Orrick Advises Birch Infrastructure on Strategic Merger with Copia Power

Orrick advised Birch Infrastructure on its strategic merger with Copia Power, a renewable energy development platform backed by global investment firm Carlyle, combining Birch’s robust renewable energy platform focused on de-risking renewable energy procurement with Copia’s strong operational and execution capabilities and access to capital. The merger builds on a multi‐year partnership between the two firms with extensive shared experience developing and constructing renewable assets throughout the United States totaling 3.5 GW.

The completion of this merger represents a significant milestone that will support the construction of the first 450 MW solar project in the West and a follow‐on project totaling 500 MW with 1,000 MWh BESS, which are anticipated to reach commercial operation in late 2024 and early 2025, respectively. The projects will require a capital investment of at least $2.2 billion and will advance the companies' decarbonization and sustainability objectives.

The partnership will accelerate the deployment of large-scale renewable energy projects in the U.S. and enable Copia to execute on its 16 GW renewable energy asset pipeline concentrated in the WECC and PJM markets. The team was led by Giji John and Amy Padgett and included Wolf Pohl, Dan Yost, Joe Lawlor and Ali Grace.