David A. Eeles

Senior Partner
Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

David A. Eeles

David A. Eeles

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Biography

David Eeles has over 25 years' experience representing project developers, sponsors, industrial hosts and other project participants in connection with the acquisition, development, construction, financing, operation, restructuring and disposition of energy, infrastructure and industrial projects, including renewable energy projects, power plants, cogeneration plants, heavy oil upgraders and public-private partnership projects.

He has acted as the lead lawyer on a number of such projects, and acts for clients on a wide range of legal matters—from responding to and/or drafting competitive bid documentation, to structuring and creating legal entities to own and operate projects, to drafting and negotiating all manner of key project documents.

In the electricity area, he represented the Alberta Electric System Operator in the development and competitive procurement of the Fort McMurray West 500 kV Transmission Project, an approximately 500 km, C$1.6 billion, high-voltage transmission line project between Edmonton and Fort McMurray. This project culminated in a C$1.4 billion bond financing in October 2017, making it the largest public-private partnership financing ever completed in Canada. This project was named P3 Deal of the Year in 2017 by Project Finance International, North America Transmission Deal of the Year by IJGlobal, and won the Gold Award for Project Financing in 2018 from the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships.

More recently, David co-led the legal team assisting the Alberta Electric System Operator with respect to the design and implementation of its Renewable Electricity Program, a 5000 MW renewable electricity program for Alberta. The first three rounds of such program were successfully contracted, and will deliver nearly 1,400 MW of wind generation at some of the lowest renewable electricity prices ever achieved in Canada.

David also assists clients with drafting and negotiating power purchase agreements, and retail electricity supply contracts. In addition, he works extensively in construction law, where he represents various participants in public-private partnership projects and other construction-related matters.


Professional experience

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LL.B., University of Alberta, 1995
B.Comm., University of Alberta, 1992

  • Alberta 1996

David has recently advised the following clients:

  • Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on the purchase and subsequent development of the 465MW Travers solar power project in Southern Alberta, which once constructed will be the largest solar energy facility in Canada and one of the largest in North America
     
  • City of Edmonton with respect to its "Road to Renewables" renewable energy procurement project
     
  • TransAlta in relation to its WindCharger Battery Storage project, Alberta's first utility-scale lithium-ion battery storage facility
     
  • DTE Energy in the development of a cogeneration facility at Stelco's steel production facilities in Hamilton, Ontario
     
  • BW Group in connection with the establishment of its renewable project development business in Canada
     
  • TransAlta with respect to a power purchase agreement with Pembina Pipelines in relation to the 130 MW Garden Plain Wind Project.
     
  • A variety of power producers in the development of cogeneration and other facilities, including TransAlta with respect to: Sarnia (650 MW and the largest IPP in Canada at the time of development); Poplar Creek (360 MW); Meridian (215 MW); and Fort Nelson (45 MW))
     
  • Industrial hosts with respect to the development of waste wood and cogeneration facilities
     
  • A variety of industry participants with respect to wind and solar lease agreements, increased capacity projects on coal-fired generating units, industry-specific change in law issues, and a variety of operational issues, plant shut-down issues, and contracting and procurement matters
  • Best Lawyers in Canada: Energy Law, 2019-2025; Corporate Law, 2024-2025
  • Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2020-2021, 2024: recommended in Infrastructure Law; 2023-2024: recommended in Energy (Electricity); 2024: Energy (Oil & Gas)
  • Acritas Stars 2019-2021 – Designated as an "Independently rated lawyer"
  • Canadian Bar Association
  • Law Society of Alberta
  • Calgary Bar Association
  • Independent Power Producers Society of Alberta