Currents

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 business interruption insurance policies was decided in September. The tax equity market remains a tale of two cities. Keith Martin, partner in Washington, gives a lively half-hour update on what is new in the market.

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 with Microsoft and more.

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 challenges they faced to get it across the finish line, how they handled ESG and NIMBY, the complex financing structure and much more.

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 more.

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 company that creates world-class hypercars, the solar company he launched last year, his foundation addressing the fun side of environmental responsibility and more.

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 support for the state’s high renewable portfolio standard goals and more.

Exploring differences between commercial bank, term loan B, and project bond lending markets; considerations for debt financing strategies for various project types; analysis of market trends and participation during COVID crisis; navigating credit analysis in renewable energy projects; predictions for World Series winner and hopes for vaccine effectiveness.

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.