Cleantech

Supporting the Growth of Cleantech Industries
Global environmental and economic forces are fueling a rapid growth of investments in clean technologies. While the sector is still dominated by uncertainty and change, one thing is for sure-cleantech is no longer just a movement, it's a significant market. 

Manatt's Cleantech Practice actively advances the interests of mature and emerging energy companies, project development enterprises and major public corporations seeking to be tomorrow's energy and resource leaders. With deep knowledge of the energy industry-and more importantly, an understanding of how cleantech technology can be integrated-our team provides strategic counsel to clients across a broad range of industry and technology sectors, including: 

• Solar
• Wind
• Geothermal energy
• Biomass
• Waste-to-energy
• Natural gas
• Clean coal
• Hydroelectric power
• Carbon sequestration
• Biofuels
• Energy efficiency
• Smart grid planning
• Green building initiatives 

We also represent many of the leading venture capital firms, private equity firms and investment banks critical to the development and commercialization of those technologies. 

Successful cleantech ventures often bring together different industry and professional sectors. Our practice works the same way, collaborating in interdisciplinary teams to provide more effective counsel. Our dynamic team is comprised of attorneys with substantive experience in energy, intellectual property, government affairs, environment, real estate and land use, venture capital, finance and litigation. Putting our collective knowledge and experience to work for our clients, we help them capitalize on clean energy opportunities while anticipating and minimizing the risks of such ventures. 

Getting Cleantech Projects off the Ground Through Financing and Credits
Before cleantech projects can pay, they must be paid for. Our Cleantech Practice has a track record of success in identifying capital market investment sources and leveraging government and other incentives that make previously impossible projects feasible. 

Investors are increasingly targeting clean energy projects, and Manatt's substantial relationships and experience with the venture capital, private equity and investment banking community enable us to act as advisor to project developers requiring financing. Our financial and venture capital clients include such companies as: 

• Bedrock Capital
• Draper Fisher Jurvetson
• Chanin Capital Partners
• Communications Ventures
• Gerard Klauer Mattison & Co.
• Sand Hill Capital
• Labrador Ventures  

We understand what our investment banking, private equity and venture capital clients look for and how they operate, and we work with them as business partners. In clean energy development transactions, we help clients evaluate the risks and rewards, decide which concerns are most important, and complete the transaction to the maximum advantage of everyone involved.  

Additionally, our team actively monitors the near-term potential for opportunities from international, federal, state and regional programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, working with clients to achieve emissions reduction goals.  Because of our broad industry experience, we have the regulatory, tax and economic knowledge to help investors maximize their monetization of revenue streams through the use of: 

• Renewable Energy Credits
• Renewable Fuel Standard Credits
• Emission Reduction Credits
• Carbon Equivalent Credits/Carbon Credits
• U.S. Emissions Reduction Credits
• Tax/Non-Tax Incentives 

Helping to Chart the Course of Cleantech Policies
Manatt is recognized as a premier firm in government relations and policy development activities, particularly on issues that are crucial to energy, natural resources, environmental and clean energy policy development. With more than a dozen former federal, state and local government and regulatory officials in our practice, we understand the intricacies of government agencies and the decision-making process. That knowledge helps make us savvy and experienced advocates for clients in legislative and administrative hearings, rulemaking and regulatory proceedings, and legislative lobbying and analysis. Our ability to affect government policies is unparalleled in an industry where incentives and mandates play an important role. By helping the industry shape the rules that govern clean energy technologies, we're better able to help our clients act instead of react. 

Manatt Cleantech in Action - Representative Matters
Manatt's Cleantech group has represented Draper Fisher Jurvetson on numerous deals, including: 

• A Preferred Stock financing for Array Converter, Inc., whose inverterless solar power systems directly refine raw DC electricity produced by solar modules into turbine-quality grid power. 
• A Series B Preferred Stock financing in Greenfuel Technologies, Inc. (GTI). GTI developed a process of growing algae using emissions from fossil fuel, mainly to produce biofuel from algae.
• Its financing of Pentalum, a developer of wind-sensing technology for control and optimization of wind turbines and wind farms, to fund their issuance of Series A Preferred Stock. 
• A Series B financing in Kaiima Bio-Agritech, a next-generation seed and breeding technology company. 
• The closing of the $350 million Fund X, formed to invest in sectors such as cleantech, IT, mobile and life sciences.