Robert Shapiro

Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP

Robert Shapiro

Robert Shapiro

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Biography

Bob Shapiro’s practice focuses on the areas of project finance and energy. Mr. Shapiro represents industrial firms and developers that build, finance, own, operate, sell and use the energy output from renewable resource projects, conventional independent power facilities and transmission and distribution facilities in the United States and abroad, as well as lenders and investors to those facilities. He also has extensive experience in the defense of long-term power contracts before regulatory agencies, as well as courts.

He has represented firms in the purchase, sale and financial restructuring of electric generating assets in the United States. Mr. Shapiro also negotiates (and evaluates for lenders and investors) power purchase agreements, tolling agreements, power marketing agreements, transmission and interconnection agreements, various financial instruments related to power supply arrangements, operating and maintenance agreements and fuel supply agreements and regularly advises on the evolving power markets throughout the United States. Mr. Shapiro has substantial experience in the development and financing of large hydroelectric projects.


Professional experience

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JD, George Washington University Law School
BA, Trinity College, Connecticut

  • District of Columbia Bar
  • Maryland State Bar
  • Represented lenders in the $11 billion construction financing of 550 miles of merchant transmission lines and associated 3,500 MW of wind-power in New Mexico destined for delivery to the California power markets.
  • Representing Cleco Power as buyer in the negotiation of its first solar power PPA purchase for a 240 MW solar project in Louisiana.
  • Represented lenders in the financing of numerous solar projects and solar plus storage projects with PPAs with community choice aggregators (CCAs) that are instrumentalities of the State) in California.
  • Represented MetLife as lender (and later owner) in the financing and ownership of the 32 MW Long Island Solar Farm ("LISF") with a PPA with LIPA.
  • Represented an affiliate of Toyota in the negotiation of a PPA for the output of a 30 MW solar project with City of Huntsville, Alabama, its first PPA.
  • Represented NYGB in the construction financing of three solar projects developed by ASPEN under the NYSERDA NY-Sun program.
  • Represented BayWa in the negotiation of virtual PPAs with 6 commercial offtakers for a 100 MW solar project in PJM.
  • Represented an Israeli developer in the negotiation of a PPA for the output from a 100 MW solar project with EDF, a retail energy supplier in Texas.
  • Represented the lenders in the $6 billion construction financing of the Champlain Hudson Power Express (CHPE), a 1250 MW transmission line to be constructed from the Canadian border to Astoria, Queens.
  • Represented Oya Renewables as borrower in a financing of 10 small solar project in New York state.
  • Represented Israeli investor in the acquisition of equity interests in a 100 MW stand-alone storage agreement with a capacity contract with Southern California Edison.
  • Represented lenders in the financing of multiple battery storage Projects developed by EnerSmart in San Diego, California.
  • Represented lenders in the financing of 6 fuel cell projects developed by FuelCell, Inc in Connecticut and California.
  • Represented multiple lenders in the $2.3 billion financing of repowering of the AES Alamitos and Huntington Beach gas-fired projects plus two new 10 MW battery storage projects.
  • Representing Macquarie in the acquisition, financing and continued development of the 940 MW Lordstown gas-fired power project in Ohio.
  • Representing lenders in the financing of the 30 MW Deepwater Wind offshore wind project, the first project financed offshore wind project in the United States.
  • Representing lenders in the financing of Cotton Plains combined solar power project,  wind power project and conventional power sale to Ft. Hood army base in Texas and separate merchant wind  project in ERCOT.
  • Representing lenders in the portfolio acquisition financing of numerous solar power projects in North Carolina by Duke Energy Renewables.
  • Representing First Reserve in the acquisition of controlling interest of 1,400 MW Lackawanna gas-fired power project under development in Pennsylvania.
  • Representing project lenders in the construction financing of the 700 MW Carrol County Energy gas-fired power project in Ohio.
  • Representing project lenders in the construction financing of the 100 MW Mustang solar project in California with power contracts with Marin Clean Energy and Sonoma Clean Power.
  • Representing project lenders in the construction financing of the 150 MW Grant Wind project in Oklahoma, with power contracts with electric cooperatives in Oklahoma and Texas.
  • Representing 8minutenergy Renewables in the negotiation of a 100 MW PV solar PPA, a 150 MW solar PPA and a 100 MW solar PPA for Springbok 1, 2 and 3 with Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA).
  • Representing project finance lenders in the construction financing of the  674 MW gas-fired Salem Harbor power plant in Massachusetts.
  • Representing GE in the project construction financings of a 700 MW gas-fired power plant in New Jersey and a 725 MW gas-fired power plant in Maryland sponsored by competitive Power Ventures (CPV).
  • Representing Wasatch Wind in the negotiations of  a 60 MW wind project PPA with PacifiCorp in Utah and an 80 MW wind project PPA with PacifiCorp in Wyoming.
  • Representing  IFC and OPIC in the construction project financing of a 530 MW  hydroelectric power plant sponsored by AES Alto Maipo in Chile.
