Craig Kline is a partner in the New York office of Troutman Sanders and a practice leader of the Project Development and Finance practice group. He also co-chairs the firm's interdisciplinary Renewable Energy Team. His practice is focused on domestic and cross-border project finance transactions, renewable energy transactions, structured finance and leveraged leasing. Mr. Kline has represented a wide variety of commercial and public institutions, including developers, utilities, lenders, issuers, lessors, lessees, credit support providers and trustees. He also has experience with the securitization of financial assets, synthetic leasing, secured lending and bankruptcy.
Mr. Kline has advised clients on transactions involving a wide variety of assets and jurisdictions. He has advised in matters involving power and energy generation and distribution facilities (including renewable energy: solar, wind and biomass facilities), aircraft, rolling stock and other rail equipment, vessels and other maritime assets, telecommunications equipment, real estate, waste facilities and manufacturing plants. In addition to U.S. domestic transactions, he has closed many cross-border transactions in connection with assets or counterparties located in, among other jurisdictions, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, the Netherlands, Portugal, South Korea and the United Kingdom.
Representative Renewable Energy Experience
Biomass:
Counsel to developer in connection with negotiation of REC sales agreements and effect on compliance with RGGI.
Counsel to tax equity investor in connection with a biomass project finance transaction.
Counsel to developer in connection with development of cellulosic ethanol plant.
Solar Power:
Counsel to developers and financiers in over 150 solar project transactions in the United States, including: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon and Pennsylvania. Structure transactions to optimize state and federal tax benefits, subsidies and production based incentives. Creation and negotiation of solar power purchase agreements, REC sales agreements and other project documentation.
Counsel to a venture fund, as lender, in connection with a secured term loan facility to a solar power installation company in New York.
Counsel to a major concentrating solar thermal power manufacturer and developer in structuring and delivering solar projects throughout the United States.
Wind Power:
Counsel to tax equity investor in a wind power project finance transaction in West Virginia.
Other Representative Experience
Aircraft: Counsel to purchasers in the acquisition of aircraft (including partnership interests) and U.S. equity investors in numerous leases of corporate and commercial aircraft.
Cross-Border Passenger/Freight Rolling Stock: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in numerous cross-border financings of passenger and freight trains operated by railways located in Austria, Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and Sweden.
Derivatives: Counsel to multiple swap providers in interest rate swap transactions.
Electricity Distribution Systems: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in the leveraged lease financing of electric distribution systems to several electric cooperatives located in Oklahoma.
Electrical Generation Facility: Counsel to the credit support provider in a sale and leaseback of electrical generation facilities in the United States.
Fare Collection Equipment: Counsel to the U.S. equity investor in a sale and leaseback transaction involving the automated fare collection equipment and computer-based train control equipment for a U.S. municipal transit corporation.
FCC Lease Spectrum Securitization: Counsel to the lessee and user of FCC spectrum leases.
Freight Railcars: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in the purchase of freight railcars operated by U.S. common carriers.
Highway Toll Road Equipment: Counsel to the U.S. equity investor in a sale-leaseback of highway toll road information and fare collection systems located in South Korea.
Municipal Office and School Buildings: Counsel to the equity investor, a U.S. insurance company, in a sale-leaseback of municipal office buildings located in Germany.
Passenger Rail Equipment: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors and credit support providers in numerous lease transactions involving passenger rolling stock operated by domestic municipal transit agencies located in Massachusetts, California, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas, Washington and the District of Columbia.
Petroleum Tanks: Counsel to the lessee in the lease financing of petroleum storage tanks.
Polyethyleneterephthalate (PET) Plant Synthetic Lease: Counsel to a major chemical company and its affiliate, as guarantor and lessee, respectively, in connection with an approximately $130 million synthetic lease financing of a PET facility in Germany, which included commercial loans and the issuance of commercial paper.
Production Facility Synthetic Lease: Counsel to a major chemical company and its affiliate, as guarantor and lessee, respectively, in connection with the refinancing of a $79 million synthetic lease financing of an ethylene production facility in the Netherlands.
Rail Maintenance Facilities: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in a financing involving passenger train maintenance facilities in Texas operated by a U.S. municipal transit agency.
Real Property Lease Securitization: Counsel to the insurer of notes secured by a pool of real property leases.
Safe Harbor Lease (TBT) Equipment: Counsel to the equity investors in several sale-leasebacks of rolling stock operated by municipal transit agencies, subject to existing TBT (safe harbor lease) financings.
