Pinsent Masons wins Sustainability Award at FT Innovative Lawyer Awards APAC 2021

17 May 2021 | 10:17 am | 1 min. read

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has won the Sustainability Award at the FT Innovative Lawyer Awards Asia Pacific 2021 for its role advising Tesla on Australia's first ever centrally-owned virtual power plant (VPP).

Melbourne-based energy and infrastructure finance partner, Jeremy King, led a team advising Tesla on the delivery of the South Australia VPP providing cheaper, cleaner power to residents of social housing properties.

The team advised on all aspects of the SA VPP including finance, regulatory and insurance matters to facilitate access to discounted power arrangements for thousands of vulnerable families in low socio-economic neighbourhoods.

Commenting on the win, Jeremy King, said: "This was a highly complex, innovative and transformational project that has played a vital role in improving access to affordable, renewable energy across Southern Australia.

"As the first ever VPP of its kind in Australia there was no blueprint or precedents for us to follow. We're proud to have supported Tesla on the rollout on such an important project that will have a genuine impact on sustainable energy in the region."

The project incorporated bespoke contracts relating to distributed rooftop solar and battery systems which were orchestrated as a fleet operating like a grid scale power plant. SA VPP uses internet connectivity and proprietary cloud-based software to charge or discharge energy batteries, trading it on the National Energy Market.

Pinsent Masons worked closely with financial advisor, Planum Partners, to deliver the funding solution for the SA VPP.  The Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Australia's 'green bank', continued to invest in Australia’s transition to lower emissions by deploying senior debt to the project.

Latest press releases

Show me all press releases

Pinsent Masons advises Erisbeg on proposed acquisition of PageOne Communications

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised Dublin-headquartered private equity firm Erisbeg on the agreement to acquire the entire issued share capital of PageOne Communications from the Capita Group.

Pinsent Masons advises Breedon Group on acquisition of Robinson Quarry Masters and LSE Listing

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised Breedon Group on the acquisition of Robinson Quarry Masters, a Northern Ireland based family-run quarrying and concrete block business.

Pinsent Masons advises Regenerate in the launch of its European regenerative agriculture fund

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised Regenerate Asset Management in the launch of the Regenerate European Sustainable Agriculture Fund.

People who viewed this press release also viewed

Show me all press releases

Pinsent Masons advises Breedon Group on acquisition of Robinson Quarry Masters and LSE Listing

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised Breedon Group on the acquisition of Robinson Quarry Masters, a Northern Ireland based family-run quarrying and concrete block business.

Pinsent Masons advises Regenerate in the launch of its European regenerative agriculture fund

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has advised Regenerate Asset Management in the launch of the Regenerate European Sustainable Agriculture Fund.

Pinsent Masons hires financial services litigation expert Lisa Carty in Dublin

Multinational law firm Pinsent Masons has hired litigation lawyer Lisa Carty as a partner to lead its Litigation Regulatory and Tax offering in Dublin, expanding its dispute resolutions capabilities with a financial services specialism.

For all media enquiries, including arranging an interview with one of our spokespeople, please contact the press office on

+44 (0)20 7418 8199 or 

Location contacts

We are processing your request. \n Thank you for your patience. An error occurred. This could be due to inactivity on the page - please try again.