Tara Higgins

TARA HIGGINS is a co-leader of Sidley’s global Energy, Transportation and Infrastructure practice and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. She focuses her practice on domestic and cross border energy, transportation and infrastructure transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, investor arrangements, financings and restructurings of all types, and project development. She has particular experience in the renewable energy and sustainability space.

Tara represents private equity and strategic investors, developers and lenders, and other financiers. She has experience with conventional power, hydroelectric, solar, wind, battery and storage, biomass and other alternative energy projects, midstream gas gathering and processing, interstate gas pipelines and gas storage facilities, water and waste treatment plants, industrial plants, and infrastructure and transportation projects.

Tara has been consistently recognized by several publications, including Chambers USA in Band 1 for her work in Nationwide Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional (2020–2025) and Nationwide Projects (2010–2025), Chambers Global for Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional (USA, 2022–2025) and Projects (USA, 2011–2025). Clients in the 2025 edition of Chambers Global praised Tara for being a “fantastic lawyer” and that she is “extremely intelligent and big picture focused.” Tara was shortlisted for the “Energy, Natural Resources & Mining Lawyer of the Year” award by IFLR’s Women in Business Law Americas Awards (2023), which celebrates women lawyers who have developed strong and innovative practices. Tara has been named by The American Lawyer as one of their “Northeast Trailblazers” (2022); A Word About Wind’s “Legal Power List” (2022); Law360 as an Energy “MVP” (2021, 2024); and IFLR’s Women in Business Law Americas Awards as the “Energy, Natural Resources & Mining Lawyer of the Year” award (2025). Tara was recommended in the 2025 edition of Legal 500 United States for Energy Regulation: Electric Power, Energy Transactions: Electric Power, and Project Finance. She was recognized by The Best Lawyers in America® for Energy Law (2026).

Prior to joining Sidley, Tara was a partner and co-head of the power practice at another global law firm.

Renewables

• Invenergy in its joint venture creating Illuminate USA with LONGi, the world’s largest solar panel manufacturer.
• Invenergy Renewables in a consortium with Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners to acquire a 1,365-megawatt unregulated, contracted renewables portfolio from American Electric Power (Nasdaq: AEP) for US$1.5 billion. 
• Invenergy Renewables Holdings LLC, the largest private renewable energy company in North America, with respect to the US$1 billion follow-on equity investment in the company from funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure. 
• Distributed Solar Development, LLC (“DSD”) in a US$155 million private notes offering that securitized a portfolio of commercial and industrial (“C&I”) and community distributed generation (“CDG”) assets.
• I Squared Capital and Atlantic Power Corporation, in the sale of the 60 MW Curtis Palmer hydroelectric portfolio to Innergex Renewable Energy Inc. and HQI US Holding LLC, a subsidiary of Hydro-Québec, for total consideration of US$318.4 million, plus a potential earn-out based on the evolution of NYISO market pricing.
• The investors in a US$650 million investment and US$504 million financing of Advanced Clean Energy Storage Joint Venture (ACES Delta, LLC), which will be the largest green hydrogen production and storage platform in the world upon completion. The U.S. Department of Energy committed to a US$504 million loan guarantee to ACES Delta, the first loan guarantee for a clean energy project in nearly a decade, advancing the administration’s zero-emission goals and creating hundreds of employment opportunities within construction and operation.
• Invenergy in a definitive agreement with Blackstone Infrastructure Partners and Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) for an approximately US$3 billion equity investment in Invenergy Renewables Holdings LLC, the largest private renewable energy company in North America, by funds managed by Blackstone Infrastructure Partners.
• GE EFS in the tax equity financing of a repowered 278-MW wind project in Texas. 
• A strategic investor in its sale of a portfolio of tax equity and cash equity interests in 24 wind generation facilities with an aggregate capacity in excess of 3-GWs.
• A renewable energy company with the construction loan, term loan, and tax equity financing for a 60-MWac grid-connected, ground-mounted solar photovoltaic generating facility located in Kern County, California. The transaction represented one of the largest tax equity investments in utility scale solar since the U.S. Treasury cash grant expired and one of the largest solar financings in the United States in 2014. It was awarded 2014 “North American Renewables Deal of the Year” by IJGlobal.
• Energy and Infrastructure Capital LLC in a credit facility for Coronal Group LLC’s 35-MW Avalon Solar Project in Pima County, Arizona.
• Atlantic Power Corporation and project company Canadian Hills Wind, LLC in the approximately US$290 million construction financing of the Canadian Hills wind power project. The Project has a capacity of up to 298.45-MW and is located in Canadian County, Oklahoma with offtake contracts with Southwestern Electric Power Company, Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority, and Grand River Dam Association.
• GE EFS in the US$55 million debt and tax equity financing of a portfolio of a 12-MW portfolio of five solar power generation plants developed by SunPower Corporation.
• GE EFS and Colorado Highlands Wind, LLC in the development and financing of a wind power project with a capacity of up to 67.2-MW located in Logan County, Colorado, with an offtake contract with Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association.
• The Department of Energy with a US$116 million loan guarantee for the development and construction of a cellulosic fuel grade ethanol plant using post-recycled municipal solid waste as feedstock located in Reno, Nevada.

