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Shellka Arora-Cox

Partner
New York

Partner, New York

T: +1.212.858.1033
T: +1.212.858.1033

Areas of Focus

Shellka Arora-Cox focuses her practice on project finance, corporate finance, Islamic finance, sustainable finance, acquisitions, tax equity, construction and restructuring.

Shellka’s clients include private equity investors, sponsors, developers, lenders, borrowers, development finance institutions and construction contractors, involving both U.S. and global energy and infrastructure projects. She advises clients on deal structures and project risks, including political and expropriation risks. She has substantial experience with syndicated commercial bank debt, Islamic financing, acquisitions, export credit agencies, development finance institutions and other government-guaranteed financing. She has represented a wide variety of commercial and public institutions, sponsors, utilities, financial institutions, energy and clean technology companies, private equity funds, investment banks and multilateral agencies in transactions in the United States, Latin America and South Asia.

Representative Experience

  • Represented a large private equity group on the potential acquisition of a development-stage wind project with safe harbor equipment and a portfolio of wind projects in the United States.
  • Represented the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corp. (OPIC) on financings for four wind farms in province of Sindh, Pakistan. 
  • Represented Tenaska Energy Inc. on a debt financing for an approximately 242MW wind project in the United States.

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  • Represented Tenaska Energy Inc. on a debt financing for an approximately 250MW wind project in the United States, which would utilize safe harbor turbines.
  • Represented a private equity group on the potential acquisition of a development stage wind project with safe harbor equipment.
  • Represented a private equity group on the potential acquisition of a portfolio of wind projects in the United States.
  • Represented OPIC on financings to Banco Lafise Bancentro S.A. and Lafise Group Panama Inc.
  • Represented a solar developer on various financings for early stage projects, safe harbor equipment and development costs.
  • Represented OPIC on the financing for oil and gas projects in Argentina.
  • Represented lenders in connection with the project financing for four transmission lines in Chile for Transelec S.A.
  • Represented the Prudential Insurance Company and EKF Danmarks Eksportkredit on a financing for the construction, operation and maintenance of the 3.4MW anaerobic digestion and energy generating facility located in Trenton, New Jersey.
  • Represented Pampa Energía S.A. on a financing from Inter-American Investment Corporation (IIC) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the construction, operation and maintenance of the 98.5MW El Corti wind farm and associated transmission facilities to be located near Bahia Blanca, Argentina.
  • Represented the International Finance Corp. and the Central American Mezzanine Investment Fund on a complex restructuring of their existing investments in Mexico, Colombia and Chile.
  • Represented OPIC on its political risk insurance for the financing, development and construction of a nuclear fuel storage facility in Ukraine.
  • Represented OPIC and Citibank on a joint financing for K-Electric Limited to support K-Electric Limited’s transmission and distribution enhancement and rehabilitation project in Pakistan.
  • Represented OPIC on the financing for the expansion of Tikona’s small-cell and 4G LTE fixed wireless broadband networks in India.
  • Represented the lenders in a U.S.$208 million holding company debt financing for Caithness Brookhaven LLC, which owns 99 percent of the equity interests in Caithness Long Island LLC. Caithness Long Island LLC owns a 346 MW dual-fuel combined cycle electric generating facility that commenced operation on August 1, 2009. It was the first major baseload power plant to be built on Long Island in over thirty years. The project sells power to the Long Island Power Authority under a 20-year power purchase agreement.
  • Represented North American Development Bank and Banco Mercantil del Norte S.A., Institucion de Banca Múltiple and Grupo Financiero Banorte, as lenders, in connection with a cross-border financing to Compañia Eólica de Tamaulipas S.A. de C.V. for a 54 MW wind project in Tamaulipas, Mexico. The project is the first-ever bank-funded wind project in the north of Mexico.
  • Represented Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., North American Development Bank, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd and Siemens Financial Services Inc. as senior lenders to the 200 MW Los Vientos IA wind farm project, utilizing 87 Siemens 2.3 MW turbines, being developed in Texas by affiliates of Duke Energy.
  • Represented Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd., North American Development Bank and The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd as senior lenders to the 202 MW Los Vientos IB wind farm project, utilizing 84 Mitsubishi Heavy Industry 2.4MW turbines, being developed in Texas by affiliates of Duke Energy.
  • Represented Sithe Global Power in connection with the development of a 165 MW hydroelectric project in Guyana, together with a 300-kilometer transmission line.
  • Represented Siemens Financial Services Inc., Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, and Union Bank N.A. in connection with term conversion of construction loans for Pattern Energy's 151.8 MW Spring Valley wind project, located near Ely, Nevada, the first major wind project in Nevada.
  • Represented Samsung C&T in connection with its joint venture with Lincoln Renewable Energy LLC for development of solar projects in the United States.
  • Represented an infrastructure investment fund in connection with long-term concession of a public infrastructure asset worth over U.S.$1 billion.
  • Represented a consortium led by an infrastructure investment fund in connection with its forward starting naked interest rate swaps.
  • Represented a private equity fund on its leveraged acquisition of a portfolio of four power generation facilities and one power transmission line in the United States.
  • Represented a development bank in connection with its financing guaranteed by a European export credit agency for project entailing development and construction of a containerboard mill in the United States.
  • Represented U.S. Ex-Im Bank in connection with its financing of a 366 MW combined cycle gas-fired power plant in India.

