Head of Project Finance & Development and a partner in the Finance and Infrastructure Groups, Kelann Stirling has spent over 20 years advising clients on the development and financing of energy and infrastructure projects within and outside of the United States. She advises clients on optimal and holistic financing solutions, including senior secured project financings, holdco loans, backleverage financings and development capital and 4(a)(2) private placements, as well as multi-source financings for large scale infrastructure projects. She has significant experience in energy and infrastructure restructurings and acquisition financings and has advised clients on numerous projects covering a wide range of asset classes, including conventional power, solar, wind and battery storage, carbon capture and sequestration, liquified natural gas (LNG), midstream gas gathering and processing facilities, energy transition technologies and digital infrastructure.
Kelann has been recognized for her project finance work by both Chambers USA and Chambers Global since 2021, and sources note that “Kelann possesses an acute legal mind, analyzes the most complex issues in full depth and delivers practical advice.” “She is very creative, very hard-working and up to speed on the market.” She is also a recommended lawyer for Project Finance by Legal 500 and was named a “Rising Star Partner” in Project Finance by IFLR1000 and by Law360.
Kelann serves as Chair of the NYC Bar Association Project Finance Committee, and previously served as a director and corporate counsel for InterGen, a power generation firm. In 2023 she was a panelist in “How Secure Is Your Performance Security? Performance Bonds, Parent Guarantees, and Letters of Credit” at
The Foundation of Natural Resources and Energy Law Institute.
Kelann has advised on the financing of energy and infrastructure projects spanning an array of industries, including*:
Renewables/Energy Transition
- BlackRock and its portfolio company Jupiter Power in multiple financings to support the development of utility-scale battery energy storage projects
- ArcLight Capital Partners in its acquisition and financing of Duke Energy’s commercial distributed generation business for an enterprise value of $364 million, inclusive of non-controlling tax equity interests
- Basalt Infrastructure Partners in connection with its acquisition and financing of AEP OnSite Partners, which owns the distributed resources business of American Electric Power
- Environmental Infrastructure Partner (EIP), a portfolio company of Ridgewood Infrastructure, in its $175 million refinancing of its existing delayed draw term loan facility in order to facilitate EIP’s continued development of its diverse portfolio of infrastructure projects focused on sustainable water, energy efficiency, transportation and communications projects with municipalities, universities and hospitals throughout the U.S.
- Intersect Power in a $800 million credit facility to support the development, construction and operation of its renewables, energy storage and green hydrogen projects
- An infrastructure credit fund in connection with development loan for early stage solar and wind development company
- TPG Rise Climate in:
- its investment in Monolith Materials
- its investment of $750 million in Intersect Power
- its $300 million investment in Summit Carbon Solutions, which is developing a large-scale carbon capture and storage project in the U.S.
- Mas CanAm in its $355 million sale of three renewable natural gas landfill assets to Kinder Morgan
- A credit fund in connection with a loan for purposes of the development of a hydrogen production project in California
- The Forest Road Company on its $50 million investment in Cherry Street Energy, a distributed generation renewable energy platform that designs, builds and operates projects under long-term power purchase agreements for large-scale municipal, university, commercial and industrial businesses
- A private equity fund in connection with a potential investment in a carbon capture and sequestration joint venture with a subsidiary of a large oil and gas exploration company
- A direct lender in connection with a proposed mezzanine financing for a retail hydrogen refueling station company participating in the California low carbon fuels standards program
- A global renewable power company in connection with preparation of a form corporate power purchase agreement for wind and solar projects across the U.S.
- An infrastructure fund in connection with the acquisition and financing of a portfolio of 13 hydroelectric facilities in the U.S. totaling 584 MW of generating capacity
Other Power
- An infrastructure fund on numerous investments in gas fired power plants in the U.S., and related financings thereof
- An agent in connection with the $500 million refinancing of a gas fired powerplant project in Virginia
- An infrastructure fund in its arrangement with a strategic partner to invest in and deliver sustainable essential infrastructure projects throughout the U.S. to municipalities, universities, schools and health care systems (MUSH), and the related third-party financing for such projects
- MUFG in connection with refinancing of a gas-fired district energy system in the U.S.
