Solar panels/Credit: Shutterstock.com

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures Inc., a global operator of solar farms, has appointed Rob McDwyer as its general counsel in Australia. He replaces Matt Baumgurtel, who left FRV to join K&L Gates as a partner in the firm's Sydney office.

Before he went to work for FRV, which is headquartered in Madrid, McDwyer had served for more than seven years as the Sydney-based GC of Infigen Energy, which describes itself as Australia's largest listed owner of wind power generators with six wind farms operating in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia.

In his new role, McDwyer will hold the reins of FRV's Australian legal team and “assist with strategic and regulatory affairs faced by the Australian business,” according to his LinkedIn profile. He will also “advise on a range of legal matters, including project development, construction, project finance, operations, mergers and acquisitions and internal business operations.”

McDwyer previously worked as a senior associate at the Irish corporate and commercial law firm of LK Shields in Dublin, where he focused on joint ventures and M&A. He had a similar focus later in his career while serving as senior lawyer for Sydney-based law firm Gilbert + Tobin, before he joined Infigen.

Meanwhile, Baumgurtel, who had been FRV's top lawyer in Australia, company secretary and executive director for the Asia Pacific region since 2013, joined K&L Gates earlier this month, the firm announced Tuesday.

Baumgurtel specializes in advising on energy and infrastructure projects, M&A and cross-border transactions in Australia and throughout the Asia Pacific. He represents project developers, sponsors, investors, financiers and other stakeholders in wind, solar, thermal and other renewable energy projects.  

He said in a statement that he would combine his “extensive renewable energy experience with K&L Gates' leading global energy practice to deliver strategic commercial legal advice to my clients at each stage of the energy/infrastructure asset life cycle.”

His hiring is part of K&L's apparent effort to expand and strengthen its presence in Australia, where the firm has added at least four new partners to its energy, infrastructure and resources team. 

Early last year, when the firm announced that it had brought two new partners into its Melbourne office, K&L's managing partner in Australia, Nick Nichola, said in a news release that 2017 “was the biggest year ever for renewable energy construction investment with 2018 expected to exceed that record.”

In announcing the most recent addition to the office, Nichola said Baumgurtel's “extensive knowledge and experience in solar photovoltaic, oil and gas, power generation, energy policy, and electricity distribution will significantly bolster our capabilities to provide leading edge advice to clients not only in Australia but also across the K&L Gates global platform.”