Interconnection: Renewable Energy USA
Welcome to Megawatt Recruitment’s monthly newsletter to keep you connected to what’s going on in the renewable energy industry in the United States and provide more insight, knowledge, and connection to the people and companies who drive our industry.
What People Are Talking About
Following up on previous news, General Atlantic completed the acquisition of Actis, a leading global investor in sustainable infrastructure with $97B AUM, and BlackRock completed the acquisition of GIP, both deals first announced in January 2024.
KKR and Energy Capital Partners announced a $50B strategic growth partnership to support AI growth through investments in data centers and power generation.
UK-based Octopus Energy, the UK’s largest electricity supplier, invested in U.S solar developer Circal with a target of 600 MW in 5 years. Octopus partner Zestec, is also expanding its C&I solar business into the U.S. with an investment target of $2B.
Norway’s Equinor bought a 9.8% stake in Danish offshore wind developer, Orsted, valued at $2.5B.
Macquarie Group engaged advisors to possibly sell a stake of Corio Generation or the whole platform which has a 30+ GW global pipeline of offshore wind projects.
BP completed the takeover of its joint venture company, Lightsource BP, from British partner Lightsource Renewables, for $519M, which is an onshore renewables developer with a 62 GW pipeline globally. Subsidiary company Lightsource Labs was also rebranded to Powerverse.
Baseload Power announced a partnership with Baker Hughes and Taiwan Power Companyto explore and develop Tatun, Taiwan’s only volcano and the largest geothermal prospect in the country. This follows an announcement about a month ago that Baseload completed their $58M series B funding round which included Baker Hughes and Netherlands-based infrastructure fund ENGF, the investment arms of Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer.
Heliene, a U.S. based solar PV module manufacturer received a $54M investment from Transition Equity Partners, Orion Infrastructure Capital, and affiliates of global investment manager Hamilton Lane to support a new 550MW production line in Rogers, MN.
Sage Geosystems was selected to conduct geothermal project development initiatives at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi in TX for baseload power generation.
Avangrid and Invenergy announced as winners of the Gulf of Maine offshore wind lease auction which will likely bring over 5 GW power total.
California is clearing its geothermal approval bottleneck by pushing permitting authority down to the county level versus at state level for exploratory well as of October 2024.
Best known for offshore wind, Danish developer Orsted, commissioned the 300MW/1200MWh solar + BESS facility, Eleven Mile Solar, in Phoenix.
In Southeast Texas, TotalEnergies began commercial operations on two solar farms (720 MW and 455 MW) with BESS (225 MWh and 225 MWh) to produce 1.2 GW of power and storage making Texas the largest solar market with more than 22 GW of capacity.
Recent Personnel Moves and Promotions
Chinese solar wafer manufacturer TCL Zhonghuan promoted Yanjun Wang to CEO. He was an SVP with the company and is concurrently Vice Chairman and GM of TCL Zhonghuan Advanced Semiconductor Technology Company.
Swiss solar module manufacturer, Meyer Burger, also appointed a new CEO, Franz Richter, a current member of the Board of Directors following the resignation of Gunter Erfurt.
Hybrid electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft company, Electra, appointed former Boeing executive B. Marc Allen as CEO.
Veteran investment banker, Matthew Rhodes, who spent 25 years at Goldman Sachs, most recently as Managing Director of Electric Gas and Utilities investment banking, joined Pattern Energy as CFO.
Singapore HQ’ed EliTE Solar, a PV cell manufacturer, brought on Frank Faller based in San Antonio, TX as Chief Technology Officer, previously with Ubiquity Solar, a NY-based PV cell fabricator, as VP of Strategic Initiatives.
Grid United, a utility-scale electric transmission grid developer, welcomed Jack Farley as Chief Commercial Officer, most recently with HIF Global as EVP of eFuels and former President and CEO of Apex Compressed Air Energy Storage.
Long time developer of utility-scale renewable energy projects,Steve Drew, joined Renewable Energy Services as VP of Development and Strategy from Redeux Energy where he held a similar role.
Energy Capital Partners brought on Douglas Tully as Senior Managing Director from Antin Infrastructure Partners where he was a Principal for Financing.
Stellar Renewable Power continued expansion of their team hiring Parker Cliatt as Development Manager and Robert Keck as Development Associate. This follows earlier hires of Ben Bondurant as Head of Development, Michael Pech as Senior Associate for Development, Creed Lowry as Senior Associate for Asset Management, and Kael Wornat as Development Associate.
Elliot Stein departed PXiSE Energy Solutions by Yokogawa, a cloud-based power control system provider for renewables, BESS, and green hydrogen, where he was Engineering Manager for Technical Sales to join Sunraycer, a capital provider and adviser, for renewable energy development, where he is now Senior Manager for Project Engineering.