- Macquarie in connection with the amendment and repricing of the project finance debt associated with the 940 MW Lordstown Energy Center in Ohio
- A global power company in connection with the $2.3 billion project financing, including a private placement, construction loan and liquidity facilities, for the development of the AES Southland Energy
- Investec in connection with an amended-and-extend $329 million financing for the Rhode Island State Energy Center gas fired power plant
- Lenders in the financing of 1,875 MW Guernsey Power Project
- Lenders in connection with a letter of credit facility to support construction financing for a green field CCGT project in Pennsylvania
LNG
- Global Infrastructure Partners in
- its sale of an equity stake in Phase 1 of NextDecade Corporation’s (NASDAQ: NEXT) Rio Grande LNG to ADNOC
- its investment in Rio Grande LNG’s $18.4 billion Phase I development and project financing
- its investment in Rio Grande LNG’s development and project financing of a fourth and fifth LNG train
- An agent in connection with the $3.4 billion Train 3 refinancing for Freeport LNG
- A syndicate of international and regional banks and export credit agencies in connection with the $7.5 billion financing of the Cameron LNG project in Louisiana
- Asian investment company in connection with a bid to purchase equity in an LNG project in the U.S.
- A syndicate of international and regional banks and export credit agencies in connection with the $8.6 billion financing of the Australia Pacific LNG project in Queensland, Australia
- The mandated lead arranger in connection with $1 billion refinancing of a liquefied natural gas facility in Damietta, Egypt
- A syndicate of international and regional banks in connection with the $4 billion financing of the Qatargas 4 LNG project in Qatar
Midstream
- Third Coast Midstream, a midstream infrastructure business, in connection with its $550 million refinancing
- A private equity fund in connection with the acquisition of a compressed natural gas distribution company, and related refinancing
- A credit fund in a $750 million unitranche financing for a publicly filed midstream services company
- Brookfield in connection with the US/CAD ~$1.4 billion financing of its acquisition of Canadian natural gas gathering and processing assets from Enbridge
- A private equity/creditor investment fund in connection with a term loan facility and debtor in possession financing facility in the Chapter 11 cases of Furie Operating Alaska, Cornucopia Oil & Gas Company, and Corsair Oil & Gas, a gas production project
Other
- Orion Infrastructure Capital in its $125 million senior secured term loan facility to Alto Ingredients (NASDAQ: ALTO), a leading producer and distributor of specialty alcohols and essential ingredients and renewable fuel producer
- Valaris, the world’s largest offshore driller by fleet size, owning 67 drilling rigs and operating in every major offshore hydrocarbon basin throughout the globe, and 89 of its subsidiaries in their prearranged Chapter 11 cases, which included a restructuring support agreement and backstop commitment agreement to fully equitize all $7.1 billion of pre-petition funded debt, consisting of an unsecured revolving credit facility and 15 series of unsecured notes. The noteholders supporting the restructuring also committed to a fully backstopped rights offering for $500 million of new secured notes upon emergence from Chapter 11 as well as to provide a $500 million DIP financing facility
- SunPower Corporation and certain of its subsidiaries (SunPower) in their Chapter 11 cases in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. SunPower is a leading provider of residential solar energy solutions throughout North America, having fitted over half a million homes with its solar energy systems. At the time of the Chapter 11 filing, the SunPower enterprise had over $2 billion of total indebtedness. Prior to filing its Chapter 11 cases, SunPower entered into a stalking horse purchase agreement that contemplates a going-concern sale of its key businesses
- An Ares portfolio company in connection with an out-of-court restructuring of over $1 billion of opco and holdco financing
- Savage Companies in connection with a 4(a)(2) private placement financing of a rail facility in the U.S.
- A private equity fund in connection with financing and project-related aspects of the purchase, together with a strategic partner, of an interest in a gas station operator with gas station and convenience stores across the U.S.
*Includes matters handled prior to joining Paul, Weiss
