Richard Wright
Partner
Areas of Focus
- Tax
- Projects & Energy Transition
- Project Debt & Equity Finance
- Tax Structuring & Equity Financing
- Project Acquisition & Disposition
- Energy Transition
- Energy & Infrastructure
- Infrastructure
- Renewables & Energy Transition
- Hydroelectric
- Conventional Power
- Advises on the tax aspects of tax equity transactions, including sale-leaseback, partnership “flip” transactions and back-leverage loan transactions.
- Extensive tax credit transfer experience in the renewable energy and energy transition space.
- Renders tax advice with respect to the acquisition and sale of interests in general partnerships, corporations and limited liability companies.
- Significant aircraft finance experience and regularly advises U.S. and non-U.S. clients with respect to aircraft lease and finance transactions.
Richard’s practice focuses on the tax aspects of complex, high-dollar transactions in the renewable energy space. He regularly provides advice to investors and developers regarding start of construction matters, prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance, placement in service issues and energy credit, production tax credit and other tax credit qualification issues. Richard counsels investors and developers regarding transfers of tax credits related to solar, wind, energy storage, fuel cell and renewable natural gas projects. He also provides advice on structuring investments in, and arranging for the disposition of, renewable energy assets, natural gas-fired power plants, data centers and other assets.
He has more than two decades of experience advising investors and developers in sale-leaseback transactions involving renewable energy projects and other assets, and he has co-authored a Bloomberg Tax Management Portfolio on the topic, entitled “Equipment Leasing: Tax Principles and Structuring.”
Richard regularly advises clients seeking investments in aircraft or aircraft engines, structured using a lease, loan or hybrid financing arrangement.
- Represented Republic Services Renewable Energy in connection with its investments in ITC-eligible solar energy projects, wind energy projects, battery energy storage projects and solar energy and battery energy storage combination projects, structured using a partnership flip structure, such as a 50 MW (ac) solar energy system that is linked with a 25 MW (ac) battery energy storage system in San Bernardino County, California, a 216 MW (ac) wind energy project in Coconino and Navajo Counties, Arizona, a 30 MW (ac) solar energy system that is linked with a 30 MW (ac) battery energy storage system in Oahu, Hawaii, a 120 MW (ac) solar energy system that is linked with a 480 MWh battery energy storage system in Maricopa County, Arizona and a 100 MW (ac) solar energy system in Pinal County, Arizona.
- Represent Jane Street Capital in connection with its acquisition of energy tax credits from project developers and tax equity partnerships, including the acquisition of $135,000,000 in energy tax credits related to qualified fuel cell property owned by a partnership whose members are a tax equity investor and a subsidiary of Generate Capital, $102,295,473.67 in energy tax credits related to a solar energy project owned by a partnership whose members are a tax equity investor and a subsidiary of SB Energy Global and $50,000,000 in energy tax credits related to a battery energy storage project owned by a partnership whose members are a tax equity investor and a subsidiary of Clearway Energy.
- Represent BP Alternative Energy North America in connection with its sale of energy tax credits, including energy tax credits related to a 107 MW (ac) solar energy system that is in Fulton County, Ohio.
- Represented First Horizon Bank, Pacific Western Bank and Regions Bank in connection with their acquisition of undivided interests in two solar projects in Georgia valued at $375 million and structured using a sale-leaseback transaction.
- Represented Regions Bank in connection with a $300 million single investor master tax lease financing for a portfolio of solar projects in the United States.
EducationLL.M., New York University School of Law, 2003
J.D., Brooklyn Law School, 1998
B.A., Boston College, summa cum laude, 1995
LL.M., New York University School of Law, 2003
J.D., Brooklyn Law School, 1998
B.A., Boston College, summa cum laude, 1995
Bar AdmissionsNew York
New York
- Lawdragon, 500 Leading Global Tax Lawyers, 2025.
- The Legal 500 US, US Taxes: Non-Contentious and Recommended Lawyer, 2024.
