Jim Salerno has more than 26 years of experience in financing energy and infrastructure projects, with emphasis on all stages of development as well as investor and lender exit strategies. Jim represents developers, sponsors, investors, and lenders in structuring and negotiating wind and solar renewables, geothermal, fossil fuel, and nuclear generation projects, including acquisition financing related thereto. He also represents lenders in domestic PPPs and clients in the mining and metals industry. He is also active with developers and lenders in the oil and gas industry, primarily in Latin America and sub-Saharan Africa. Jim's clients range from institutional investors seeking yield and a long-term investment to strategic investors seeking access to natural resources to banks financing the construction of new and retrofit projects. He also represents parties in vendor and supplier financings and subordinated lenders, hedge providers, offtakers, ECA's, and development finance institutions.
Jim's recent engagements include: NRG Yield in a refinancing of a credit facility for Alta Wind, the largest wind farm in the United States; Starbucks as tax equity investor in a solar generating facility; Canacol Energy in its upstream and midstream project financings; and Rakuten, one of the world's largest e-commerce companies, in certain infrastructure investments. Jim has represented NRG and AREVA in obtaining DOE loan guarantees and The China Export-Import Bank in the process-oriented Texas Clean Energy Project.
Jim has been a frequent speaker on DOE issues. He remains active in his hometown civic and community affairs.
Experience
"Jim is very reliable, prompt and he follows through. It just makes life easier for me having him on the transaction."Chambers Global
- Harvard University (J.D. cum laude 1991); Union College (B.S. summa cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa)
- New York
Chambers Global — recommended for banking and finance USA and Latin America-wide (2012-2020)
Chambers Latin America — recommended for banking and finance Latin America-wide (2012-2019)
Chambers USA — recommended for banking and finance Nationwide (2011) and New York (2010)
Legal 500 Latin America — banking and finance international (2012-2015)
Legal 500 US — finance (2008-2009)