Ram Sunkara serves on the Eversheds Sutherland (US) Executive Committee and focuses his practice on negotiating and finalizing acquisition and disposition agreements, structuring transactions and auction processes, and managing all aspects of a deal. He leads the Natural Gas Liquids (NGLs) and Petrochemical teams and the Distributed Generation and Renewable Corporate Procurement team. Ram also co-leads the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) team.
Ram represents a broad spectrum of energy sector clients in commercial and transactional matters, including:
•Domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions
•Energy trading arrangements
•Joint ventures
•Full-scale project development (greenfield and brownfield projects)
•Renewable energy projects
•Project and structured financings
•Develop-build-own-operate-maintain (DBOOM) and design-build-transfer (DBT) arrangements
He regularly represents Fortune 100 and 500 companies and smaller entities in the energy space including:
•Private equity and hedge funds
•Electric and gas utilities
•Independent power producers
•Project developers
•Cooperatives
•Commodity trading firms
•Diversified public companies
•Chemical and petrochemical producers
•Industrials
•Other energy industry participants
Ram’s experience spans the entire energy spectrum. He represents clients in both conventional and unconventional upstream oil and gas matters. He has also worked on midstream projects and deals involving natural gas (including LNG and compressed natural gas (CNG)), crude oil and natural gas liquids pipelines and gathering systems, processing facilities, and gas and liquids storage assets. His downstream practice includes refining, marketing and distributing refined products and related structured commodity transactions.
Ram has extensive experience with the full array of power generation, both traditional baseload generation and renewables/energy storage technologies, including:
•Merger and Acquisition Transactions
•Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs)
•Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) Contracts
•Operation and Maintenance (O&M) and Balance of Plant Agreements
•Purchase and Sale Agreements for Steam
•Chilled Water and other Offtake Contracts
•Purchases and sales of environmental attributes (renewable energy certificates (RECs), renewable identification numbers (RINs), etc.)
•Trading agreements involving both physical and financially settled purchases (including secured and unsecured hedges) and sales of electric power and related products
Ram has considerable experience representing gas companies and chemical and petrochemical companies with regard to EPC and project development of NGL fractionation facilities and crackers for the production of ethylene and propylene. He has also advised clients in negotiating and procuring NGL feedstock and NGL and gas storage agreements for export to foreign cracker facilities.
Recent representative matters in which Ram has advised clients include:
•Representing Magnolia LNG in several aspects of developing an LNG export terminal, including negotiating its multi-billion dollar EPC and O&M agreements, and a wide range of other project development and financing-related matters.
•Represented Vitol Inc. in connection with the U.S. Virgin Islands Water and Power Authority’s LPG receiving terminal project which included navigating the utility’s RFP process; preparing, negotiating and finalizing a master DBOOM agreement for the development of the LPG receiving terminals and related infrastructure, LPG pipelines and vaporizer units, and the long-term supply of LPG and on-site inventory storage facilities. In addition, Ram led the negotiations with GE International on behalf of a Vitol subsidiary regarding the fuel switching and repowering of several combustion turbines owned by the utility on both St. Croix and St. Thomas.
•Represented Energy Power Partners in the purchase of the renewable energy unit of Talen Energy Corp., which included a portfolio of 25 renewable energy projects (solar, landfill gas, wind and cogeneration plants) in four states within PJM.
•Represented The Carlyle Group in the acquisition of 75.05% of the outstanding interests of Southeast PowerGen, LLC, a 2,815-megawatt portfolio of six natural -gas-fired power plants in Georgia, from a consortium of ArcLight Capital Partners, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, and GE Energy Financial Services.
As the leader of Eversheds Sutherland (US)'s nationally recognized Distributed Generation practice, Ram has become a “go to” lawyer for some of the largest Fortune companies in the world seeking to implement their corporate sustainability and energy efficiency initiatives. For example, he represented:
•Microsoft in its first wind energy secured hedge transaction opposite RES Americas for a utility-scale wind project in ERCOT
•Target Inc. in structuring and implementing its nationwide photovoltaic (PV) solar rooftop initiative opposite Greenskies Renewable Energy, LLC
•Solvay USA Inc. in negotiating and implementing a DBOOM for a utility scale, on-site CHP facility with DTE Energy to service its flagship U.S. chemical polymer facility in Ohio
•Dozens of other Fortune and technology companies in similar transactions
Ram has been recognized as a leading lawyer by multiple independent evaluators, including Chambers in 2014 (Energy), and was named in The Legal 500 United States in 2015 in the area of Energy - Renewable/Alternative.
