Mario R. Samos

MARIO SAMOS advises clients on a wide range of energy and infrastructure transactions, including project development, mergers and acquisitions, structured financings, and utility securitizations.

Mario’s experience includes the following types of transactions:

• Project developers and private equity firms in connection with wind, solar, and gas-fired power projects, battery energy storage systems, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure, including acquisitions, sales, joint ventures, and debt financings.
• Independent power producers, offtakers, and commodity traders in connection with offtake arrangements for power generation facilities, including power purchase agreements, tolling agreements, and commodity hedges.
• Power and gas utilities in connection with utility cost-recovery securitizations, including the sale of securitized property and the issuance of cost-recovery bonds.

In 2022, Mario was selected by Latino Leaders magazine to the “Latino Lawyers to Keep on the Watch” list.

Mario earned his J.D. from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law, his MBA in finance from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and his B.A. in mathematical economic analysis from Rice University. Prior to attending law school, Mario served as an Analyst at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he assessed emerging security threats.

Mario is fluent in Spanish.

Mario’s experience at Sidley includes the following representative matters:

Renewable Energy

• OCI Energy, a clean energy developer based in San Antonio, Texas, in its sales to Sabanci Renewables of Project Pepper, a 120 MWac solar project in McLennan County, Texas, and Project Lucky 7 Solar, a 100 MWac solar project in Hopkins County, Texas.
• OCI Energy in a joint venture with Arava Power, an Israeli solar energy company, to develop Project SunRoper, a 260 MWac solar project in Wharton County, Texas.
• Harrison Street, one of the leading investment management firms exclusively focused on alternative real assets, in a joint venture with Competitive Power Ventures Group (CPV Group), a leading developer, owner, and operator of utility-scale renewable and low emission electric generation.
• OCI Energy in its sale of Project Hillsboro, a 200 MWac solar project in Hill County, Texas, to Hyundai Engineering.
• Matrix Renewables, the TPG Rise-backed global renewable energy platform, in a renewable energy power purchase agreement with affiliates of the Hyundai Motor Group for 147 MWac from its Stillhouse Solar project, a 284 MWdc / 210 MWac total solar PV project located in Bell County, Texas.
• Advanced Power in its sale of Oriana Solar, a 232 MWdc solar PV project in Victoria County, Texas, to Sabanci Renewables.
• Brookfield Renewable, one of the world’s largest publicly traded, pureplay renewable power platforms, in its purchase of Urban Grid, one of the largest greenfield solar and battery storage project developers in the United States.
• Cubico Sustainable Investments in the acquisition and tax equity financing of the 46.5 MW Wind Wall 1 Project located in California.
• NRG Energy in its agreement to supply the City of Houston with 100% renewable electricity.
• A corporate retailer in preparing and negotiating a master agreement for the construction and operation of rooftop solar and onsite battery storage projects on the retailer’s commercial properties across the United States.
• An institutional asset manager in its implementation of an investment program for the acquisition and financing of commercial and industrial (C&I) solar power projects on multi-tenant commercial properties.
• A renewable energy joint venture in multiple sales of early-stage solar and battery storage projects across the United States.
• A renewables-focused private equity firm in its sale of a portfolio of early-stage solar power projects.
• A clean energy-focused private equity firm in its formation of a joint venture for the development of a wind power project.
• Citigroup Energy Inc. in multiple secured energy hedge transactions for wind power projects, including for Rio Bravo, a 238 MW wind project in Starr County, Texas, Midway Wind, a 163 MW wind project in San Patricio County, Texas, and Sterling Wind, LLC, a holding company for three wind projects, Cap Ridge Wind I, III, and IV, representing 413 MWs of wind projects in Sterling and Coke County, Texas.
• Merrill Lynch Commodities, Inc. in multiple secured energy hedge transactions for wind power projects, including for Live Oak, a 200 MW wind project in Schleicher County, Texas and for Tahoka Wind, a 300 MW wind project in Lynn County, Texas.
• Multiple clients in the drafting and negotiation of power purchase agreements for the purchase and sale of energy, capacity, and renewable energy credits (RECs) from wind and solar power generation projects across the United States.
• Multiple clients in the drafting and negotiation of tolling agreements for the sale of storage capacity and discharging energy from battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in ERCOT.