  • Representing IFC in the construction project financing of several 20 MW PV solar projects sponsored by SunEdison in Honduras.
  • Representing OPIC in the construction project financing of a 34 MW wind project in Jamaica sponsored by BMR.
  • Representing K Road affiliate Moapa in the negotiation of a 250 MW PV Solar PPA with Los Angeles Department of Water and Power for a project on tribal land in Nevada.
  • Representing Bloom Energy in the development and sale of energy from a 30 MW fuel cell project in Delaware. 
  • Representing MetLife in project financing and investments in several solar projects in New York and the Southwest. 
  • Represented Westar Energy as offtaker in the negotiation of PPAs for several wind energy projects in Kansas pursuant to a Westar RFP. 
  • Representing Union Bank in the financing of the 20 MW Blythe solar project in California and the 20 MW Roadrunner solar project in New Mexico. 
  • Representing RBS and Union Bank in the project financing of two 200 MW GenConn gas-fired peaking units in Connecticut. 
  • Representing Taylor Recycling  in the negotiation of the PPA with New York Power Authority for a 24 MW gasified-MSW project in New York and related waste agreement. 
  • Represented affiliates of First Wind in the negotiation of a 200 MW power contract and a 100 MW power contract with the Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) from wind-powered facilities in Utah, a 100 MW power contract with Avista in Washington, and a 70 MW power contract with Hawaiian Electric Company. 
  • Representing an international consortium in the development and financing of the 250 MW Bujagali hydroelectric project in Uganda. 
  • Represented an affiliate of the AES Corporation in the development of the 600 MW gas-fired Uruguaiana project in Brazil. 
  • Represented IFC in financing of the 120 MW La Higuera and 70 MW La Confluencia hydroelectric projects in Chile. 
  • Briefed and argued the successful appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in Freehold Cogeneration Associates v. Board of Regulatory Commissioners (holding that state's attempt to revisit approved Qualifying Facility (QF) contract rates with a utility is preempted by the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act). 
  • Defended several other cogeneration projects and power marketers with long-term power contracts against challenges by several utilities before state and federal agencies and courts. 
  • Represented the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) before the Supreme Court in defense of avoided cost rules for qualifying facilities (American Paper Institute v. American Electric Power).
  • Chambers Global – The World’s Leading Lawyers, Chambers and Partners, 2006 – 2018
  • Chambers USA, Nationwide, Energy: Electricity (Regulatory & Litigation), Chambers and Partners, 2016, 2018 – 2020
  • The Best Lawyers in America, Best Lawyers, 2005 – 2021
  • The Best Lawyers in America - Project Finance Law, Best Lawyers, 2006 - 2025
  • Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power, The Legal 500, 2019, 2021, 2023
  • Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Energy Regulation: Electric power, The Legal 500, 2023 – 2024
  • Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Energy Transactions: Electric power, The Legal 500, 2023
  • Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Energy Regulation: Conventional Power, The Legal 500, 2019 – 2022
  • Legal 500, Recommended Lawyer, Project finance, The Legal 500, 2019
  • Expert Guides, Project Finance, Legal Media Group, 2020
  • "PURPA and Solar," Project Finance NewsWire, April 2017
  • "FERC Incentives for New Transmission Lines May Help Secure Early Financing," Project Finance NewsWire, November 2015
  • "Some Types of Government-Supported Power Contracts Hit Headwinds," Project Finance NewsWire, November 2014
  • "Doubts About State-Mandated Power Contracts," Law360, February 4, 2014
  • "Tapping Into Capacity on Merchant Transmission Lines and Interties," Project Finance NewsWire, November 2012
  • "Wind Energy Is Going Real Time In the Midwest," AOL Energy, June 9, 2011
  • "California Settlement Settles Old Scores and Charts New Paths for Generators," Project Finance NewsWire, January 2011
  • "Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Opens the Door to Feed-In Tariffs in the United States," Project Finance Newswire, November 2011
  • "FERC Decides Aero Case," North American Windpower, January 2007
  • "Gone with the Wind, or Whose Line is it Anyway?," Project Finance NewsWire, November 2006
  • "FERC Moves to Require Rate Filings by QFs," Project Finance Newswire, March 2006
  • "FERC Implements PURPA Repeal," Project Finance NewsWire, March 2006
  • Co-author, "FERC Moves to Implement New Energy Law," Project Finance NewsWire, January 2006
  • "US Energy Bill: New Rules for Utilities and Independent Generators, Tax Breaks for Renewables, Utilities, Transmission Providers, Coal and LNG," Project Finance, September 2005
  • Co-author, "US Remakes Playing Field For Gas and Electricity," Project Finance NewsWire, August 2005
  • Project Finance NewsWire, June 2004
  • "FERC Restricts Power Plant Sales to Utilities," Project Finance NewsWire, April 2004
  • Project Finance NewsWire, February 2004
  • "SEC Signals Tougher Stance On PUHCA Exemptions," Project Finance NewsWire, February 2004
  • Project Finance NewsWire, June 2003
  • Project Finance NewsWire, April 2003
  • Project Finance NewsWire, August 2002
  • "FERC Adopts New Test For Market Rates," Project Finance NewsWire, December 2001
  • Project Finance NewsWire, February 2001
  • Trial Attorney, Assistant Advisory Counsel, Solicitor’s Office, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC)
  • Swedish