Danielle Garbien
Partner, Corporate & Financial Services
Danielle Garbien is a partner in Willkie’s Corporate & Financial Services Department, focusing on renewable energy and energy finance matters. She is based in the Firm’s New York office.
Danielle has over 20 years of experience advising clients on projects relating to the development, acquisition, financing, disposition, and/or restructuring of renewable energy and infrastructure projects, as well as complex structured commodity and secured lien-based hedging arrangements. Her practice focuses on power, renewable energy, energy transition and battery storage projects, and her clients include developers, private equity investors, alternative investment managers, financial institutions and offtakers.
Danielle often represents clients on the development and negotiation of various agreements involving asset purchases and sales, solar, wind and hydrogen long-term energy purchases, EPC contracts, solar modules, REC purchases, carbon capture and sequestration, energy storage, and structured revenue put and revenue call options for energy and infrastructure projects located in each major power market in the United States, including ERCOT, SPP, PJM, MISO, CAISO, NYISO and ISO-NE.
In addition, Danielle is active in the renewable fuels market and advises clients on structuring environmental products credit agreements (bespoke and standardized forms) relating to low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credits, carbon capture allowances (CCA), renewable identification numbers (RINS) and regional greenhouse gas initiatives (RGGIs).
Danielle has been recognized by The Legal 500 United States in Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power (2021-2023); Energy Transactions: Electric Power, 2023; Project Finance, 2021, 2023. In addition, she was named among the Lawdragon 500 Leading US Energy Lawyers for Energy Finance and Energy Development in 2024.
Danielle is an active committee member of the EEI Contract Drafting Committee, the committee that created the EEI Master Power Purchase and Sale Agreement. In addition, she previously served on the Board of the Women Energy Network Greater NYC chapter and is a former mentor in WEN NYC’s mentor program.
Experience
- The Legal 500 United States: Recognized in Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power, 2021 – 2023; Energy Transactions: Electric Power, 2023; Project Finance, 2021, 2023
- Lawdragon 500 Leading US Energy Lawyers, Energy Finance and Energy Development, 2024
- Best Lawyers, Energy Law, 2025
- Women in Business Law America Awards – Energy, Natural Resources & Mining Lawyer of the Year, 2022
Danielle is an active committee member of the EEI Contract Drafting Committee, the committee that created the EEI Master Power Purchase and Sale Agreement. In addition, she served on the Board of the Women Energy Network Greater NYC chapter and is a former mentor in WEN NYC’s mentor program.
- Speaker, “Accounting for Offtaker Sustainability Goals in RFPs & PPAs,” Solar + Wind Finance & Investment Summit, March 11, 2024.
- Speaker, “Opposites Attract: How Oil and Gas and Renewables + Storage are the Perfect Match” NAPE Summit, February 2023.
- Speaker, “Energy Storage: Current Economic and Regulatory Challenges and Opportunities,” ABA Infrastructure and Regulated Industries Section Webinar, April 28, 2022.
- Moderator, “Looking Beyond the Conventional PPA: Emerging Offtake Strategies, Hedging and Deal Structures,” Infocast Projects and Money Summit, January 27, 2022.
- Panelist, PFR Hedging & Offtake Strategies Roundtable, Power Finance & Risk, December 17, 2021.
- Moderator, “Power Demand: Indications for the Future of the US Power Market,” Proximo Power and Renewables Finance Exchange 2020,” November 17-19, 2020.
- Co-Author, “Opposites Attract: How Oil and Gas and Renewables+Storage are the Perfect Match,” Oil, Gas & Energy Law Intelligence, November 2020.
- Panelist, “Executive Order Restriction on Bulk Power Markets & How it Affects Renewable Energy Markets,” Women’s Energy Network Greater NYC, May 21, 2020.
- Moderator, “Industry Perspective on the Green New Deal,” S&P Global Platts Northeast Power and Gas Markets Conference, New York, May 2019.
PLT Energia
- joint venture with GGS Energy LLC to develop more than 1 GW of renewable energy in Texas
Renewable developer
- represented developer on two projects located in Maine and Massachusetts in connection with offtakes, credit support and ancillary agreement for sale of energy and corresponding RECs to consortium of municipalities
Alternative investment manager
- represented alternative investor manager in connection with developing platform and negotiating environmental products trading agreements to buy and sell renewable energy credits (RECs), renewable identification numbers (RINs), carbon capture allowances (CCAs), emissions credits and low carbon fuel standard (LCFS) credits
- structured secured lien-based financial gas hedge and related collateral package
Pioneer Natural Resources
- development of a 140 MW wind generation facility on surface acreage owned by Pioneer that will provide renewable power to the Texas electric grid and Pioneer’s Permian Basin operations
Algonquin Power
- structured 12 year virtual power purchase agreement for the purchase and sale of renewable energy credits and financial power produced from a wind farm in Blair County, Pennsylvania
- structured long-term hedges for the purchase and sale of capacity, renewable energy credits and financial power in connection with the construction of a 113-megawatt solar plant in Virginia
- structuring an 11 year hedge for the purchase and sale of renewable energy credits and financial power in connection with the construction of a 109-megawatt wind farm in Lee County, Illinois
Investor owned utility
- structured 12 year supply arrangement for the purchase and sale of renewable energy credits and physical power generated from a solar facility and sold to a data mining facility
Private equity sponsor
- structured 12 year supply arrangement for the purchase and sale of renewable energy credits and physical power generated from a solar facility and sold to a crypto mining facility
Exploration & production company
- structured 15 year behind-the-meter power purchase agreement with developer for the purchase and sale of physical power and RECs
Invenergy LLC
- build transfer sale, subject to state regulatory approvals, of the Fairbanks solar project, a 250 MW solar energy generating facility to be developed and constructed by Invenergy in Sullivan County, Indiana, to a subsidiary of Northern Indiana Public Service Company, LLC
Network of not-for-profit, local energy cooperatives
- represented the seller, in a community solar project, in the sale of its membership interest in solar project. Representation included drafting and reviewing multiple ancillary service agreements including EPC amendments, Community Solar Management Agreement and Construction Management Agreement
- community development initiative to install 1.2 MW-DC of community shared solar panels on the roofs of scattered site public housing apartment buildings and complexes
Utility
- structured firm capacity purchase and sale agreements in Southwest Power Pool
Project developer
- drafting a solar plus energy storage Engineering, Procurement and Construction agreement
- ·negotiating a long-term solar energy and energy storage purchase and sale agreement
Sol Systems, LLC
- initiative with Microsoft to develop over 500 MW of solar projects in under-resourced communities in the United States and to create a first-of-its-kind community investment fund
Commodity trading arm of major financial institution
- 12-year hedge transaction in connection with a 160 MW repowering project in Tom Greene County, Texas
- 12-year secured hedge transaction in connection with a 200 MW wind project in Starr County, Texas
- five-year revenue put hedge transaction backstopping $700 million in construction financing for financing 1,200 MW natural gas-fired combined cycle facility in Will County, Illinois
Large energy producer
- structuring and negotiating long-term energy supply and credit facilities with several power and natural gas retailers
Global energy and commodities trading company
- $3.5 billion acquisition of physical energy and commodities business
Commodity trading arm of major financial institution
- acquisition of physical gas inventory and storage facilities business
Retail energy provider
- acquisition of retail power and gas business and related assets
*Danielle advised on some of these matters prior to joining Willkie.
Credentials
Education
American University, Washington College of Law, J.D. Boston College, B.A.