Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Connections — October 2026
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Connections brings the latest developments in energy investing, legal insights, company activity, and industry events straight to your inbox.
Attorney Spotlight: Annie Cho on Advising Companies in the Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Space
By Annie Cho
What does it take to advise companies building the future of clean energy? Annie Cho shares how her background in emerging companies and venture capital prepared her for the layered complexity of energy and infrastructure deals, where tax credit structuring, regulatory approvals, and corporate governance often come together in a single transaction. She talks about why the mission-driven founders she works with make the work so rewarding, and why she wants to be the advisor clients call early, from a seed round all the way to project finance. She also reveals how she once had 10 cats in her home at the same time. Read the full Q&A to get to know Annie and her approach to helping clients grow.
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Client Feature — Affordable Wire Management, LLC
What happens when a leading balance-of-system provider joins one of the biggest names in solar tracking? This month we feature Mintz client Affordable Wire Management (AWM), which has been acquired by ARRAY Technologies. AWM makes wire management and cable protection solutions for utility-scale solar and energy storage projects. The deal brings AWM's products together with ARRAY's tracking, fixed-tilt, and foundation platform, and it is expected to open new growth opportunities in battery storage and data center infrastructure. AWM's co-founders explain why they think the combination will simplify design, improve installation, and lower costs for customers. Read the full feature to see what's next for AWM as part of the ARRAY platform.
Read More About Affordable Wire Management, LLC
Inside Digital Infrastructure: Is Grid Capacity Becoming the Data Center Bottleneck?
Can AI companies really build their way around the grid? In this installment of Inside Digital Infrastructure, Mintz Digital Infrastructure Practice Co-chair Josh Rudin talks with Dirk van Ouwerkerk, Senior Vice President of Storage Development at Soltage, about why power is becoming one of the biggest constraints on data center growth. Dirk explains why behind-the-meter generation and microgrids can't replace the electric grid, what battery storage needs in order to reach its full value, and which states are leading the way on distribution-level storage. He also points to a power risk he thinks many investors are underestimating as available capacity tightens and timelines get shorter. Read the full Q&A to see what developers and investors should be watching as the race for data centers becomes a race for power.
Explore how grid capacity is becoming the data center bottleneck
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure M&A Activity — October 2026
By Thomas R. Burton, III, Sahir Surmeli
Recent M&A Activity:
August 31, 2026: ARRAY Technologies Acquires Affordable Wire Management
Affordable Wire Management, manufacturer of cable management hardware designed for utility-scale solar projects, was acquired by ARRAY Technologies (NASDAQ: ARRY) for an estimated $203 million. The acquisition broadens ARRAY Technologies’ portfolio of complementary balance-of-system solutions, strengthens its ability to serve utility-scale solar and distributed generation customers, and is expected to create new growth opportunities in battery energy storage and data center infrastructure. Affordable Wire Management manufactures all-metal cable hangers, cleats, and support systems featuring corrosion-resistant, tool-free installation technology that enables engineering, procurement, and construction firms to optimize wire management for solar farms and battery energy storage systems.
September 5, 2026: HGP Intelligent Energy Acquires Meshflow Acquisition
HGP Intelligent Energy, operator of nuclear energy infrastructure designed for power generation serving data centers and infrastructure markets, reached a definitive agreement to acquire Meshflow Acquisition (NASDAQ: MESH) through a reverse merger for an estimated $345 million. Proceeds from the transaction are expected to support reactor coolant pump qualification and manufacturing, continued development of the company’s digital twin platform, site development and licensing efforts, and general working capital needs. HGP Intelligent Energy provides nuclear reactor operations, real-time digital twin technology, variable-speed coolant pump systems, power generation infrastructure, energy storage resources, and related engineering tools, enabling customers to deploy advanced nuclear energy solutions for growing power demand.
Washington Update: Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure — October 2026
By John Lushetsky, R. Neal Martin, John McEachern
Who should pay for the grid upgrades that data centers need? That question came up in statehouses and on Capitol Hill throughout September. This month's update covers the long-awaited bipartisan permitting reform bill introduced in the Senate on September 30. It also covers the Ratepayer Protection Act, which passed the House 417-3 but now faces an uncertain path in the Senate, and a new House Democratic policy blueprint that shifts energy messaging away from climate and toward affordability and security. You'll also see how governors in California, Nevada, Texas, Virginia, and New York are tightening oversight of data centers ahead of the midterm elections. Rounding out the update are $1 billion in new private commitments to Project Vault's critical minerals reserve and billions in DOE funding for geothermal energy and grid modernization. Read the full update to see how these developments could affect project timelines, financing risk, and who covers the cost of grid upgrades.
Read More About The Washington Update
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Litigation Updates — October 2026
By Jacob Hupart
Federal Litigation
Over the past several weeks, three different federal district courts have rejected efforts by state governments to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change. In People of the State of Michigan v. BP, P.L.C. et al., No. 1:26-cv-00254 (E.D. Mich. Sept. 22, 2026), a federal district court judge dismissed an antitrust lawsuit brought by the Michigan attorney general against four major fossil fuel companies. Specifically, the court held that “the antitrust laws protect against none of the injuries for which Michigan seeks a remedy” since “Michigan lacks antitrust standing under federal law” as Michigan failed to adequately allege proximate cause due to the “tenuous causal connection” between the allegedly harmful conduct and the harm suffered.
Notably, this decision rejects the novel antitrust argument advanced by the Michigan attorney general as an alternative means to hold major fossil fuel companies accountable for climate change.
Similarly, two separate federal district courts in New York state (NDNY and SDNY) have now held that New York’s climate superfund law, which sought to impose taxes on major energy companies to fund climate adaptation projects, was unconstitutional because the climate superfund law was preempted by the Clean Air Act and the federal foreign affairs power.
These two developments emphasize the considerable legal hurdles encountered by those seeking to impose the costs of climate change adaptation on fossil fuel companies.
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Event Highlights — October 2026
By Thomas R. Burton, III, Sahir Surmeli
Upcoming Events:
Climate Salon at San Diego Climate Week
October 6, 2026
San Diego, CA
More info >>
Power, Place & Policy: The New Rules of Data Center Development
October 7, 2026
Virtual Webinar
More info >>
Touch Tech Week 2026
October 26–30, 2026
Cambridge, MA
More info >>
The Blueprint Showcase
October 29, 2026
Cambridge, MA
More info >>
Recent Events:
Mintz Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Practice Co-chair Tom Burton with Albert Cheung of BloombergNEF at The Hawthorn Club Global Summit during NYC Climate Week, discussing energy demand growth, AI and data center expansion, and the investment and policy decisions shaping the future energy landscape.
Mintz Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Practice Co-chair Sahir Surmeli at the Dynamo Energy Transition Summit during NYC Climate Week, discussing the most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities across geopolitics, supply and demand, technology and innovation, and capital markets.
Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Team — Built For This Moment
At the frontlines of the energy and sustainability revolution since the start, our team was built for this moment: to advance innovation, transform infrastructure, and scale solutions integral to business success and a thriving planet.
We would also like to remind our readers that you can always ask us anything at mintzedge.com/ask-anything/. We built the MintzEdge website as a resource for entrepreneurs and investors, and hope that all of you take advantage of the site and see how it can help you.
Mintz Project Analysts Dian Yu and Emma Sansom contributed to this edition of the newsletter.
Authors
Thomas R. Burton, III
Member / Chair, Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Practice
Sahir Surmeli
Member / Co-Chair, Sustainable Energy & Infrastructure Practice
Annie Cho
Associate
Joshua N. Rudin
Member / Co-Chair, Digital Infrastructure Practice
