Currents

Dr. Angela Wilkinson, secretary general of the World Energy Council, joins us to discuss the Council’s mission. We get into the differences between the Council and other organizations, the impact that COVID-19 will have on the industry, the Council’s “Humanizing Energy” theme and what it is looking to achieve, why the energy transition is important, the “Energy Plus community” and how it relates t...

Kimberlee Centera, CEO of TerraPro Solutions, joins us to discuss her company and how it is handling risk management during this unprecedented year. We get into what TerraPro Solutions does, some of the risks involved in developing utility-scale energy projects, challenges developers are facing, how delays related to COVID-19 are being managed, how to build trust among stakeholders and much more.

Five veteran Washington observers talked about what changes to expect for renewable energy and the project finance market as a result of the election. John Gimigliano, principal in charge, federal tax and regulatory services at KPMG, Brandon Hurlbut, partner at Boundary Stone Partners and co-host of the “Political Climate” podcast, Joe Mikrut, partner at Capitol Tax Partners, Christine Tezak, mana...

Chris Leary, investment partner at Orion Energy Partners, joins us to discuss how the company invests in energy innovation. We get into how Orion defines energy innovation, what it has already invested in, why it believes this approach is important, the drivers of acceleration in ESG investing, who else is active in the space and much more.

Kathy Hannun, president and co-founder of Dandelion Energy, joins us to discuss residential geothermal heating and cooling. We dive into her background, why she decided to form Dandelion Energy, how geothermal heating and cooling is an efficient, clean alternative to fossil fuel heating, the challenges and opportunities in the industry, what innovations are needed in order for geothermal to go mai...

JohnPaul Baric, CEO of Aurum Capital Ventures Inc., joins us to explain the relationship between bitcoin mining and the energy industry. We dive into what bitcoin mining is, why bitcoins are scarce, how bitcoin mining is a new way to monetize energy, how miners interact with the power grid, who is currently funding miners operations, where he sees the bitcoin space going in the next five years and...

The November elections carry significant potential upside for renewable energy companies. The election is factoring into construction-start strategies. A FERC order involving Broadview Solar has many solar developers up in arms. More than 3,400 companies have filed suit against the Trump administration to get back duties paid on Chinese products. A test case involving COVID-19 claims under busines...

Yuri Horowitz, CEO of Sol Systems, joins us to discuss the convergence of social and environmental impact principles on solar energy infrastructure. We talk about what motivates corporations to take action, the challenges of implementation, how corporations are integrating ESG into their solar procurement strategies, Sol Systems’ recent groundbreaking solar power community investment agreement wit...

Richard Matsui, CEO and founder of kWh Analytics, joins us to unpack a new kWh study that found US utility-scale solar projects are underperforming P50 production estimates on average by 6.3%.

Brian Callaway, vice president, structured finance at sPower, and Conor McKenna, managing director at CohnReznick Capital Markets, walk us through the Highlander transaction, sPower’s 620-MW solar project and the largest solar plant east of the Mississippi. The pair discusses the developer’s vision for the project, how they were able to bring together so many high-profile counterparties, the chall...

Christen Blum, vice president, renewables advisory and analytics, and Emily Williams, vice president, strategy and sustainability at Edison Energy, join us to discuss vPPAs, PPAs and Edison’s entrance into the European market. They get into the difference between vPPAs and PPAs, which model is used more widely in Europe, how COVID-19 is affecting corporate interest in renewable energy and much mor...

Norman Crowley, serial entrepreneur and founder and head of Cool Planet Group, joins us to discuss his entrepreneurial adventures in renewables and what his nonprofit foundation, The Cool Planet Experience, was created to address. We journey from the first company he created at 16 to his retirement at 28, the energy efficiency company he founded in 2010, Crowley Carbon, Electrfi, his electric car...

Raquel Bierzwinsky, partner in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Mexico City and New York offices, joins us to discuss the renewables market in Mexico almost two years into AMLO’s term in office. She goes over the shift in government policy and what it means for project developers and lenders.

Jan Smutny-Jones, chief executive officer of the Independent Energy Producers Association, joins us to discuss the recent blackouts in California and how the renewables industry is related. Jan explains what has been happening, what could be done to prevent future blackouts and how storage can help, the investigation that is currently underway, the effect the blackouts might have on political supp...

Ralph Cho and Mike Pantelogianis, Power & Infrastructure Finance Co-heads for Investec in North America, join us to discuss the commercial bank, term loan B and project bond lending markets. We get into the different features of each market, how lenders deal with construction risk differently, the speed of execution and ratings as well as the current tax equity market and the group’s picks for thi...

Dr. Alana Duerr, director, offshore wind North America at DNV GL, joins us to discuss the outlook for floating wind in the United States. We get into what floating wind is, the different types, in which global markets floating wind has already gotten traction, where floating wind will work in the US, its advantages and challenges and more.

Tom Dickson, CEO of New Energy Risk, joins us to discuss how the company is enabling project finance and bankability for new technologies through insurance. We go over the void that New Energy Risk is filling, how its product offerings evolve over time, how to scale energy storage, how carbon capture will compare to other industries, trends in capital markets and more.

Robert Mudge, principal at The Brattle Group, joins us to go over the company’s report on the impact COVID-19 is having on utilities. We go over how electric load has been affected, how effects vary among different types of utility customers, how they are expected to change over time and by region, the financial consequences for utilities, how states are responding, commodity pricing and more.

Many developers report trouble raising tax equity this year for renewable energy projects. This is the third in a series of calls since late March with different tax equity investors to test the current condition of the market. Keith Martin, partner in Washington, is joined by Robert Capps, managing director at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey, Eric Cohen, group head – renewable energy finance at Fifth...

Richard Matsui, CEO and co-founder of kWh Analytics, and Dana Olson, solar segment leader at DNV GL, are back to discuss the second annual "Solar Risk Assessment" report in which they, along with industry experts from eight other companies, share their quantitative insights on solar production risk. We get into the trends that are being seen in the market, the underperformance that is being found,...

PG&E is on its way out of bankruptcy, and there are many lessons to learn from the largest American utility’s second trip through bankruptcy. We briefly cover the political and regulatory issues lurking in the background and then dive into the lessons learned from people who were affected by the bankruptcy, cover what they would do differently if it were to happen again, address how to price bankr...

Brian Warshay, principal consultant, DER and energy storage at DNV GL, joins us to discuss opportunities in behind-the-meter storage. We get into how companies can make money in BTM solar and storage, how the projects are financed, how companies are changing their business models to adapt to the evolving market, additional entities that can get involved in BTM storage, how customer data can be use...

Another economic stimulus bill is expected in August. A refundable tax credit proposal has gotten traction among Republicans. Tax equity is harder for many developers to find this year. A key motion being argued before a federal court in Washington this month could affect contest rights in tax equity deals. Keith Martin, partner in Washington, gives a lively half-hour update on what is new in the...

Steve Cunningham, managing partner of Madison Energy Investments, joins us to explain the details of investing in C&I solar. We discuss what C&I means in the context of size, offtaker and style, why it exists and what the benefits are versus utility-scale solar, what makes C&I attractive for investors, the specific risks in C&I, how site control is handled, the benefits of scaling and much more.

Caitlin Smith, vice president, and Matthew Berend, co-founder, of AB Power Advisors, and Sam Porter, senior counsel at Norton Rose Fulbright, join us to discuss energy storage projects in ERCOT. We discuss what storage projects have been done so far in ERCOT, the regulatory background, ancillary service opportunities for storage, how much storage is currently in the queue, what incentives there ar...