Client Tools
•Carbon Capture and Sequestration Tax Credit
Awards and Rankings
Recognized as a stand-out lawyer by Acritas Stars: Independently Rated Lawyers (2020)
Recognized by The Legal 500 United States in the area of energy: renewable/alternative (2015, 2017-2019) energy transactions: conventional power (2016-2019); and energy: oil and gas (2016-2019)
Selected for inclusion in Georgia Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” (2012-2014, 2018)
Recognized by Chambers USA: Guide to Leading Business Lawyers in the area of energy (2014, 2016-2017)
Recognized by Law360 as a “Rising Star” in the area of energy (2016)
Recognized by the National Law Journal as an “Energy and Environmental Trailblazer” (2016)
Named to the “Rainmakers” list by Minority Corporate Counsel Association’s Diversity & the Bar (2015)
Blogs/Social Media
“We identified a real need in the energy coop sector for a central source of information, so we developed CoopLawBlog.com, which provides daily information that impacts the industry. Cooperative stakeholders are now just one click away from cutting-edge news that affects their businesses.”
Experience
“The lawyers in Eversheds Sutherland (US)'s Energy and Commodities Practice pride themselves on not only being excellent lawyers, but also truly understanding the energy industry and the market drivers behind commercial decisions. All of our attorneys have experience with a wide range of energy transactional and regulatory matters, so the entire team is ‘up the curve’ and ready to assist clients in a timely and efficient manner - no matter the size or complexity of the transaction.”
Experience
Represented a joint venture of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Core Solar in solar power purchase agreement with Occidental Petroleum
Represented Colonial Pipeline Company in the acquisition of marine terminal operations and assets at the Port of Port Arthur, Texas.
Represents a leading global financial institution in drafting and negotiating energy trading agreements for a five-year strip of 100 MW of capacity products in MISO Zone Four.
Represented Shell Oil Company in the $217 million acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation, a Nashville-based solar power producer, from existing shareholder Partners Group.
Served as local counsel to an independent power producer in its acquisition of a portfolio of approximately 2,800 MW of generating assets in Georgia.
Advised an Australian-based LNG developer on the acquisition of a development-stage LNG export project in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Provides pro bono contractual advice to a Georgia-based charity focused on providing memorable trips for chronically and terminally ill children.
Represented Ball Corporation in the negotiation of a renewable energy power purchase agreement for a 351.6-MW wind project in Oklahoma.
Represented Ball Corporation in the negotiation of a renewable energy power purchase agreement for a 224-MW solar project in Texas.
Represented Target Corporation in the negotiation of a renewable energy power purchase agreement with ENGIE’s Sand Fork Solar Project, a 200-MW energy project in Texas.
Represented Target Corporation in the negotiation with Leeward Renewable Energy of a renewable energy power purchase agreement for a 79.4MW wind energy project in Illinois.
News
In the News
Renewable supply chains holding up against coronavirus impacts for now (April 20, 2020)
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Eversheds Sutherland Partner Ram Sunkara is quoted in this article by S&P Global Market Intelligence on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the renewables sector. Clearly, disruptions in global ...
Full impacts of COVID-19 shutdown on utilities, power markets still to come (April 17, 2020)
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Eversheds Sutherland Partner Ram Sunkara is quoted in this article by S&P Global Market Intelligence discussing the effects of COVID-19 on the energy markets, specifically distributed generation. ...
Falling interest rates benefiting utility stocks, power financings (September 6, 2019)
S&P Global Market Intelligence
Eversheds Sutherland Partner Ram Sunkara is quoted in this S&P Global Market Intelligence article on the July 31st interest rate cut and its effect on the energy industry's power financings and ...
