Guidance, 33rd Energy Finance Conference, June 7, 2024
  • Inflation Reduction Act of 2022: New Tax Credit and Alternative Minimum Tax (“AMT”) Regimes, Tax Planning for Domestic & Foreign Partnerships, LLCs, Joint Ventures & Other Strategic Alliances 2024, Practicing Law Institute, June 3, 2024
  • A Bird's Eye Briefing of Government Incentives to Invest in Climate Related Infrastructure and Energy, Opportunities for Investors: A Global Infrastructure Summit, May 7, 2024
  • Currents Podcast Ep248: The IRS’s New Tax Credit Rules, May 02, 2024
  • State of Play ITC/PTC Transferability, Clean Energy States Alliance and U.S. Department of Energy Summit 2024, April 18, 2024
  • Domestic Content - Local Manufacturing and ESG Perspectives, Solarplaza Asset Management Summit North America, April 17, 2024
  • The Inflation Reduction Act and Next Steps in the Clean Energy Transition, Georgetown University Law Center, March 27, 2024
  • Finding Calm Amidst the Chaos: The Impact of National and Global Financial Trends on Clean Energy Development, Solar Energy Industries Association 2024 Finance, Tax, and Buyer’s Seminar, March 7, 2024
  • Inflation Reduction Act Opportunities for Project Funding and Monetization, Texas Bar Tax Section 2024 Renewable Energy Tax Conference, Houston, Texas, January 25, 2024
  • Tax Credits: Recent Guidance on Clean Energy Tax Credits, DC Bar Tax Conference, Washington, DC, January 10, 2024
  • US Opportunities for Australian Investors, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, November 29, 2023
  • Australian Investments in US Infrastructure, Renewables, and Real Estate, Melbourne, VIC, Australia, November 28, 2023
  • Australian Investments in US Infrastructure, Renewables, and Real Estate, Sydney, NSW, Australia, November 26, 2023
  • Navigating the Inflation Reduction Act: the Latest in Texas Regulations, Financial Incentives & Tax Credits, Solarplaza Asset Management Texas, Austin, Texas, November 16, 2023
  • 2023 Arizona Energy Future Conference, Development and Financing of Solar, Storage, & New Tech, November 6, 2023
  • Strafford CLE, Solar Financing Tax Equity Structures: Sale-Leasebacks, Inverted Leases, and Partnership Flips, November 1, 2023
  • "What's Happening with Tax Equity," Infocast Clean Energy Investment Summit, October 2, 2023 
  • Experience Power 2023, "Not Your Daddy's IRA," August 16, 2023
  • "New Proposed IRS Guidance on Tax Credits Transferability," Norton Rose Fulbright Currents Podcast, June 22, 2023
  • Georgetown Law 44th Annual International Trade Update, Biden Administration Industrial Policy Roundtable, June 2023
  • Canada International Tax and Finance Conference, Inflation Reduction Act: What Foreign Investors Need to Know, May 2023
  • Practicing Law Institute, Partnership Tax Conference, Inflation Reduction Act, May 2023
  • "Transferability of Tax Credits," Norton Rose Fulbright Currents Podcast, March 28, 2023
  • Energy Storage Policy Forum, A New Era of Federal Action on Clean Energy: Trade & Tax Policy, February 15, 2023
  • DC Bar Annual Tax Conference, Inflation Reduction Act, January 25, 2023
  • Strafford CLE, New Technology-Neutral Tax Credits for ITC and PTC Regimes: Application to Facilities, Rules and Requirements, Tax Equity, December 13, 2022
  • Volatility US Energy Storage Outlook 2023, Finance & Tax, November 16, 2022
  • Strafford CLE, Financing Energy Storage, October 19, 2022
  • Rossdale CLE, Inflation Reduction Act, September 14, 2022
  • "Inflation Reduction Act," Norton Rose Fulbright Currents Podcast, August 12, 2023
  • "Capital account implications for renewable energy tax credits," Norton Rose Fulbright Webinar, June 10, 2022
  • Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, Legal Forum, Overview of Tax Equity Financing/Partnership Flips for Solar and Wind, May 2, 2022
  • Member, American Bar Association, Tax Section