Een vrouw met blond haar die een wit topje en een kastanjebruine blazer draagt, glimlacht in een fel verlicht advocatenkantoor.

Natalie S. Neals

Partner

Natalie Neals is a member of Foley’s Finance & Financial Institutions Practice as well as the firm’s Energy Sector, practicing in project development and energy industry financing transactions. She routinely represents companies that are engaged in the development, financing, construction, and operation of solar power, wind power, and other alternative energy projects, as well as financial institutions and other investors that are financing such projects. Natalie focuses on alternative energy equity and debt financing, with experience in both lender-side and borrower-side representation, including construction financing, revolving and term credit facilities, mezzanine financing, second-lien credit facilities, syndicated and single-lender financings, and inter-creditor matters. She also has experience with tax equity financing and has represented a variety of investors and sponsors in partnership flips, inverted leases, and sale-leaseback transactions.

Natalie also has experience representing borrowers and financial institutions in sophisticated financing transactions, including bilateral facilities, syndicated facilities, asset-based lending, acquisition finance, and general commercial finance. She also has expertise in Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 (Secured Transactions), lien and other collateral matters, and legal opinions.

Representatieve ervaring

  • Represented regional U.S. financial institution as administrative agent, collateral agent, sole bookrunner, coordinating lead arranger, and one of a syndicate of lenders, which included five domestic and foreign banks and financial institutions, with respect to the $250 million financing for a 189-megawatt solar development project Illinois, currently under development by a national renewable energy company.
  • Represented super-regional U.S. financial institution as the lead arranger and administrative agent in a $140 million syndicated construction and term debt financing for a portfolio of utility-scale and community solar energy generation projects located in five states across the United States, including a refinancing of the facility to add 10 additional projects and complex interparty negotiations with an institutional tax equity investor.
  • Represented U.S. branch of a global financial services group as lead arranger, administrative agent, collateral agent, and lead lender in a syndicated $68 million term loan and LC acquisition financing. Proceeds of financing were used by the sponsor to acquire 22 projects with existing debt and tax equity financing. The transaction involved extensive due diligence on existing documents and financing structures as well as negotiation with investors and other financial institutions.
  • Represented a regional branch of an international bank and its commercial leasing subsidiary in connection with a $80 million construction debt and $300 million sale-leaseback tax equity takeout financing, which proceeds support the development, construction, and operation of 10+ projects located in New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.
  • Represented international energy company in a five-bank syndicated $300 million construction to term loan facility, $229 million bridge facility, and $60 million letter of credit sub-facility to finance the development, construction, and operation of four utility-scale solar projects located in Utah and Michigan.
  • Represented a U.S. bank as lead arranger, administrative agent, depositary bank, and lead lender in a syndicated $225 million construction to term loan and bridge loan financing. Proceeds of financing were used by the sponsor to finance the construction and operations of a portfolio of microgrids, combined heat and power systems, community rooftop solar, battery energy storage systems, and microgrid electric vehicle infrastructure projects in markets including California, Oregon, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Colorado, North Carolina, New Jersey, and New York.
  • Represented a Fortune 100 energy company in a variety of finance and M&A transactions, including the refinancing of a $122,000,000 letter of credit facility and $4,000,000 working capital facility with respect to a portfolio of thirteen wind-powered electric generation projects totaling 667 MWs and the joint venture financing involving thirty wind-powered electric generation projects totaling 1,430 MWs
  • Represented a national biomass energy company in refinancing of $40 million term loan and letter of credit facility to support biomass projects located in California and Quebec.
  • Represented a national bank as administrative agent and lead lender in a $26 million construction loan facility. The construction loan facility is taken out and replaced by a $57 million sale-leaseback investment with the same national bank. In the same transaction, subsequently represented two national banks in the syndication of the sale-leaseback tax equity investment.

Prijzen en erkenning

  • Received, Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch recognition for Banking and Finance Law (2024, 2025)
  • Recipient, Distinguished Studies in Legal Practice

Affiliaties

  • Member of the Women’s Energy Network
  • Member of the University of Texas Renewable Energy Law Conference Planning Committee

Presentaties en publicaties

  • Co-author, “Tariff Tempest: Renewables’ Route Through the Current Tariff Climate,” POWER Magazine (June 2025).
  • Author, “Flirting with the Law: An Analysis of the Ellerth/Faragher Circuit Split and a Prediction of the Seventh Circuit’s Stance,” Marquette Law Review.
4 november 2025 Energie Stroom

Tariefrisicostrategieën voor sponsors en financiers van duurzame energie

Naarmate de tariefregimes zich ontwikkelen - met name onder Sections 201 en 301 van de Trade Act - moeten projectsponsors en financierende partijen...
1 juli 2025 Deals en winsten

Foley vertegenwoordigt First Citizens Bank bij $360M financiering voor Dimension Energy

Foley & Lardner LLP vertegenwoordigde First Citizens Bank als leidende schuldsyndicator bij de recente bouw- en termijnfinanciering van $360 miljoen van Dimension Energy (Dimension), de grootste tot nu toe van het bedrijf. De financiering ondersteunt een portefeuille van 112 MWdc met 28 zonne-energieprojecten in New Jersey, Illinois, Delaware, Virginia, Maine en Pennsylvania.
4 juni 2025 In het nieuws

Natalie Neals and Lynn Parins Publish on Tariff Impact for Power and Renewables Industry

Foley & Lardner LLP partners Natalie Neals and Lynn Parins authored the POWER article, "Tariff Tempest: Renewables’ Route Through the Current Tariff Climate," providing a detailed analysis of the evolving global tariff landscape and its potential impact on renewable energy projects.
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February 13, 2025 Blogs

Foley Kicks Off 2025 at Infocast Projects & Money: Industry Insights and Policy Predictions

A large number of key players in the renewable energy industry kicked off their 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana for the Annual Infocast Projects & Money conference.
26 maart 2024 Deals en winsten

Foley Advises Silicon Valley Bank on Renewable Energy Investment

Foley & Lardner LLP served as legal advisor to Silicon Valley Bank in its capacity as Administrative Agent, Collateral Agent, Sole Bookrunner, Coordinating Lead Arranger, and lender with respect to the financing for the Eldorado Project.
Zonnepanelen en windturbines in een landelijk landschap vangen hernieuwbare energie op onder een heldere hemel bij zonsondergang, als symbool van innovatie en duurzaamheid die gewaardeerd worden door elk vooruitdenkend advocatenkantoor.
February 5, 2024 Energy Current

Infocast Projecten & Geld - 2024 Conferentie over de financiering van energieprojecten

Een groot aantal belangrijke spelers in de duurzame energie-industrie trapten hun 2024 af in New Orleans, Louisiana voor het jaarlijkse evenement Infocast Projects & Money.