Eversheds Sutherland Assists Shell on $217M Solar Purchase (January 24, 2018)
The Texas Lawbook
Eversheds Sutherland is mentioned in this Texas Lawbook article for representing Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation, a leading US owner, developer and ...
Shell to Acquire Nearly Half of Nashville-based Solar Company (January 21, 2018)
Houston Business Journal
In this article published by the Houston Business Journal, Eversheds Sutherland is mentioned for representing Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation. The deal is ...
Don't Miss It: Hot Deals and Firms We're Following This Week (January 19, 2018)
Law360
Eversheds Sutherland is mentioned in this Law360 article for representing Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation, a leading US owner, developer and operator of ...
Oil Behemoth Shell will Acquire 43% Interest in Solar Developer Silicon Ranch (January 16, 2018)
Solar Power World
In this article published by Solar Power World, Eversheds Sutherland is mentioned for representing Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation. The purchase price ...
Shell Gets into US Solar Industry with Latest Acquisition (January 16, 2018)
Solar Builder
Eversheds Sutherland is mentioned in this Solar Builder article for representing Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation, a leading US owner, developer and ...
Shell to Acquire Interest in US Solar Developer Silicon Ranch (January 15, 2018)
Solar Industry
Eversheds Sutherland is mentioned in this Solar Industry article for representing Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation. “We were delighted to work with Shell ...
Eversheds Sutherland Represents Tokyo Gas America in First Investment in US New-Build Power Generation Facility (April 23, 2017)
Houston CityBizList
Eversheds Sutherland (US) is featured in this Houston CityBizList article for its representation of Tokyo Gas America Ltd. in its acquisition of a 33.33% stake in the 488-MW Birdsboro combined cycle ...
Press Releases
Acritas Stars Recognizes 26 Eversheds Sutherland Attorneys for Outstanding Client Service (April 2, 2020)
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that 26 attorneys have been recognized as stand-out attorneys in the 2020 Acritas Stars: Independently Rated Lawyers report. The annual report, based on ...
Eversheds Sutherland Represents a Joint Venture of Macquarie’s Green Investment Group and Core Solar in Solar Power Purchase Agreement with Occidental Petroleum (November 7, 2019)
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that it advised a joint venture of Macquarie Capital’s Green Investment Group and Core Solar LLC in the negotiation of a power purchase agreement (PPA) for ...
19 Eversheds Sutherland Practice Areas, 87 Attorneys Named Among Nation’s Best in 2019 Legal 500 United States (June 10, 2019)
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that 19 practice areas and 87 attorneys have been recognized in the 2019 edition of The Legal 500 United States, a comprehensive survey of legal service ...
Eversheds Sutherland Advises Ball Corporation on Agreements for 100% Renewable Energy in North America by 2021 (April 25, 2019)
Eversheds Sutherland is pleased to announce that it advised Ball Corporation with two virtual power purchase agreements (VPPAs) - one wind and one solar - for a total of 388 megawatts (MW) of new ...
18 Eversheds Sutherland Practice Areas, 68 Attorneys Named Among Nation’s Best in 2018 Legal 500 United States (May 30, 2018)
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is pleased to announce that 18 practice areas and 68 attorneys have been recognized in the 2018 edition of The Legal 500 United States, a comprehensive survey of legal ...
Eversheds Sutherland Advises Colonial Pipeline on Purchase of Northstar Port Arthur (May 3, 2018)
HOUSTON-Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP represented Colonial Pipeline Company (Colonial) in negotiating an agreement to acquire Northstar Port Arthur LLC. The agreement gives Colonial marine terminal ...
30 Eversheds Sutherland (US) Attorneys Named 2018 Georgia Super Lawyers and Rising Stars (February 23, 2018)
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is pleased to announce that 25 of its attorneys based in Georgia have been selected as top attorneys in the state by Super Lawyers . Additionally, five attorneys have ...
Eversheds Sutherland Represents Shell in Acquiring Minority Interest of US Solar Developer (January 18, 2018)
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is pleased to announce it has represented Shell in the acquisition of a minority interest in Silicon Ranch Corporation, a leading US owner, developer and operator of ...