Conventional Power

• GE Energy Financial Services in the sale of a 25% stake in Russell City, a 615-MW combined-cycle gas turbine power plant in Hayward, California, to Calpine Corp.
• Argo Infrastructure Partners in its agreement to acquire 100% of the equity interests of the holding companies owning the Oneta Power Generation Project, a 1,127-MW power plant in Coweta, Oklahoma, and the Carville Power Generation Project, a 516-MW power plant in St. Gabriel, Louisiana, from a portfolio company of LS Power Equity Partners.  
• I Squared Capital in the US$1.123 billion sale of Cube Hydro Partners LLC to Ontario Power Generation. 
• GE Energy Financial Services (GE EFS) in the sale to an affiliate of Osaka Gas USA Corporation of its 50.01% interest in Towantic Energy Holdings LLC, which owns a 49% interest in CPV Towantic LLC, operator of an 805-MW natural gas facility in Oxford, Connecticut.
• GE EFS in a sale of a 24.95% share in Southeast PowerGen Holdings, owner of a 3.2-GW portfolio of six generation assets in Georgia, to co-investor The Carlyle Group.
• GE EFS in the mezzanine debt financing of the 1,182-MW South Field combined-cycle, gas-fired power project in Columbiana County, Ohio. Equity and financing on the development stage project totaled US$1.3 billion.
• GE EFS in its investment in and US$700 million, three-tranche, senior secured financing of the CPV Fairview project, a 1,050-MW natural gas and ethane-fueled combined-cycle electric generating project located in western Pennsylvania that began commercial operations in early 2020.
• Ares Energy Investors Funds (Ares EIF) and Oregon Clean Energy, LLC in the development, debt financing, hedge financing, and equity raise for the Oregon Clean Energy Center, an 869-MW natural gas-fired electric power plant being built in the City of Oregon, Ohio. It was awarded 2014 North American Single-Asset Power Deal of the Year by IJGlobal.
• Ares EIF and the project company on the development, financing, and equity raise for the St. Joseph Energy Center Project, a 700-MW gas-fired power project in Indiana.
• The debt package is composed of US$395 million in term debt, US$72 million in letters of credit, and US$15 million in revolving credit facilities. Investors were Ares EIF (80%) and Toyota Tsusho (20%).
• GE EFS in the sale of an interest in the Towantic Energy Center, a 785-MW dual-fuel capable natural gas-fired combined-cycle facility currently under construction in Connecticut, to a pension fund.
• A financial management company in the acquisition of an interest in and financing of the Cricket Valley Energy Center, an approximately 1,100-MW combined-cycle natural gas electric generating facility in Dover, New York. Cricket Valley Energy Center reached financial close of US$1.54 billion in debt and equity financing for the project. This center, located adjacent to the Iroquois natural gas pipeline, will sell energy, capacity, and ancillary services to the New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) energy market with interconnection through a nearby 345-kV transmission line.
• A private equity investor in its bid for the acquisition of the 322-MW simple-cycle gas-fired Pio Pico power plant from Energy Infrastructure Fund.
• Carlyle Investment Management LLC (Carlyle) and Cogentrix Energy Power Management, LLC (Cogentrix Energy) in connection with a bid to acquire all of the equity interests in a holding company owning seven natural gas power plant projects.
• Carlyle and Cogentrix Energy in connection with a bid to acquire several natural gas-fired simple-cycle electric generating plants located in West Virginia, Virginia, and California. The plants have nameplate capacities of 300-MW, 250-MW, and 830-MW, respectively.
• A private equity investor in the acquisition of three Tenaska-owned power plants.
• GE EFS in the sale of an equity interest in CPV Sentinel, LLC, owner of an 800-MW natural gas-fired power plant located in Riverside County, California.
• GE EFS in the development, financing, and sale of the 850-MW Oyster Creek natural gas-fired power plant, located inside a Dow Chemical petrochemical complex in Freeport, Texas, to a North America subsidiary of Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
• ISQ Global Infrastructure Fund and Cube Hydro Partners, LLC on the issuance by its wholly owned subsidiary, Cube Hydro North America I, LLC, of US$140 million senior secured notes due October 2025. Cube Hydro currently owns a portfolio of 13 hydroelectric plants with a capacity of 106-MW located in New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia with expected annual generation of over 340,000-MWhs.
• General Electric Capital Corporation in the US$430 million equity/debt industrial project financing of a greenfield development and construction of a containerboard mill in Niagara Falls, New York.

