Climate CEOs: Scaling Startups Climate Finance at Mega Scale: Jigar Shah's $107B Portfolio
Jigar Shah (SunEdison founder & ex-DOE LPO Director) unpacks $107B in climate deals, why VC is broken, & how evergreen capital can scale cleantech.
Jigar Shah served as Director of the Loan Programs Office (LPO) at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) from March 2021 to January 2025, where he oversaw a $400B budget.
Prior, Shah was co-founder and President at Generate Capital, where he focused on helping entrepreneurs accelerate decarbonization solutions through the use of low-cost infrastructure-as-a service financing. Generate has raised over $10 billion, investing in 50+ technology and development partnerships with more than 2,000 assets globally.
Prior to Generate Capital, Shah founded SunEdison, a company that pioneered “pay as you save” solar financing (i.e., PPAs).
After SunEdison, Shah served as the founding CEO of the Carbon War Room, a global non-profit founded by Sir Richard Branson to help entrepreneurs address climate change.
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Here are six topics we covered in the podcast:
1. Post-LPO Reset
After managing $107B in deals at DOE’s Loan Programs Office, Jigar Shah hit pause and rebranded as a “podcaster.” He’s taking time to reflect before diving into the next chapter.
2. Climate VC Is Broken
Shah says the 100x-return VC model doesn’t fit climate tech’s reality. He pushes for an “East Coast” model: aim for 18% IRR, win 7 of 10 bets, and skip the moonshots.
3. Evergreen Capital > 2-and-20
At Generate Capital, Shah turned down big checks to build an evergreen structure that aligns with long-term climate infrastructure. It’s less lucrative for managers, but way better for founders.
4. FOAK Risk, Explained
He breaks project finance into five risks: tech, feedstock, offtake, construction, and ops. LPO, unlike most investors, can stomach execution risk, like 12 methane pyrolysis reactors, not just one.
5. Think Like a Developer
Clean tech needs dev capital like real estate: risky early bets, then stable returns once built. It's not “risk-free”—just “risk-you-can-understand.”
6. Deep Tech’s Fatal Flaw
Too many founders chase giant, low-margin markets. Shah says to start with high-margin niches (like InventWood selling to data centers) and then scale.
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🔗 PODCAST SHOW LINKS:
Jigar - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jigarshahdc
His Open Circuit podcast - https://www.latitudemedia.com/podcasts/open-circuit/
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I’m sure his 745,000 LinkedIn followers would welcome that.
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🤔 PODCAST HOST:
Dr. Chris Wedding is a CEO coach, investor, serial founder, board member, professor, and occasional monk. Daily LinkedIn posts on climate tech startups, CEOs, and finance here: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherwedding