February Edition 2021

11 In December, President Biden nominated Debra Haaland to lead the Department of Interior (DoI), elevating an opponent of fossil fuels – and first Native American to run the powerful government department – to oversee his administration’s ambitious plans for offshore wind and other renewables. President Biden has already moved to scrap the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Haaland told Reuters she would seek to usher in an expansion of renewable energy production on federal land to contribute to the fight against climate change. Last year, U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson unveiled his Ten-Point Plan for a “Green Industrial Revolution” for the United Kingdom. The very first point is to transform the U.K. into “the Saudi Arabia of wind,” which includes building enough “offshore capacity to power every home by 2030.” London-base dDanTurgel,p artner in theglobal M&AandCorporatepractice at White & Case, said: “The Ten-point Plan sets out a series of commitments designed to help the UK meet renewable energy targets, including an investment of £160 million to encourage wind turbine manufacturing, a £240 million Net Zero Hydrogen Fund, and a commitment of up to £1 billion to support the electrification of UK vehicles.” He adds: “In total, there is approximately £4bn proposed in new funding for a variety of emissions- cutting proposals.” Fellow White & Case partner, Sandra Rafferty, a member of the EMEA Private Equity team and specialist in the infrastructure, energy and renewables sectors, adds: “Also, the new ‘National Infrastructure Bank’, announced in November 2020, is a new lender that will be established to co-invest in infrastructure projects through a mix of loans, guarantees and equity stakes.” EY’s ‘Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Index’ places the UK 5th worldwide for attractiveness of renewable energy investment and deployment opportunities, including the highest scores for offshore wind and biomass. Turgel adds: “Investors are increasingly deploying capital in renewables - private capital contributed to around £20bn of UK energy and utility infrastructure financing in 2019.” UK: To become “the Saudi Arabia of wind”