Mark Barnett

Practice Areas

Mark Barnett is Co-Chair of Foley Hoag's Energy & Climate Group, which he co-founded almost two decades ago as one of the first dedicated practices supporting innovators across the full lifecycle of the energy transition. During the course of his career, Mark has been a leader in advising breakthrough energy technology companies and venture investors, as well as developers and financers of clean energy infrastructure at scale. Mark has also supported some of the most impactful nonprofit and ecosystem building organizations supporting the transition to a sustainable climate future.

Mark has a unique energy and climate focused practice that ranges from counseling emerging and growth-stage climate companies and investors, to advising clean infrastructure developers, sponsors and investors, including tax equity investors, and also includes advising leading nonprofit entities in the sector.

Mark advises clean energy and infrastructure project sponsors and developers in all aspects of project development, acquisitions, financings, fund formation, partnerships, joint ventures and regulatory issues. His experience includes tax equity portfolio financings, debt financings (including back leverage transactions), complicated joint ventures, various M&A transactions and innovative financing vehicles. Mark also serves as investor and lender counsel in distributed renewable energy financings. His project finance and development experience includes solar, wind, energy storage, waste-to-energy and other waste to value, innovative wastewater treatment and other clean energy and clean infrastructure projects.

Mark also has an active practice advising emerging companies, venture capital funds and impact investors in the ClimateTech space. Having served as Head of Business Development and General Counsel for an innovative ClimateTech company spun out of MIT that was ultimately acquired by Lockheed Martin, Mark is uniquely positioned to serve as counsel and strategic advisor to emerging ClimateTech companies at every stage of development. Mark also works with some of the leading venture and investors in the ClimateTech sector and regularly advises on transactions in the sector.

Mark’s prior experience includes time in government as counsel to the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (now known as the Connecticut Green Bank), a quasi-public state agency that supports the development of clean energy technology. Mark also served as Vice President of Business Development & General Counsel at Sun Catalytix Corporation, where he helped the company raise over $17 million in equity and non-dilutive financing and then helped shepherd the company as outside counsel through a successful sale to Lockheed Martin Corporation. Mark draws on these and other experiences in the business and governmental arena to serve as a strategic and business advisor to clients.

Mark also advises a number of innovative initiatives at the intersection of charitable and mission-driven activities in and the breakthrough clean energy and climate change mitigation sectors. Among other activities, Mark has served as outside counsel to PRIME Coalition since its founding, and also collaborated with Prime on the founding and developing of its Early Climate Infrastructure program. Mark also serves as counsel to a range of leading innovative nonprofits entities in the sectors including CrossBoundary Energy Access, RMI and Browning the Green Space. Mark also has advised national leading groups such as the Environmental Defense Fund and Ceres on clean energy policy and climate mitigation investment strategies. In addition, he is a frequent speaker across the country on topics spanning renewable energy project finance, clean energy policy and impact investing, and spends time mentoring emerging cleantech ventures through such organizations as MassChallenge and Clean Tech Open.

Mark plays an active role in the management of the firm. He leads the firm’s Energy & Climate Group and previously served as co-chair of the firm’s Business Department.

Education: Yale Law School, J.D.; Yale University, B.A.