Profile details
About Melissa Raciti-Knapp
New York-based Melissa is co-head of the firm’s Latin America practice and head of our US energy and infrastructure group.
Melissa assists commercial banks, export credit agencies, multilaterals and other financial institutions as well as borrowers and developers on a wide variety of project development and financing work. Her sector experience covers power (both conventional and renewable), mining, oil and gas, water treatment, telecoms and other infrastructure, including a wide variety of transactions relating to energy transition.
Melissa has significant experience in both the US and Latin America. The latter draws upon her language skills and ability to bridge cultural differences. Alongside local counsel, she and her team routinely negotiate and draft in Spanish and Portuguese.
All this experience, combined with knowing how the same issues are addressed in different contexts, allows Melissa to come up with thoughtful, constructive solutions – even in the most contentious and complex situations.
Recent work
- Ara Partners on its acquisition of a majority interest in USD Clean Fuels, LLC, a leading developer of logistics infrastructure in North America for the renewable fuels value chain, and the subsequent acquisition by USDCF of the West Colton Rail Terminal, a fully operational biofuels terminal in California.
- Li-Cycle on a limited recourse financing of a battery recycling project in New York state from the Department of Energy.
- KfW IPEX-Bank on the $1.2bn limited recourse financing for the construction, startup, operation and maintenance of a world-scale anhydrous ammonia plant in Topolobampo, Mexico.
- KfW IPEX-Bank on a limited recourse financing for the Hybar project, a steel recycling and rebar project in Arkansas.
- ContourGlobal on a senior secured term loan and revolving credit facility and related letter of credit facility for the development and operation of its thermal generation portfolio in the Caribbean, including a complementary solar photovoltaic plant and battery storage system.
- A battery manufacturer in connection with the development of a gigafactory to produce nanotechnology batteries for use in smartphones and electric vehicles in the United States.
- DFC on the financing of a geothermal project in Honduras, the first utility scale project in the country.
Qualifications
- JD, Columbia University School of Law, Harlan Fiske Stone scholar, senior editor of the Columbia Law Review.
- BA, magna cum laude, Columbia College, Phi Beta Kappa.
- Admitted to practice in the State of New York.