Elias B. Hinckley

Elias Hinckley is a Partner in the firm's Washington, D.C. office. He focuses his practice on assisting clients navigating a changing energy, tax, and financial landscape by efficiently and creatively structuring deals.

He incorporates tax, policy, and market insight to solve complex financing challenges for renewable energy companies, private equity, hedge funds, tax equity investors, real estate investors, independent power companies, and public utilities. He has been at the forefront of the development of several financing structures for the clean energy industry.

He has experience representing clients across energy sectors, including solar, wind, geothermal, biomass, biofuels, hydroelectric, batteries, fuel cells, energy efficiency, demand response, electric transmission, natural gas, and advanced coal.

Previously, Elias led the energy practice at another international law firm and was the head of the alternative energy practice for Deloitte USA for several years. He is also an adjunct professor of international energy policy and markets at the Georgetown University Walsh School of Foreign Service.

Related Experience

Advised a fund on tax investment into portfolio of solar assets in Northeastern U.S. markets designing and delivering an inverted lease transaction structure.
Advised on development of crowd-funded debt portfolio and structured investments to integrate these loans into partnership flip tax equity transactions for portfolio of solar projects.
Advised real estate investment fund on tax equity structuring to allow for disposition of real estate portfolio, which was host and off-taker for portfolio of solar systems.
Advised private equity fund on project acquisition and project financing for wind farm that was repowered, including tax equity structuring and re-qualification for Production Tax Credits
Designed a first-of-its-kind tax equity structure for an investment company to facilitate the integration of tax equity investment into a municipality’s solar program for low-income housing.
Advised an investment fund on equity and tax equity investments using partnership flip structure to make investments into a portfolio of distributed solar projects throughout the eastern United States.
Represented renewables dedicated private equity fund with acquisition of multi-jurisdictional C&I solar portfolio.
Represented bidder on 300MW portfolio of C&I solar assets, through due diligence review and final transaction structure.
Redesigned sale contract platform for global manufacturing company's solar division, to meet investment credit safe harbor qualification requirements.
Represented developer on structuring build transfer agreement for utility scale wind project, including safe harbor preservation of production tax credit.
Represented developer on design and implementation of safe harbor strategy for portfolio of utility scale solar projects.
Represented solar developer structuring sale of large portfolio of utility scale solar development assets.
Represented investment fund in the acquisition of a portfolio of community solar projects in Minnesota.
Represented a developer in structuring debt and tax equity investments for a portfolio of community solar projects in the South Carolina.
Represented a major solar energy developer in a joint venture to develop storage potential of existing assets and to respond to RFPs and other market opportunities.
Drafted Equipment Purchase and Sale and Service Agreements on behalf of a leading battery equipment developer for the commercialization and deployment of its flow battery equipment.
Developed storm-water mitigation revenue contract, providing basis for attracting providing basis for attracting project finance investment for green infrastructure, on behalf of a private equity and development fund.
Advised infrastructure investment subsidiary of European manufacturing company on acquisition and financing (both tax equity and debt) of 300MW wind farm, designing transaction structure that preserved safe harbor qualification of manufacturing company parent’s previously safe harbored equipment, while adding majority sponsor interest by two European private equity funds.
Advised syndicate including a public corporation making a first-time tax equity investment on construction, ITC bridge, and permanent debt facilities for a 120MW solar farm.
Advised the solar acquisition business of a large infrastructure fund on efficient equity structure, tax equity fund, and construction to term debt facilities for a multi-hundred MW portfolio of C&I solar projects.
Advised an investment fund on equity and tax equity investments using partnership flip structure to make investments into a portfolio of distributed solar projects throughout the eastern United States.