Kate Watlington

Kate’s expertise includes structuring and negotiating financing arrangements, as well as project development contracts, and joint venture agreements. Most recently, she has represented clients on long term LNG sale and purchase agreements, as well as FSRU project documents. She also has significant experience with novel development and acquisition arrangements for renewable assets, as well as with negotiating PPAs, EPCs, and supply and offtake agreements.

Prior to joining Mayer Brown, Kate served as a risk manager for the capital markets team of a major US financial institution, where she oversaw all non-market risk matters for the business. This role enhanced her understanding of fundamental risk allocation and the complexities involved in getting deals across the line. 

Kate also has considerable experience in sustainable debt and ESG financing and regulatory matters. She holds a Sustainability and Climate Risk Certification (SCR) from the Global Association of Risk Professionals (GARP).

• A utility in the negotiation of various build-transfer agreements to develop and acquire 
• A lender in financing of a 160MW utility-scale solar project in Georgia.
• IPP in the development financing for a 250MW portfolio of utility scale solar projects located in Texas.
• A lender in the financing of a 24MW portfolio of C&I solar projects.
• An investor company in the development financing and acquisition of various portfolios of distributed generation solar projects in Massachusetts and Illinois.

Advised:

• The export credit agencies and commercial bank lenders in the US$3.55 billion project financing of the 2x1,000 MW coal-fired power project expansion in Central Java.
• ADB, JBIC, NEXI and commercial bank lenders in the US$440 million project financing of the 80 MW Muara Laboh geothermal power project in West Sumatra. This project received 20-year support from the Ministry of Finance, as stipulated under a business viability guarantee letter (BVGL).
• PT Cirebon Energi Prasarana, Marubeni Corporation, Korea Midland Power, PT Indika Energy Tbk, Samtan, and JERA on the US$1.74bn project financing of the 1000 MW ultra-supercritical coal-fired Cirebon Unit 2 power plant expansion project in Indonesia. 
• Bangkok Bank Ltd and the commercial bank lenders in the US$2.97 billion financing of the Hongsa coal-fired min-mouth power project, Thailand's largest project financing syndication to date and the first thermal power project in Laos.
• The Export-Import Bank of Thailand (EXIM Thailand) and the commercial bank lenders in the US$1.04 billion financing for the 410 MW Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project.

(All representative experience prior to joining Mayer Brown)