Anderson Mori & Tomotsune ("AMT") has extensive experience advising on energy and natural resources projects and transactions at a domestic and an international level, for both overseas and Japanese companies.  AMT provides a full range of legal services in this area, including providing advice on various aspects of the Japanese energy industry and drafting contractual documentation for investments in, and financing for, overseas energy and natural resources projects as well as construction projects.  This practice area is becoming increasingly important by virtue of the increased need to acquire natural resources both in Japan and overseas and the expansion of renewable energy businesses, and AMT is well-positioned to provide top of the range legal services with our large team of expert lawyers in this area.

■ Renewable Energy

- Advice and Contractual Drafting Support in Connection with Facility Construction and Financing for Projects involving Solar Power Generation, Wind Power Generation, Biomass Power Generation and Other Renewable Energy Projects

The renewable energy industry is expected to become increasingly important with significant anticipated growth in the coming years.  AMT has been engaged in many projects relating to solar power generation, wind power generation, biomass power generation, production of fuel from raw sludge and waste or other materials, and geothermal power generation.  We provide legal advice on all aspects of these projects, including planning, development, acquisition and sales, construction, and management thereof.  Moreover, AMT provides wide-ranging services by taking charge of contractual drafting and negotiations for financing such ventures, utilizing sophisticated financial structures such as project finance and project bonds.

- Advice on Renewable Energy Regulations/Laws

A substantial body of law and regulation has been established in Japan in respect of the renewable energy sector, including the enactment of a law instituting a system obliging electricity utility companies to purchase energy generated from renewable sources (known as the "feed-in tariff" (FIT) system).  Through our up-to-date knowledge of, and experience advising on, such new laws, regulations and market practices, we provide the best advice for our clients engaging with renewable energy businesses.

- Support through Research and Analysis of International Renewable Energy Systems

The renewable energy industry is relatively young internationally, and new systems are being introduced constantly in countries overseas as well as in Japan.  AMT provides our clients with the necessary support to conduct research on and analysis of the latest such international systems through our network of relationships with major law firms all over the world.

■ Electricity and Gas Industries

- Advice on Business Restructuring and Other Matters in Relation to the Electricity and Gas Industries

The electricity and gas industries are based on a network format, where the relevant supply services are provided to many users all over Japan, requiring a number of facilities to be located throughout the region and a considerable amount of contract processing.  Also, businesses in these industries are subject to regulations unique to public services, including a strict regulation on fees. Following the liberalization of the electricity and gas industries, these sectors have been attracting new entrants. AMT has considerable experience providing advice on entry into, and business management of, electricity and gas businesses.  Likewise, we have considerable experience in handling the implementation of legal structural separation of electricity grid connection network sections of a business as well as gas pipeline network sections, mergers and acquisitions and the restructuring of electricity and local gas businesses and other relevant entities.  We take advantage of our deep understanding of the characteristics of these businesses to provide our clients with advice on the relevant regulations as well as related contractual drafting and negotiation.

- Contractual Drafting and Negotiation in Connection with Power Generation Projects Conducted by Independent Power Providers (IPP) and Other Relevant Projects

AMT has experience in contractual drafting and negotiation, including for financing by project finance, in connection with projects for the construction and management of electric power plants conducted by parties such as individual power providers ("IPP").  We provide our clients with the most suitable advice based on our comprehensive understanding of the economic potential of individual IPP businesses and of related regulations, gained through our considerable experience in this practice area and knowledge attained through in-house secondments of our lawyers to electricity companies.

■ Oil, Natural Gas and Other Resources

- Advice on Resources Regulations

Oil and natural gas businesses are regulated broadly in respect of many aspects, including acquiring, importing, storing, refining and selling resources in or into Japan.  Such regulations include safety and sales regulations.  Our legal services in this area include providing comprehensive advice on compliance with such regulations and negotiation with regulatory authorities on behalf of our clients.

- Advice on, and Contractual Drafting Support for, Resource Development

Resource development projects involve multiple parties and require significant financing throughout their upstream and downstream processes, which typically include the acquisition of relevant rights, resource mining, the construction and management of refinery plants and pipelines, and transportation by tankers.  Given such complexities, it is essential to obtain legal advice from specialists with an accurate understanding of the underlying complex contractual arrangements and with expert knowledge of resource development, in order to successfully manage such projects.  Our specialist lawyers have developed close working relationships with lawyers from various other jurisdictions, and can work seamlessly with such lawyers to provide legal advice on the contractual documentation required for the acquisition of relevant rights as well as drafting and negotiation services for various types of cross-border construction projects including raising funds through project finance.

- Dispute Resolution Concerning Resource Trading

Resource trading is usually conducted in large volumes and across jurisdictional borders.  Once a dispute arises, various kinds of expert knowledge is required, including knowledge of domestic and overseas resource trading regulations, of the resource itself, and of trading practices in the relevant business area.  Our lawyers specializing in resource trading and those specializing in litigation form a close team, working together with lawyers from various other jurisdictions to provide complete dispute resolution support.  Our comprehensive dispute resolution support includes developing an accurate understanding of the disputed matters, formulating settlement strategies and handling judicial proceedings.

■ Water Resources Industry

- Advice on Facility Construction Projects, Business Restructuring and Other Relevant Projects in the Water Industry

AMT has extensive experience in projects for the construction and operation of water purification plants and dehydration sludge disposal plants.  In addition, we have been involved in M&A and other projects for water businesses in Japan and have developed a deep understanding of the whole process of the water supply chain, from withdrawal to supply.  We provide complete transactional advice on water businesses, including contractual drafting and negotiation, and liaising with regulatory authorities in connection with the construction and management of, and business transfers involving, water projects.

- Advice on Public Private Partnerships for the Overseas and Domestic Water Industry

Public private partnerships ("PPPs") in the water industry are prevalent both internationally and domestically, including through the utilization of Private Finance Initiatives.  We provide a wide range of advice in both the public and private sectors on international and domestic PPPs for the water industry.

- Advice on Various Water Resource Regulations/Laws

The water industry in Japan is extensively regulated, and the relevant regulations include those relating to withdrawing water (such as restrictions on water rights), those relating to supplying water to the general public and those relating to dewatering through sewage lines.  We provide expert legal advice on the water and sewerage industries, leveraging off of our substantial experience of water projects and the applicable regulatory framework.