Bradford R. McCormick

Bradford is a partner in Taft’s New York office with a comprehensive transactional practice spanning the energy, infrastructure and industrial sectors. He advises sponsors and  investors (including private equity), lenders, developers, and corporate clients on complex cross‑border and domestic transactions, including acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, debt and equity financings, and large‑scale project development, including in the following sub-sectors:

• renewables and energy storage;
• nuclear;
• thermal generation, cogeneration, and transportation;
• electric transmission, distribution, and grid infrastructure;
• digital infrastructure;
• waste, waste-to-energy, water, and environmental infrastructure; and
• industrial and advanced manufacturing.

Bradford regularly guides clients through all phases of the project life cycle, from early stage development and contracting to financing, construction, operations, and strategic exits. He also advises bidders in public-private partnership (P3) transactions.

Bradford has experience with numerous financing structures, including project-level, holdco and back leverage bank financing, tax equity, tax credit transfers, agency financing, debt private placements, and joint ventures. Bradford also represents corporate borrowers and issuers, private equity sponsors and their portfolio companies, and lenders in corporate finance transactions in the energy industry and other industries, including acquisition financings, working capital and letter of credit facilities, recapitalizations, refinancings, and debt private placements.

Representative Project Development and Finance Matters

• Represented the arrangers, agents, issuing banks and lenders in connection with an early development stage financing of an approximately 1,200 MW simple cycle gas-fired project in Wisconsin, which is being developed to support data center power requirements.
• Represented the arranger, agent, issuing bank, and lender in connection with an approximately $290 million build-transfer project financing of a 150 MW solar project in Texas.
• Represented a US-based renewable energy and storage sponsor on development, construction, operation, and financing matters, including joint venture structuring, for multiple proposed solar, energy storage and mini-grid projects in Southern Africa, West Africa and Eastern Europe, with aggregate proposed investments of more than $3 billion.
• Represented a US manufacturer on its first acquisition of transferable investment tax credits, from a standalone battery energy storage project in Texas.
• Represented an infrastructure credit fund manager in its structuring and closing of an $85 million credit facility for an industry-leading provider of end-to-end parking technology, including electric vehicle (EV) charging station infrastructure.
• Counseled a West African electric utility, as offtaker and minority equity owner of a gas-fired combined cycle power plant, in connection with ongoing contractual and operational matters.
• Advised a Korean industrial conglomerate in connection with project development matters in its joint venture with a US-based automobile manufacturer to build three advanced electric vehicle battery manufacturing facilities in the United States, and in connection with the negotiation of a proposed U.S. Department of Energy loan to partially fund construction.
• Counseled a global semiconductor manufacturer in connection with project development matters for a proposed multi-billion-dollar manufacturing facility in the United States intended to be funded in part by a federal grant (under the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022) and state incentives.
• Represented a US independent power producer (IPP), in its capacity as the operator of an airport-located gas-fired cogeneration and district heating and cooling facility, in connection with the negotiation and drafting of a master EPC contract and multiple equipment and services supply contracts for planned upgrades.
• Represented a US producer of consumer hygiene products with respect to a strategic partnership and offtake and engineering documentation for plant upgrades to support production of high-quality ethanol for its supply chain.
• Represented the arranger, agent, issuing bank and lenders in a first of its kind project financing of a portfolio of behind-the- meter battery storage systems located at host sites in southern California.
• Represented the sponsor in a $310 million tax equity and construction/bridge loan financing of a 238 MW solar generation project in Texas.
• Represented an investor-owned utility (IOU) as sponsor in a private placement of $150 million of senior secured notes and the establishment of a letter of credit and working capital facility to finance a 256 MW portfolio of seven wind and solar power generation projects located in five US states.
• Represented an IOU as sponsor in a $245 million tax equity financing of a 198 MW wind generation project in Oklahoma.
• Represented a US private equity sponsor and its South African portfolio company in the development and project financing of a wind farm and two solar energy facilities in South Africa.

Representative P3 Matters

• Represented a consortium as successful bidder to operate and maintain the electric transmission and distribution system of Puerto Rico, and continue to represent the private operator in ongoing operational and transactional matters.
• Represented a private water utility in the structuring and negotiation of a $1.2 billion, 20-year agreement to manage, operate, and maintain a large municipal wastewater system in the northeastern US.
• Represented a major electric contractor as bidder in public procurement to operate and maintain a large transmission and distribution system in the northeastern US owned by a public utility.

Representative M&A Matters

• Represented Cameco Corporation in its acquisition, with Brookfield Renewable Partners, of Westinghouse Electric Company, a leading global nuclear technology and fuels company, in a deal valued at $7.875 billion. IJ Investor recognized the transaction as its 2024 Americas Market Impact Deal of the Year – North America.
• Represented a global energy storage developer, manufacturer and installer in its sale of an operational 100 MW standalone battery energy storage project in Texas.
• Represented a global energy storage developer, manufacturer and installer in its acquisition of two 125 MW battery energy storage projects under development in Texas.
• Represented a US private equity sponsor and its South African portfolio company in its sale of a wind farm and two solar energy facilities in South Africa to a publicly traded US sponsor.
• Represented an IOU in the auction sale of an 800 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in the northeastern US.
• Represented an energy trading company in the auction sale of an 82 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in the northeastern US.
• Represented an IOU in the auction sale of a contractor specializing in construction and maintenance of underground high voltage transmission cable and distribution infrastructure for electric utilities.
• Represented a global telecommunications company in connection with its $345 million sale of a national Argentine broadcast network and major producer of Spanish-language video content.
• Represented an IOU in the proposed auction sale of a 1,400 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in the northeastern US.
• Represented an IOU in the proposed auction sale of a 750 MW gas-fired combined cycle power plant in the southeastern US.