Thompson & Knight Attorneys Support Purchase of Renewable Energy

The global law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP has assisted Direct Energy, North America’s largest non-utility retail energy provider, with its securing of a long-term source of clean energy and providing more renewable energy to Texas. Direct Energy recently signed a seven-year power purchase agreement with AES Corporation’s Buffalo Gap Wind Farm 3 and has now completed financing transactions related to the project. The Buffalo Gap Wind Farm 3 project is the fourth wind power project for which Thompson & Knight has assisted Direct Energy. The four wind farms have an aggregate capacity of 813 MW and are estimated to provide sufficient power to provide electricity to 200,000 homes and offset more than two million tons of CO2 per year.

The transaction was completed by Douglas F. Pedigo, Bill McDonald, John S. Orton, and Nichole Dotson-Olajuwon, all from the Firm’s Houston office, and Mayuca V. Salazar, from the Firm’s Monterrey office. Pedigo and McDonald are Partners in the Firm's Corporate and Securities Practice Group and focus their practices on counseling clients in energy and transactional matters, electric power generation, gas and power marketing, and trading. Orton is a Partner in the Firm’s Real Estate and Banking Practice Group and focuses his practice on counseling clients in a wide variety of lending situations. Olajuwon and Salazar are Associates in the Firm’s Corporate and Securities Practice Group.

This agreement represents Direct Energy’s fifth wind power contract in Texas, making the company one of the largest renewable energy suppliers in the state, and also strengthens Direct Energy’s overall asset and long-term supply base. Direct Energy sources its energy requirements in Texas from a balanced portfolio of its own generation, contracts, and traded market purchases. Direct Energy’s current portfolio includes three advanced gas turbine/combined cycle power plants including Bastrop Energy Center near Austin, Texas; Frontera Energy Center in Mission, Texas and Paris Energy Center in Paris, Texas; in addition to the Buffalo Gap Wind Farm 1 and 2, Mesquite, and Sand Bluff Wind Farm power purchase agreements – all located in West Texas.

About Direct Energy
Direct Energy is part of the Centrica group of companies whose North American operations have grown to more than five million customer relationships. In Texas, the company is the third largest retail energy provider in the state and provides services to homebuilders and homeowners through Direct Energy, CPL Retail Energy, WTU Retail Energy, and its Residential Services Group divisions, including Airtron, Hallmark Air Conditioning and Heating, a-abc Appliance & Air Conditioning, K&N Plumbing, and Jarrell Plumbing. Globally, the Centrica group of companies is a leading provider of energy and other essential services with approximately 32 million customer relationships. For more information, please visit www.directenergy.com.

About Thompson & Knight
Since 1887, Thompson & Knight LLP has consistently made a positive impact on its clients’ successes. With its practice focused on the energy industry, the Firm has extensive resources in litigation, tax, insolvency, and international energy matters. The Firm has approximately 420 attorneys, and has offices and alliances in North America, South America, Europe, and Africa. Thompson & Knight represents companies, government entities, and individuals in local, regional, and national markets around the world.