Overview
Carl J. Fleming is the global co-head of our Energy & Project Finance Group, ranked by Chambers as one of the industry’s leading energy practices. He is a trusted legal, commercial, and strategic advisor whose principal areas of practice are energy, digital infrastructure, and critical minerals.
In addition to his transactional work, Carl is also a sought-after policy advisor, having previously served as a direct advisor to the White House and now as a private sector appointed advisor to the Trump 47, Biden, Trump 45, and Obama White Houses. He has led a number of cutting-edge policy and transactional matters for the US government across the energy, digital infrastructure, and critical mineral sectors.
Chambers lists Carl among the best individual energy and infrastructure lawyers in the United States, ranking him for Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional. Clients reporting to Chambers state that “Carl is exceptionally attentive and proactive with clients.” He is also recognized by Legal 500 as a “Leading Lawyer” for Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power. Additionally, Super Lawyers ranks him as one of the “top 5% of attorneys” globally.
Carl leads a Chambers-ranked team of more than 50 dedicated energy and infrastructure lawyers, one of the largest energy and infrastructure practices in the world. Together, the team guides his clients through the industry’s most sophisticated and headline-grabbing transactions in the US and worldwide. His clients include leading energy developers, prominent data center developers, private equity funds, private credit funds, investment banks, and Fortune 500 companies.
Since the adoption of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the subsequent One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OB3), Carl and his Energy & Project Finance Group have closed more than 350 post-IRA and OB3 tax credit driven transactions, surpassing the rest of the industry. These include several “first-in-kind” hybrid tax equity investments, tax credit transfers, preferred equity investments, cash equity investments, and debt financings. He and his team have also helped several clients through the energy industry’s “grand re-think” of the finance markets post-IRA and OB3.
Carl’s work and thought leadership are often featured in leading publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The Economist, Newsweek, Fast Company, The Washington Post, and Politico, among others. He is also frequently interviewed for his market insights by global media outlets such as Reuters, Forbes, Bloomberg, BBC, and others. He has also been hosted on numerous podcasts, including the Fierce Network’s The Five Nine podcast.
Carl is a frequent speaker and prominent author. He was selected by the White House to address the global delegation at the 29th Annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) and speaks throughout the US and internationally. He focuses on topics such as energy, digital infrastructure, and critical minerals. He has written, or contributed to the writing of, several books or chapters on project finance. He has lectured at Harvard University, the Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Pennsylvania, and American University.
Carl is based out of the Washington, DC, and New York offices. He also works across our London, Paris, and Milan offices, among others.
Results
Energy + Digital Infrastructure
- Copia Power, a Carlyle portfolio company and leading developer of power and digital infrastructure assets in the US, with the development and $1.24 billion project financing of the Harquahala project that won Proximo’s 2025 “Deal of the Year.”
- Copia Power, a Carlyle portfolio company and leading developer of power and digital infrastructure assets in the US, with the $595 million tax equity investment for the 1.7 GW Centennial Flats complex, the largest standalone storage project in the US upon completion.
Energy
- TotalEnergies, the French global supermajor oil company, on the development, tax equity investment, and debt financing of its energy projects across its US portfolio
- Iberdrola, the Spanish multinational electric utility company, on several inbound investment matters into the US
- Avangrid Renewables, one of the largest energy companies in the US, on the development, tax equity investment, and tax credit transfers of energy projects across its US portfolio
- Recurrent Energy, a Canadian Solar affiliate and one of the leading energy developers in the US, in a large number of tax equity, tax credit transfer, and debt transactions to secure approximately $1.8 billion in financing for solar and energy storage projects across the US
- Recurrent Energy, a Canadian Solar affiliate one of the leading energy developers in the US, in its $513 million tax equity investment and debt financing for what is formerly the largest standalone storage project in the US
- Apex Clean Energy, an Ares portfolio company and one of the leading energy developers in the US, in its first-in-kind JV with Korean oil major, SK Gas, and project financing with several large banks, to develop and the project finance a portfolio of over a dozen standalone storage projects with debt and tax credit transfers, bringing the aggregate value of this project to around $1.8 billion upon completion
- Apex Clean Energy, an Ares portfolio company and one of the leading energy developers in the US, in the development, acquisition/disposition, and financing of its portfolio across the US
- Northstar Clean Energy, a CMS Energy portfolio company and one of the leading energy developers in the US, on the development, acquisition/disposition, and financing of its portfolio across the US
- Geronimo Power, a Brookfield portfolio company and one of the leading energy developers in the US, on the tax structuring, tax equity investment, and tax credit transfers for its portfolio in the US
- Clearway Energy, one of the leading independent clean power developers and operators in the US, on several build transfer and operate agreements (BTAs) across the US
- Onyx Renewables, a SEEIT portfolio company and one of the leading commercial solar developers in the US, on the development, acquisition/divestiture, tax equity
investment, and debt financing of its portfolio across the US
Digital Infrastructure
- Compass Datacenters, an American multinational data center company, in over 4.5 GW of energy procurement for its data center campuses
- The leading edge datacenter provider with several investments across its US portfolio
Critical Minerals
- Numerous governments in the development, investment, and financing of several first-in-kind critical mineral, rare earth, and heavy extraction project and supply chains
Recognitions
- Chambers USA, Projects: Power & Renewables: Transactional, 2023-2025
- Legal 500 US, Energy: Renewable/Alternative Power, Leading Lawyer, 2023-2025
- Legal 500 US, Energy Transactions: Electric Power, Recommended, 2025
- Tamarindo, Legal Power List, 2026
- Legal 500 Green Ambassadors: United States, Recognized, 2024
- District of Columbia Courts, Capital Pro Bono High Honor Roll, 2023
- JD Supra, Readers’ Choice Awards, Top Author – Energy, 2023
- Super Lawyers DC Rising Star, 2017
- Secretary of Commerce Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Advisory Committee, appointee
- White House Power Africa Working Group, member
Community
- Capitol Pro Bono High Honor Roll, member
- Empire State Counsel, member
Credentials
Education
University of Pennsylvania, MAPP, 2010
Georgetown University Law Center, JD, 2005
University of Scranton, BS, 1999
Admissions
District of Columbia
New York