Tenant Improvements: Counsel to the lender in a sale-leaseback of tenant improvements to commercial real estate.
Train Control Equipment: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in a financing involving passenger rolling stock with on-board control equipment.
Train Ticketing and Passenger Information System: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in a cross-border sale and leaseback transaction on ticketing and passenger information systems related to high-speed passenger trains for the French national railway.
Transit Buses: Counsel to U.S. equity investors in numerous leveraged lease transactions involving commuter buses operated by domestic municipal transit agencies.
Vessels: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in purchases of foreign flagged vessels subject to leveraged leases. Represented the U.S. equity investors in purchases of portfolios of Jones Act barges subject to leveraged leases.
Wastewater Collector Systems: Counsel to the U.S. equity investors in a series of financing transactions involving wastewater collection systems operated by various municipalities in Belgium.
Presentations and Speaking Engagements
Mr. Kline is a frequent speaker and author on renewable energy, project development and finance. Recent publications include “Financing Alternative Energy in 2010 and Beyond: New Incentives for New Priorities,” Journal of Equipment Lease Financing (Volume 28 – Number 2, Spring 2010); “Renewable Portfolio Standards, Regulatory Requirements and Turbine Opportunities,” Turbomachinery International (July/August 2008); “Mitigating Change-in-law Risk Associated with RECs,”; North American Clean Energy (July/August 2009, Volume 3, Number 4). Recent external speaking and conference-chairing engagements include:
Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit, March 17-19, 2010, San Diego, CA, The State of the Solar Industry
3rd Concentrated Solar Power Summit U.S., June 30-July 1, 2009, San Francisco, CA, Getting Finance In An Economic Downturn
Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, Legal Forum–Adding Value During Challenging Times: Adapting to the New Environment, April 2009, Orlando, FL; The Green New Deal: Renewable Energy Finance Opportunities
Projects & Money 2009, New Orleans, LA, January 2009; Emerging Energy Technologies – Solar Power Outlook
Electric Power Research Institute, Washington, D.C., October 2008; R&D Needs for Waterpower Development: A Workshop – Investment Community Perspectives
U.S. Solar Power and Investment Symposium, New York, NY, October 2008; Credit and Asset Due Diligence
Equipment Leasing and Finance Association 47th Annual Convention, New Orleans, LA, October 2008; Financing Renewable & Alternative Energy Projects
Credit Finance Association of Korea, New York, NY, August 2008, Financing Renewable & Alternative Energy Projects
Green 4 Retail – The First Green Conference, Chicago, IL, June 2008, Renewable Energy Options: Solar Power and the Financial Implications
Equipment Leasing & Finance Association Legal Forum, Chicago, IL, May 2008, Understanding Renewable & Alternative Energy Incentives & Project Finance
Infocast Solar Power Project Finance Workshop, San Diego, CA, April 2008, Project Finance Due Diligence
Infocast Solar Project Finance & Investment Summit, San Diego, CA, April 2008, Project Finance Lenders’ Perspective
National Hydropower Conference, Washington, D.C., April 2008, Moving Business Forward in New Technologies
Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, Webinar, March 2008, The Future of Alternative Energy Equipment Financing
47th Annual ELFA Convention, Orlando, FL, October 2007, Current Legislative Incentives for Renewable Energy Finance
Solar Power Project Development & Finance Tutorial, San Diego, CA, November 2007, State Renewable Portfolio Standards, Rebates and Incentives
9th Annual Structured Finance Institute (“SFI”) Structured Asset Finance and Leasing Conference, Paris, France, October 2005
15th Annual SFI Cross-Border Leasing and Structured Finance Conference, New York City, NY, April 2004
7th Annual SFI European Cross-Border Conference, Paris, France, October 2003
14th Annual SFI Cross-Border Leasing and Structured Finance Conference, New York City, NY, April 2003
8th Annual Euromoney Big Ticket Leasing Convention, London, England, March 2003
6th Annual SFI European Cross-Border Conference, Paris, France, October 2002
13th Annual SFI U.S. Cross-Border Leasing and Structured Finance Conference, New York, NY
Work Experience
Partner, Troutman Sanders LLP, 2007-present
Partner, King & Spalding LLP, 2004-2007
Associate, King & Spalding LLP, 2001-2003
Associate, Watson, Farley & Williams, 1995-2001