Midstream and Pipelines

• GIC in connection with its commitment to NextDecade Corporation’s (NextDecade) (NASDAQ: NEXT) Phase 1, US$18.4 billion LNG project, winner of Project Finance International’s “Deal of the Year” award, 2024.
• Barings LLC and SPT Infrastructure Finance, LLC, as lenders for a credit facility to Basalt Infrastructure Partners II GP Limited in connection with Basalt’s acquisition of Third Coast Midstream LLC’s natural gas transmission business.
• GE Oil & Gas Inc. in connection with its investment in NextDecade, LLC and its execution of an exclusive supply agreement for gas turbines and compressor equipment for the liquefaction trains of NextDecade’s Rio Grande LNG project and the associated Rio Bravo Pipeline. Also advised GE Oil & Gas Inc. in connection with NextDecade’s execution of a definitive merger agreement with Harmony Merger Corp. whereby NextDecade would be taken public via a reverse merger.
• An investor in connection with its exchange of its common equity interests in a growth-oriented midstream energy company for preferred equity interests and its subsequent sell-down of 25% of such preferred interests to another investor.
• An investor in the acquisition of a preferred equity interest in a large gas-gathering company.
• Canyon Midstream Partners in the acquisition of development rights for a lateral pipeline in Nueces, Texas, and in the development, construction, lease, and financing of such pipeline.
• Delphi Midstream Partners in its acquisition of Carrizo Oil & Gas Inc.’s midstream gas-gathering assets in the Barnett Shale.
• AIG Highstar Capital in its acquisition of multistate Williams Gas Pipeline.
• AIG Highstar Capital in the US$849 million sale of its Southern Star Central Corp., an interstate gas pipeline system, to a joint venture between GE EFS and CDPQ.
• GE EFS and CDPQ in their purchase of Southern Star Central Corp., a natural-gas pipeline company with operations in the U.S. Mid-Continent and Rockies region, from investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partner, and subsequently represented GE Energy Financial Services in two sell-downs of its interests in the company.
• Delphi Midstream Partners in connection with a US$850 million bid on midstream assets in the Haynesville and Ford Shale.
• Southern Star Central Corp. and Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline in aggregate offerings of US$250 million of senior high yield and US$230 million of senior investment grade notes, respectively, and in related cash tender offers and consent solicitations with respect to their then-existing notes.
• The lender in the restructuring of US$120 million of loans for the project financing of the White Cliffs crude oil pipeline and other loans to its present company, SemCrude L.P.

International

• A sponsor-backed borrower in a cross-border refinancing of its data center businesses.
• Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) in multiple matters, including a financing of a 180-MW gas turbine thermoelectric plant located in Esenyurt, Turkey, including the transfers of Edison Mission’s ownership interest and various operating issues; the US$250 million financing of an AIDS treatment project in Johannesburg, South Africa; the financing and restructuring of Africa Technology Media and Telecommunications Fund; the financing of ECP Mena Fund, a fund investing in companies in the Middle East and North Africa; the financing of ECP Africa II Fund, a fund investing in companies with operations in sub-Saharan Africa; the financing and restructuring of Modern Africa Growth and Investment Corporation Fund targeting infrastructure and development projects in Africa; the financing, restructuring, and refinancing of Southeast Europe Equity Fund, a fund investing in companies in Southeast Europe; and the project financing of a telecommunications conglomerate of 17 affiliated borrowers providing cable, satellite, and internet services to corporate and individual clients in multiple East African countries.
• GE EFS and Edison International Holding NV (Edison) in the sale of their interest in GTi Dakar, a project company owning and operating an approximately 56-MW net combined-cycle power-generating facility located in Caps des Biches, Senegal. Concurrently, Orrick advised GE EFS, Edison and GTi Dakar on the project credit facility provided by International Finance Corporation and HSBC.
• GE EFS in the agreement to acquire approximately US$1 billion in project finance loans from the Bank of Ireland, with a total commitment of US$3.8 billion. The portfolio comprises senior secured energy project finance loans, covering more than a dozen European countries.
• ContourGlobal in connection with the acquisition, refurbishment, and financing of a dual fuel/gas-fired 55-MW plant in Dakar, Senegal for a value of US$100 million. This assistance included the negotiation of the power purchase agreement with Senelec and the fuel/gas supply agreement with SAR.
• Endeavor Energy Holdings LLC, as sponsor, in the development of two 50-MW fuel-fired power projects in Guinea and a 92-MW power plant in Mali.

Some of the above matters were handled prior to joining Sidley.

• Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Executive Leadership Program Certification, 2025.