Eversheds Sutherland (US) Elects Two New Executive Committee Members; Partner Cynthia Krus Elected to Leadership Position (June 5, 2017)
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is pleased to announce the election of two new members to the firm’s Executive Committee: Partners Ling Ling and Rocco E. Testani. Additionally, Partner Cynthia M. Krus, ...
19 Eversheds Sutherland (US) Practice Areas, 58 Attorneys Named Among Nation’s Best in 2017 Legal 500 United States (May 31, 2017)
Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP is pleased to announce that 19 practice areas and 58 attorneys have been ranked in the 2017 edition of The Legal 500 United States. Legal 500 is a comprehensive survey ...
Presentations
“The primary driver behind the revitalization of CHP in the United States is the quest for increased reliability to meet end-users’ electric and thermal load requirements on a continuous basis.”
Presentations
Live video Q&A on M&A: Buyers' and Sellers' Perspectives in the Current Market. (March 27, 2020)
Market uncertainty, volatility, and interest rates near zero have made buyers and sellers rethink their ongoing and future M&A deals. You will hear the view of experienced M&A practitioners from ...
Podcast: Q&A on the impact of coronavirus on global M&A in 2020 (March 17, 2020)
Listen to a replay of Eversheds Sutherland’s live video Q&A on the implications of coronavirus on global M&A in 2020. Featuring attorneys from the US, UK, Asia, Italy and The Netherlands, the group ...
Preparing for M&A Transactions: Key Issues in Pre-Transaction Planning (May 21, 2015)
Association of Corporate Counsel - Houston Chapter
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP and The ACC Houston Chapter present Preparing for M&A Transactions: Key Issues in Pre-Transaction Planning. Whether you are sell or buy-side, advance preparation of ...
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) 26th Annual Convention (November 6-9, 2014)
Sutherland is a proud Gold Sponsor of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s (NAPABA) 26th Annual Convention, November 6-9, 2014, in Scottsdale, Arizona. The NAPABA ...
AWEA WINDPOWER 2012 - Conference and Exhibition (June 3, 2012)
AWEA WINDPOWER
Members of Sutherland’s Energy and Environmental Practice Group are participating in this year’s AWEA WINDPOWER Conference, June 3-6, 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. It provides an opportunity for ...
Considerations in Renewable Energy (October 25, 2011)
Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues
Sutherland attorneys Thomas H. Warren, Dorothy Black Franzoni and Ram C. Sunkara are speaking at the Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues. Throughout this series Tom, Dorothy ...
Outbound Transfers of Intangibles (June 6, 2011)
Young IFA Network Seminar
Electric Cooperative Mergers & Combinations (May 24, 2011)
Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues
Sutherland attorneys Thomas H. Warren, Dorothy Black Franzoni and Ram C. Sunkara are speaking at the Sutherland Webinar Series: Electric Cooperative M&A Issues. Throughout this series Tom, Dorothy ...
Acquisitions of Landfill Gas to Energy (LFGTE) Projects: Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Keys to Negotiation (March 23, 2011)
SWANA 34th Annual Landfill Gas Symposium
Acquisitions of LFGTE Projects: Avoiding Common Pitfalls and Keys to Negotiation (March 23, 2011)
SWANA 34th Annual Landfill Gas Symposium
Publications
“The practice monitors closely industry trends in order to respond to the ever-changing and challenging environment in which energy companies conduct their business. Our lawyers are on the cutting edge of new regulatory, financial and market developments which impact our clients’ interests.”
Legal Alerts
May 2020 Energy Industry Tax updates: Top 5 questions (and answers) (May 26, 2020)
Among the recent flood of Congressional, Treasury and IRS activity, the impact on the energy sector has been the subject of much discussion. In this update, we discuss the current top 5 tax questions ...
Remaining section 45Q guidance submitted to OIRA for review (March 16, 2020)
On March 12, 2020, the IRS submitted to the White House’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that is expected to address many of the remaining ...
The new section 45Q tax credit that companies with carbon oxide emissions should consider (March 2, 2020)
In 2018, Congress revamped a tax credit available under section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) for companies that capture and sequester carbon dioxide (or other carbon oxides). On February ...
