Milbank LLP advised DBS Bank Ltd. and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as lenders to Star Energy Geothermal on the financing of the capacity expansion of the Wayang Windu, Salak and Darajat geothermal projects in Indonesia. The expansion of Wayang Windu includes the retrofitting of two existing geothermal units, unit 1 and 2, for an additional 18.4 MW and the construction of a third unit for an additional 30 MW. The expansion of Salak and Darajat includes the retrofitting of Darajat’s existing Unit 3 for an additional 7 MW, and the construction of a new Salak Unit 7 geothermal unit for an additional 40 MW.
Star Energy Geothermal is a leading geothermal energy producer in Indonesia and a subsidiary of Barito Renewables Energy, one of the biggest publicly listed renewable energy companies in Indonesia.
“Milbank has a leading renewable energy practice and one of the top finance practices in Asia and this transaction played to those strengths. Transactions of this nature are complex by design, and it is gratifying to put our team’s deep knowledge into practice,” said Milbank Global Project, Energy and Infrastructure Finance partner James Orme.
“We are extremely proud to be advising on this vital expansion of the Wayang Windu, Salak and Darajat projects,” added David Zemans, Managing Partner of Milbank’s Singapore office and Asia practice. “It is another great example of Milbank’s advising on the most complex cross-border deals in the region. We are also very proud of our long-time relationship with Star Energy Geothermal.”
The Milbank team was led by Mr. Orme and Mr. Zemans, and included partners Giles Kennedy and Terry O'Donnell, of counsel Desiree Woo, special counsel Rosaline Yusman, and associates Deirdre Swift and Kris Singh.
Milbank is a go-to lead counsel for deals in the power and renewables sector. The Milbank Asia team has advised on many of the key geothermal IPPs in Indonesia that have raised non-recourse project financing from international banks, including advising sponsors on the Sarulla, Rantau Dedap and Muara Laboh projects — each an award-winning deal financed with loans from agency lenders. The Asia team also advised on Star Energy’s highly successful acquisition (and subsequent bond take-out) of the Darajat and Salak geothermal projects and the Wayang Windu geothermal assets previously.
In the past five years, more than 20 transactions led by the team have received “Deal of the Year” awards from industry publications. Chambers has designated several members of the firm's Asia project finance team as “Leading Individuals” and has consistently ranked Milbank as “Band 1” for its work in Projects, Energy and Infrastructure in Asia-Pacific. Most recently, the firm’s Indonesia Practice was named “Indonesia International Law Firm of the Year 2025” by Chambers — an award Milbank has won for three consecutive years and seven times in total in recent years. With over 35 years of experience advising on transactions in Indonesia, Milbank has had the lead legal role on many of the country’s most innovative, complex and first-of-their-kind transactions.
