Baker & McKenzie advised Ise Total Nanao Power Plant G.K. of ISE FOODS group (ISE Group), the business operator of the project, on the construction of a 27-megawatt-peak (MWp) photovoltaic mega solar power plant in Nanao City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. This is one of the ongoing solar power projects undertaken by ISE Group. The project is sponsored by ISE Group, the largest egg producer in Japan, jointly with Total, a major French oil company, and SunPower, a US-based leading solar technology provider in which Total acquired a majority stake in 2011. Financing has been arranged by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) as the lead arranger for the project. The facility is constructed on 25 hectares land owned by ISE Group and it features SunPower's high-efficiency solar panels. The plant is scheduled to start operation in the first quarter of 2017 and is estimated to generate approximately 29 gigawatts of electricity per year in the first 20 years.

The Firm's team who advised on this project was led by Naoaki Eguchi, Head of the Tokyo office's Banking and Finance Practice Group, with the strong support of associates Pierre Chiasson, Kosuke Suzuki, Chiaki Kawai, Takehito Sekiguchi, Hiroyuki Kitamura, Mariko Terada, Tatsuya Niwa of the Tokyo office, and Douglas Young of the San Francisco office.

Commenting on the deal, Eguchi said, "We are honored to have provided our client with legal advice on a meaningful mega solar power business. As more foreign companies are expected to enter the Japanese renewable energy market, Baker & McKenzie is dedicated to continue facilitating such energy deals between foreign companies, Japanese companies and banks."