Following the launch of Versiris Energy by New Energy Equity meant to partner specifically with C&I customers, Nick Kerwin who was Director of Project Acquisition at New Energy Equity, was promoted to Senior Vice President of the C&I Division.
What the Market is Talking About: Final Regulations for Section 45X
| October has proven to be a significant and pivotal month for renewable energy. Of note, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the IRS released final rules for the Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit (Section 45X of the Internal Revenue Code), to spur continued growth of U.S. clean energy manufacturing. While many associate this credit with solar, it will have a positive impact on offshore wind especially and on other sectors as well. Here are five areas of clarification: 1. Eligible Components and Activities: The final regulations define “eligible components” to include solar and wind energy components, inverters, qualifying battery components, and certain critical minerals. They also clarify that secondary production, which involves using recycled materials, qualifies for the credit 2. Calculation of Costs The regulations detail how to calculate production costs and you can click here to view the prescribed rates for various solar, wind, and battery materials. For example, 10% of an offshore wind vessel’s sales price can be claimed. Using Dominion Energy’s Charybdis vessel as an example, which in August 2024 became the first U.S.-built offshore wind turbine installation vessel, $71.5M (10%) of this $715M vessel could be credited. 3. Production and Sale Requirements: Additionally, the ruling clarifies that the credits apply to components produced and sold to unrelated persons after December 31, 2022. By pegging the credits to the sale date, it allows materials that were acquired prior to this date to be included as long as the assembly was completed and sold after December 31st, 2022. Importantly, the clarification provided details on how to calculate production costs including eligible production costs for electrode active materials and critical minerals, which can include extraction costs. 4. Transferability The credits are transferable, allowing taxpayers to sell them to other entities. Additionally, taxpayers can opt for direct payments in lieu of the credits for a five-year period. 5. Reporting The regulations clarify how taxpayers must maintain detailed records, including certifications from suppliers and analyses of material costs. These requirements ensure transparency and compliance with the credit’s provisions. |
Talent Insights: CEO turnover
In the past few months, we have seen a number of senior leadership changes across the renewable energy industry extending across technologies as well as different parts of the value chain.
From Orsted’s shake up following cancellation of two U.S. windfarms in November 2023 to the replacement of multiple solar OEM CEOs such as at SolarEdge, Meyer Burger, FTC Solar, and TCL Zhonghuan, to a swath of new CFOs within project developers such as Pattern Energy, Apex Clean Energy, and RES, it seems the powers that be are looking for change.
What is causing this restlessness in the industry?
Despite the growing demand for renewable energy, the solar manufacturing industry is facing several significant challenges this year: Some of these challenges are well-known and have been lingering since COVID such as high interest rates, supply chain costs, and higher labor rates.
Others are newer such as the U.S. Department of Commerce’s initiation of antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells, whether or not assembled into modules, from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnam), which started in May 2024.
In offshore wind, two of the more notable challenges are supply chain issues for turbines and the timeline between when companies bid for projects and when they actually purchase materials for construction. Multiple projects that were canceled in the U.S. had bid on projects prior to COVID when costs were much lower.
What does this mean for talent in our industry going forward?
For solar, the clarification of 45X rules should help the industry to rebound with home-grown PV cells, modules, inverters, and batteries to take the place of Chinese materials stuck outside our borders. There might be additional demand for software development talent within OEMs who can add functionality to existing enterprise platforms to meet reporting requirements to qualify for the 45X credits. These people will likely need to work in tandem with tax and accounting teams to ensure compliance, potentially leading to expansions of these teams.
To hedge against risks of inflation while still presenting competitive offshore wind bids, we will likely see continued sophistication of legal terms that include inflation protection provisions as well as sophistication in project financing terms. A trend I have noticed is that legal counsels are increasingly sought after as strategic business partners, helping companies navigate the complex regulatory landscape and capitalize on new opportunities, not just interpreting laws and drafting documents. More than ever, they are expected to be knowledgeable on policy developments and market trends and to contribute to strategic decisions. While lawyers are generally plentiful in the market, I believe that hiring legal talent that fits the bill will be difficult in 2025 due to this sophistication of the role.
Hot jobs: View our posts and Apply Now!
Thank you for joining us for another issue of Interconnection: Renewable Energy USA. We hope you enjoyed it and we look forward to keeping in touch and exchanging ideas, insights, and opinions. If you are a company considering hiring, we welcome the opportunity to present our services and capabilities. If you are a candidate, please check our jobs page or reach out to us to discuss your background, skills, and future aspirations.