Patryk Figiel

Patryk is a Polish qualified lawyer (radca prawny) and an authority in areas of law involving infrastructure and energy investments, as well as natural resources and environmental protection. He has led the firm’s Warsaw Energy & Infrastructure practice since 2014.

Patryk has a wealth of experience in matters involving the preparation, acquisition and financing of renewable (including energy transition) and conventional energy investments, as well as on infrastructure investments, including toll motorways. When working in 2009-2012 for DONG Energy (now Ørsted), Patryk and his team developed a standard for land (lease) contracts relating to onshore wind projects, which became the market standard precedent in Poland. Patryk’s interpretation of the “exclusivity right to the deposit rule” on behalf of Australian mining company Prairie Mining looking to invest in Poland was confirmed by the Polish Supreme Administrative Court and resulted in the amendment to Poland’s mining law.

Patryk was seconded to the firm’s Berlin office from September to December 2011, advising on renewable energy sources and on wind farm projects. Previously, he was seconded to the firm’s Bucharest office from November 2007 to June 2008, where he led the real estate team when his practice focused on real estate work.

Work highlights

Patryk has led and executed a host of projects related to the provision of comprehensive cross-border advice in energy law issues in Poland and CEE countries. These include advising:

• A group of commercial lenders, ECAs and multilateral financial institutions: advising on the development and US$5.2bn non-recourse green financing of the Baltic Power offshore wind farm, owned by ORLEN and Northland Power. This is the first offshore wind farm to reach financial close in Poland.
• Meridiam and Urbaser: advising a consortium on a landmark PPP energy-from-waste project in Poland.
• Mirova: advising on various acquisitions of onshore wind projects in Poland.
• Mirova: advising on its investment in Baltic Storage Platform, an Estonian-based energy storage joint venture between Corsica Sole and Evecon.
• Global offshore wind players, Innogy and Iberdrola: advising in their attempts to acquire shares in the first offshore wind farm projects in Poland.
• Iberdrola: advising on the acquisition of wind and solar projects in Poland from Augusta Energy.
• The leading Polish motorway toll operator: advising on key issues including renegotiations of the concession with the Polish government.

Patryk is also the author of numerous publications and has spoken at industry conferences and training sessions concerning environmental and infrastructure issues. These include:

Articles:

• CEE Legal Matters, Energy Transition and Digital Infrastructure – the drivers of the Polish legal market
• World Gas Intelligence, Polish Shale Prospects Recede Further
• CEE Legal Matters, PPP in Poland: Current Trends and Planned Legal Developments

Conferences:

• Webinar: Polish Power: Watching the transition, 2020 
• XIII Conference of the Polish Wind Energy Association, Financing of offshore wind
• X Conference of the Polish Infrastructure and Construction, Polish infrastructure development - opportunities and challenges

Patryk studied law at the University of Wroclaw and business administration at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, US.

He speaks Polish, English and German.