Eric M. Merrill

Counsel

Washington, D.C.
eric.merrill@lw.com
+1.202.637.1067

PRACTICES

  • Banking
  • Project Development & Finance

INDUSTRIES

  • Energy & Infrastructure
  • Technology

BAR QUALIFICATIONS

  • District of Columbia
  • Washington

EDUCATION

  • JD, Yale Law School, 2012
  • BA, Indiana University, 1999
    Phi Beta Kappa

PROFILE

Eric Merrill represents sponsors and developers, as well as investors and lenders, in developing and financing infrastructure, particularly renewable energy and energy transition projects.

Eric advises clients on financing, construction, and contracting for projects in power and infrastructure industries, with an emphasis on renewable power and energy transition assets.

He draws on his industry-specific knowledge and familiarity with a range of financing structures, including debt and tax equity financing, to craft creative client solutions. Eric guides clients through a risk-based approach to address the shift to the low carbon economy, balancing business objectives with on-the-ground realities.

Eric's active pro bono practice includes advising Emergent as part of the LEAF Coalition, a public-private initiative designed to accelerate climate action by providing results-based finance to countries committed to protecting their tropical forests.

Prior to joining Latham, Eric served as a law clerk for Judge Ronald M. Gould of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

Before embarking on his legal career, Eric was a musician and violin maker.

EXPERIENCE

Eric's recent experience includes representing clients in:

  • The sponsor in the tax equity financing of a 460 MWAC combined solar and battery storage facility in Andrews County, Texas
  • The sponsor in the debt and tax equity financing of a portfolio of solar photovoltaic facilities in Lancaster, California
  • The sponsor in the acquisition, development, and financing of a 1.8 GW portfolio of wind and solar projects in Mexico
  • The lenders and note purchasers in the financing of a portfolio of solar photovoltaic facilities in Ontario, Canada
  • The sponsor in the financing and sale of a high-voltage transmission line from Kansas to Indiana
  • The lenders in the construction financing of a 212 MW wind farm in South Dakota
  • The sponsor in a Build Transfer Contract of a 1000 MW wind farm in Seward County, Kansas
  • The sponsor in the debt and tax equity financing of a portfolio of wind projects in Eastern Oregon
  • The sponsor in the bank-bond financing of a 300 MW wind electric-generating facility in Beaver County, Oklahoma
  • The sponsor in the development and financing of a 30 MW offshore wind farm off the coast of Block Island, Rhode Island (named 2015 North American Wind Deal of the Year by Infrastructure Journal)
  • The sponsor in the construction and term financing of a hybrid wind and solar power facility consisting of a 30 MW wind farm and a 55 MW AC solar photovoltaic power plant in Cochise County, Arizona
  • The sponsor in the construction and back-leverage financing of a 138 MW AC solar photovoltaic power plant in Chisago County, Minnesota
  • The sponsor in the bank-bond financing of two 296 MW (total) hydroelectric projects in Pennsylvania
  • The sponsor in the construction and term financing of a 1,025 MW combined-cycle natural-gas-fired electric generation facility in Grundy County, Illinois (named 2020 North America Single Asset Power Deal Of The Year by Proximo Infra)
  • The sponsor in the term loan B refinancing of a 725 MW combined-cycle natural-gas-fired electric generation facility in Charles County, Maryland (named 2021 North America Single Asset Power Deal Of The Year by Proximo Infra)
  • The lender in the construction and term financing of a sustainable aircraft fuel biorefinery in Soperton, Georgia
  • The lender in the term financing of a direct air carbon capture and mineralization facility in Reykjavik, Iceland