Thermal Generation

• Atlantic Power & Utilities in its sale to Fengate Asset Management of 100% of the equity interests in Morris Cogeneration, LLC, a project company that owns a 177-megawatt combined heat and power facility located in Morris, Illinois.
• Atlantic Power & Utilities in its sale to Hull Street Energy of 100% of the equity interests in EF Oxnard, LLC, a project company that owns a nominal 48 MW simple cycle, gas-fired project located in Oxnard, California.
• NRG Energy in the sale of their remaining interest in Petra Nova, the largest U.S. carbon capture and storage facility of its kind, to JX Nippon Oil & Gas Exploration, a subsidiary of Japanese energy and minerals conglomerate, Eneos Holdings.
• Argo Infrastructure Partners in connection with its acquisition of the equity interests of the holding company owning the Hog Bayou Energy Center, a 240 MW combined-cycle power plant in Mobile, Alabama, from a portfolio company of LS Power Equity Partners.
• Argo Infrastructure Partners in its acquisition 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.
• Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners in its simultaneous acquisition of two power generation facilities in the northeastern United States from GenOn Energy and NRG Energy, which was recognized as the 2018 Conventional Power M&A Deal of the Year by Power Finance & Risk.
• Rockland Capital in the refinancing of the Eagle Point Power Generation facility, a 265 MW combined cycle natural gas-fired facility located in New Jersey.
• Rockland Capital in the financing of the Lee County Generating Station facility, a 640 MW simple cycle, natural gas-fired facility located in Illinois.
• Rockland Capital in financing its acquisition of six simple cycle natural gas-fired facilities.
• Multiple clients in the drafting and negotiation of tolling agreements and power purchase agreements for gas-fired power plants covering sales of energy, capacity, ancillary services, and black start capabilities.

Electric Vehicle Infrastructure

• Pilot Company in its agreement with GM to build out a national DC fast charging network powered by EVgo eXtend at up to 500 Pilot and Flying J travel centers.
• A corporate retailer in developing a master agreement for the implementation of a nationwide buildout of electric vehicle charging stations.
• An operator of an electric vehicle charging station network in a virtual power purchase agreement (VPPA) with a project developer for power and renewable energy credits from a new solar power project in California.
• A financial institution in a debt financing for an electric vehicle charge point operator.

Utility Cost-Recovery Securitizations

• Kentucky Power Company in connection with the issuance by Kentucky Power Cost Recovery LLC of US$477.7 million in senior secured recovery bonds to recover certain extraordinary costs.
• Southwestern Electric Power Company in the issuance by SWEPCO Storm Recovery Funding LLC of US$336.7 million in senior secured storm recovery bonds to recover certain costs related to Hurricanes Laura and Delta and winter storm Uri, and to fund a new storm recovery reserve account.
• Atmos Energy in the issuance by Atmos Energy Kansas Securitization I, LLC of US$95 million in securitized utility tariff bonds to recover certain costs related to winter storm Uri.
• Public Service Company of Oklahoma (PSO) in connection with the issuance by The Oklahoma Development Finance Authority of US$696,920,000 in ratepayer-backed bonds for the purpose of allowing PSO to recover certain costs it incurred as a result of Winter Storm Uri.
• RBC Capital Markets, as representative of the underwriters, in connection with the issuance by The Oklahoma Development Finance Authority of US$761,654,000 in ratepayer-backed bonds for the purpose of allowing Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) to recover certain costs it incurred as a result of Winter Storm Uri.
• AEP Texas in the issuance by AEP Texas Restoration Funding LLC of senior secured system restoration bonds to recover certain distribution-related system restoration costs related to Hurricane Harvey and certain other weather-related events.
• Additional utility companies in connection with structuring, documenting, and negotiating cost-recovery securitizations and bond issuances across the United States. 

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