Energy & Infrastructure Projects Named Winners at 2022 IJGlobal ESG Awards

Winston & Strawn served as legal counsel on two winning projects recognized at the 2022 IJGlobal ESG Awards held on October 18, 2022, at the Honourable Artillery Company in London. The winning projects and their respective categories are:

FARGO-MOORHEAD METROPOLITAN AREA FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT
Climate Adaptation Award

In a first-of-its-kind project in the North American infrastructure market and among the largest climate change/resiliency projects in the world, Winston represented the underwriters (Citigroup Global Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc.) and the lenders (Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, CaixaBank, S.A., and The Korea Development Bank) on a revolving credit facility as well as the related interest rate swap providers (CaixaBank, S.A. and SMBC Capital Markets, Inc.) and the note purchasers (MetLife Insurance K.K., Metropolitan Tower Life Insurance Company, Swiss Reinsurance Company Limited, Swiss Re Life & Health America Inc., American Memorial Life Insurance Company, Universal-Investment-Gesellschaft mbH on behalf of and for account of UI-Masterfonds-Renten, and HANSAfreeInvest SILC) in connection with a $1.18 billion green financing, the proceeds of which will be used by Red River Valley Alliance, LLC (RRVA) to pay a portion of the costs incurred to design, construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Diversion Channel and Associated Infrastructure Work Package of the Fargo-Moorhead Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project. 

IJGlobal’s ESG Award for Climate Adaptation is the latest of several accolades the project has earned over the last year. The project was also recently recognized as the 2022 “Project Finance Deal of the Year” by IFLR Americas Awards, the 2021 “Americas P3 Deal of the Year” by Project Finance International (PFI), the 2021 “North America Water Deal of the Year” by Proximo, and the 2021 “Water Deal of the Year – North America” by IJGlobal.

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY UTILITY SYSTEM
Social Infrastructure ESG Award

Winston represented Axium Infrastructure in connection with the acquisition of 50% of the membership interests in Georgetown Energy Partners Holding LLC from Engie North America Inc., which owns 100% of the membership interests in Georgetown Energy Partners LLC. As part of its ongoing work to promote sustainability on campus, Georgetown University has joined forces with Georgetown Energy Partners. Through the long-term energy management partnership, Georgetown Energy Partners will operate, maintain, and modernize the University’s utility system including steam, chilled water, power, and domestic water for their main campus location and downtown law center facilities. This will be done to help the University achieve its ambitious sustainability goals that include a 35 percent overall reduction in energy use intensity and to achieve carbon neutral status by 2030.

The IJGlobal ESG Awards celebrate the best-in-class greenfield project finance activity, refinancings, and new financing structures that have closed over the past calendar year across the international infrastructure and energy sectors. Selected by an esteemed international judging committee, an award from IJGlobal is considered true recognition from the industry.