Ready, set, sequester? - A guide to the recently released section 45Q guidance (February 25, 2020)
On February 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued two highly anticipated items of guidance under section 45Q, which provides a tax credit for carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) ...
Section 45Q Guidance Released (February 19, 2020)
On February 19, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury released the first two pieces of guidance regarding the I.R.C. section 45Q carbon capture and sequestration credit in ...
Congress unveils energy tax extenders (December 17, 2019)
Congress is moving towards passing The Taxpayer Certainty and Disaster Relief Act of 2019 (Extenders Bill). If enacted, the Extenders Bill would extend certain tax credits for the renewable energy ...
Legal Alert: Expensing 2.0 - Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service thoughtfully consider comments on the proposed 168(k) regulations and provide helpful guidance to regulated public utilities (September 24, 2019)
On September 13, 2019, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) issued final and reproposed regulations under 168(k) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code), the ...
Legal Alert: Green is good - green bonds continue growth (September 11, 2019)
In collaboration with Eversheds Sutherland attorneys Mark Dennison, Jonathan Malim and Michelle T. Davies .
Green bonds are hot. According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, global green bond issuances in 2019 exceeded $150 billion USD through August and forecasts have increased to $250 billion USD for the ...
Texas extends Chapter 312 Property Tax Abatement Program (June 25, 2019)
Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed HB 3143 into law, extending the Texas Chapter 312 property tax abatement program for a period of 10 years. In addition to extending the program, the bill also ...
IRS releases 2019 section 45 production tax credit amounts (June 7, 2019)
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently published a notice providing the inflation-adjustment factors and reference prices to be used in the calculation of renewable energy production tax credits ...
Articles
Eversheds Sutherland presents annual Industrial Foresight Report 2020 (February, 2020)
In collaboration with Eversheds Sutherland Managing Partner Dr. Matthias Heisse .
Our global Diversified Industrials sector team are proud to present our annual Industrial Foresight Report 2020. This report identifies key risks, legislation and commercial developments your company ...
INSIGHT: Promise of US offshore wind boom also brings challenges (August 6, 2019)
Bloomberg Environment
States are the driving force to boosting offshore wind in the US, but challenges remain regarding offshore operator collaboration, managing relationships with supply chains, and navigating state and ...
INSIGHT: ‘Virtual’ Power Purchase Agreements Key for Renewables (June 12, 2019)
Bloomberg Environment
US corporations are steadily increasing purchases of renewable energy, establishing themselves as major drivers for the development of new, high-quality energy projects. The predominant vehicle for ...
Green Tariffs: Attracting New Loads with Sustainable Options (June 14, 2017)
Renewable Energy World
Spurring significant growth in renewable energy, the number of large commercial, industrial and institutional users seeking renewables to power their operations has exploded. Realizing the potential ...
Navigating Corporate Green Energy Procurements - Wholesale PPAs and Green Tariffs (October 28, 2016)
Power Finance & Risk
The last few years have seen a rapidly maturing market for direct energy purchases from renewable projects by increasingly sophisticated corporate buyers. These purchases have been from both new and ...
M&A Outlook for Oil and Gas Deals (October 2, 2015)
Oil & Gas Monitor
The low oil price environment has hampered upstream oil and gas merger and acquisition activity so far in 2015, while the number of deals in the midstream segment has been increasing. According to ...
Microgrid Momentum Raises Legal and Regulatory Uncertainty (December 17, 2014)
Power Engineering
Severe weather, power outages and other grid disruptions have paved the way for the development of microgrid systems. Grid reliability is of paramount importance, and microgrids are a key component ...
Challenges Facing Fuel Switching in Latin America Remain (July 17, 2014)
Law360
In their article for Law360, “Challenges Facing Fuel Switching in Latin America Remain,” Sutherland attorneys Ram Sunkara and Adam Roth discuss the surge in availability of low-cost liquefied ...
Cow Power: Beneficiary of the Natural Gas Boom? (March 6, 2013)
Avoiding the Pitfalls in Combined Heat and Power (January 2, 2013)
