Bio

Minako Wakabayashi, partner in Orrick’s Tokyo office, is a member of the Energy and Infrastructure Group. She plays a vital role in the rise of Japan’s renewable energy market, being involved in the development of onshore/offshore wind and solar projects, lobbying for policy proposals and PPA (including corporate PPA). Minako has significant experience advising international and domestic sponsors and developers on complex and innovative projects. She was called upon by the Japanese government in structuring the renewable Feed-in-Tariff scheme in Japan and prepared the government’s model contracts for specific contracts (power purchase contract/interconnection contract), which are a key component of the Feed-in-Tariff scheme in Japan. Recently, she has also been handling numerous corporate PPA projects. She was appointed as Auditor of the Japan Wind Power Association (JWPA) in May 2022. Minako practiced at Orrick’s New York office in 2004-2005. She also worked as a public prosecutor in Japan for four years and served as a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Supervising Committee for Public Bidding (Tokyo-to Nyusatsu Kanshi Iinkai) for eight years. She is serving as Audit of Veritas In Silico Inc since March 2022.