Professional Highlights

  • Associate Member, Institute of Company Secretaries of India.
  • Recognized by Lawyers Alliance of New York as volunteer of the month for outstanding contribution in developing collaborative organization and governance framework for six community-based organizations in Sunset Park, Brooklyn.
  • Before beginning her practice in the United States, Shellka worked as legal associate at the World Bank, New Delhi, India, where she advised on the World Bank's lending, portfolio management and technical assistance program in India, and worked on projects in sectors including finance, energy, infrastructure, health and education.

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  • Publications
    • "Energy Storage On The Cusp: FERC Order No. 755," Project Finance NewsWire, December 2013
    • "Energy Storage Update," Project Finance NewsWire, August 2013
    • "Energy Storage Update; The nascent electricity storage industry is starting to make progress both in California and at the federal level," Project Finance NewsWire, August 2013
    • "能源存储：路在何方," January 11, 2013
    • "Energy Storage: The Road Ahead (Special Update)," November 19, 2012
    • "Energy Storage Market set to grow to $25 billion by 2021," Project Finance NewsWire, November 2012
  • Speaking engagements
    • "The Resi Solar + Storage Market," Moderator, Infocast's Storage Week Plus, Oakland, San Francisco, July 23-25, 2019
    • "Combining Solar + Storage for Residential Installations," Moderator, Infocast's 10th Annual Storage Week, Oakland, California, February 22-24, 2017
    • "Energy Storage Finance & Investment," Moderator, Infocast’s 7th Annual Storage Week, Santa Clara, February 11-13, 2014
    • "New York Energy Storage Initiative Update," (Webinar Panel Discussion), AGRION’s New York Energy Storage Initiative, November 19, 2013
    • Presenter, "Project Finance 101 for Storage Technology Developers & Vendors," Infocast’s 6th Annual Storage Week, Austin, TX, April 2-4, 2013
  • Associations
    • Lecturer in Law: Guest lecturer at Columbia Law School for International Financial Transactions – Project Finance module, 2012-2015
  • Blog Posts

Education

  • LL.M., Columbia Law School, 2008
    Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar

    LL.B., Lawcentre II, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, 2000
    Top 3% of class

    C.S., The Institute of Company Secretaries of India, 1998

    B.Comm. (Hons.), Shri Ram College of Commerce, University of Delhi, 1994
    with honors

Admissions

  • New York

    India

Languages

  • Hindi

    Urdu

Shellka's Insights

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