Fermín Fontanés has a career path of over 18 years as an environmental and energy law attorney and currently serves as Executive Director of the Puerto Rico Public-Private Partnerships Authority (P3A). Highly knowledgeable in the areas of energy, public- private partnerships, land use law, corporate transactions, permitting, regulatory compliance and environmental litigation.
He is responsible for leading and managing the public private partnership (P3) transactions for the transformation the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), one of the largest public utilities in the United States, including the awarded P3’s for the Operation and Maintenance Agreements of its Transmission and Distribution System (T&D) and Legacy Generation Assets. Fontanés is also in charge of several innovative infrastructure projects, such as the awarded P3 for the concession of Puerto Rico’s maritime transportation system, as well as the P3 agreement for the repair, design, construction, financing, maintenance and operation of the San Juan Bay cruise terminals. Fontanés currently leads multiple procurement processes, including the toll monetization project for the Island’s remaining existing toll roads, and the project for a new 300MWline to hydrogen combined cycle generation plant.
Under his leadership, the P3A achieved the significant milestone of being presented with the Organization of the Year – Public Sector award at the P3 Awards 2021.
Fontanés holds a Bachelor of Science, Environmental Policy and Resource Behavior from the University of Michigan, and a Juris Doctor from George Washington University Law School. Prior to becoming Executive Director of the P3A, Fontanés was part of the Environmental Law, Energy and Land Use practice group in two of the leading legal firms in Puerto Rico. Before practicing as an environmental lawyer, he was founder and president of an environmental consulting company for projects throughout the United States, Central and South America.