Norton Rose Fulbright awarded four 'deals of the year' by Project Finance International

Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright has advised on four winning deals across the Americas, Europe and the Middle East at this year’s Project Finance International Awards (PFI).

The awards celebrate the most innovative deals and market activity over the course of the past year.

The winners were announced in PFI’s 2025 Yearbook, which looks at key activity from 2024 and anticipated trends for 2025 through a range of case studies, interviews and thought leadership.

Norton Rose Fulbright advised on the following winning deals:

The Americas

Americas LNG Deal of the Year – Cedar LNG Project
Led by Global Co-Head of Energy Noam Ayali

Norton Rose Fulbright teams based in Canada and the United States, with additional support from the firm’s offices in Europe, closed the senior debt project financing for the Cedar LNG project, a floating liquified natural gas export terminal facility located offshore British Columbia, Canada.

The project is a marquee first-of-its-kind in the Americas and globally. It is the first-ever floating LNG export terminal project in the Americas and the first-ever energy infrastructure project globally that is majority owned by Indigenous Peoples - the Haisla Nation, one of Canada’s First Nations - alongside its partner Pembina Pipeline Corporation. 

The financing comprised a US$2.685 billion senior secured construction/term loan, and a CAD$2.6 billion senior secured revolving working capital and letter of credit tranche, under a single combined multi-currency credit facility. This was provided by a syndicate of 17 international commercial banks from around the world, including Canada, China, Europe, Japan, Korea, and the US, as well as Export Development Canada. The team represented the senior lenders, the administrative agent and the intercreditor agent, as well as, via separate representation by a dedicated partner, the accounts bank.

Americas Renewables Deal of the Year – Green River Energy Center
Led by partners Keith Martin and Christy Rivera

The US-based projects team at Norton Rose Fulbright represented Salt Lake City-based renewable energy developer rPlus Energies on the over US$1.1 billion in construction debt financing for its Green River Energy Center project.

Located in Emery County, the project includes 400 MW of solar PV and 400 MW/1,600 megawatt-hours of battery storage and has a power purchase agreement with PacifiCorp. It is the seventh largest solar-plus-storage project currently under advanced development in the US, boasting a greater capacity than any fully operational solar-plus-storage project. It also stands as the largest planned solar-plus-storage facility in Utah and ranks among the most expansive energy facilities within the PacifiCorp system – the largest grid operator in the western United States.

Europe

Europe Data Centre Deal of the Year – Ark Data Centres’ Union Park
Led by partner & Co-Head of Real Estate (EMEA) Dan Wagerfield

Norton Rose Fulbright advised ING Bank N.V. in relation to the real estate, planning and construction due diligence and security aspects of Ark Data Centres’ consecutive, but separate, project financings for Blocks Two and Three of the Union Park project on the Bulls Bridge Industrial Estate in Hayes near London. With the successful close of Block One in 2023, Blocks Four and Five are anticipated to follow. The financing of each phase separately allows for a multiple of facilities, as well as separate leases and service agreements in place with the hyperscalers, offering banks and anchor tenants protections, while granting maximum flexibility on a per-project basis from a time and contract perspective.

Member of the Climate Neutral Data Centre Pact, Ark Data Centres will procure 100 per cent renewable sources of power from the National Grid for the Union Park project. The site will also host onsite solar generation, air cooling, rainwater harvesting, and electric vehicle charging points among other aspects to minimize environmental impact and help drive a zero-carbon UK economy by 2050.

Middle East and Africa

Middle East & Africa Deal of the Year – Hassyan
Led by partners Paul Mansouri and Chris Down

Norton Rose Fulbright advised the lenders in relation to financing for the world’s largest seawater reverse osmosis technology scheme, the US$937million Hassyan independent water project located in Dubai, with ACWA Power as lead developer alongside DEWA and EIG. The project has a US$749 million financing package from a diverse pool of lenders and the project is being developed using a 30-year build-own-operate-model. 

This was the first IWP to be implemented in Dubai; the complex financing structure involved two lead syndication banks, Standard Chartered Bank and MUFG, leading a total of 14 regional and international financial institutions, including a combination of conventional and Islamic financing, together with a US$75million tranche provided by Saudi EXIM Bank, their first project financing in the UAE.