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
Chicago-based Invenergy and Monarch Private Capital, an impact investment firm, closed circa $170M in tax equity financing for the 200MW Samson Solar Energy Center II in Texas, part of a planned 1.3GW development.
Israeli developer Enlight Renewable Energy began operations of its 364 MW Atrisco Solar + 1.2 GWh Storage project in New Mexico, developed by its U.S. subsidiary Clenera.
In Nevada, Leeward Renewable Energy’s 700MW Copper Rays solar complex moves forward with the BLM accepting public comment until December 19th.
In Nebraska, EDF Renewables North America signed a 20-year PPA with Omaha Public Power District for its 300 MW Milligan 1 Wind Project which has been operational since 2021.
RPlus Energies and EPC partner Sundt Corporation broke ground on a 400MW solar + 400MW BESS project in eastern Utah.
BlackRock, Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), Microsoft and MGX announced the formation of the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to make investments in data centers and the energy infrastructure to power them, seeking to $30B of private capital to mobilize up to $100B of investment.
According to U.S. Energy News, nearly half of the Inflation Reduction Act’s clean energy manufacturing funding has gone to seven swing states critical to the U.S. election.
CDPQ will take a minority stake (30%) in AES Ohio with a half-billion dollar investment, closing H1 2025, with AES Ohio planning to invest $1.5B+ in T&D through 2027.
Solar tracker company Scorpius Trackers Inc., a subsidiary of India-based Gensol Engineering since its acquisition in 2023, announced its official entry into the U.S. market while at the RE+ 2024 conference in Anaheim.
Community Offshore Wind, a JV between RWE and National Grid Ventures, completed an ultra-high resolution 3D soil conditions survey in the New York Bight through contractor TGS, allowing more precise and certain planning for this projected 3.3GW project.
Recent Personnel Moves and Promotions
Avantus, which was rebranded from 8minute Energy in September 2022, hired Cliff Graham as CEO, formerly with 174 Power Global as Chief Development Officer. Former CEO and Founder of 8minute Energy, Tom Buttgenbach, will focus on impact investment going forward.
Former CEO of the Grid Energy Exchange, James Pettit, joined Green Bridge Corporation, a platform for investable solar energy infrastructure projects, as Business Development Leader.
Tara Jones joined land acquisition and right-of-way firm Salem Land as President, formerly Principal Consultant for Land and Right of Way for Capital Project Delivery with consultancy ERM.
Ashtrom Group promoted Yael Avner to COO of the USA, previously she was VP of Corporate Development and Managing Director of Greece.
Former Chief Customer Officer for BrightNight Power, Michael Sheehan, joined Dimension Energy, an integrated community solar and BESS developer as Chief Operating Officer. Goldman Sachs announced a $440M investment into BrightNight last month.
Brian Fratus joined CEP Renewables as VP of Development and Origination previously with RWE Clean Energy as Senior Director of Business Development for Latin America.
Former CEO and General Manager of the Michigan Public Power Authority, David Walters, joined environmental restoration and engineering consultancy Merjent as Business Development Consultant.
Apex Clean Energy veteran Kenny Chernauskas was promoted from SVP of Corporate Finance to EVP and CFO.
Also taking on a new CFO role is Eric Long who joined Galway Sustainable Capital from EIG where he was a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager.
Additional hires at Galway Sustainable Capital include Cameron Ruble as Chief People Officer, Alla Jezmir as Managing Director for Investment, Ben Fenton as Investment Partner, and Nishil Patel as VP and Controller.
Sue Scarcella joined Eversource Energy as Manager for Transmission Project Services from Georgia Power Company where she was a Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator.
The following law firms welcome new partners:
Willke Farr – Danielle Garbien, Energy, Commodities, and Projects team
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton – Bruce Grabow, Energy, Infrastructure and Project Finance team
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton – Jennifer Brough, Real Estate, Energy, Land Use & Environmental practice group
Holland & Knight – Elizabeth Crouse, Tax and Renewable Energy
What the Market is Talking About: RE+ Anaheim
| There is no denying that this massive event took center stage for much of the renewable energy industry with over 40,000 attendees this year. Without surprise, one of the biggest topics of discussion across multiple speaker sessions was the Inflation Reduction Act. Sessions ranged from the technical side such as tax equity transferability to talks about how to best partner with unions to meet registered apprenticeship program requirements to building out the domestic supply chair with concepts such as “reshoring” and “friendshoring” coming up. There was also a lot of emphasis on grid backlog and permitting bottlenecks as obstacles for swift adoption of renewables. Luckily, there are many smart minds from industry, the national laboratories, and government that are working to solve these problems through legislative updates, the deployment of technology (such as NREL’s SolarAPP+), building up domestic manufacturing to cut lead times for critical equipment, and hiring initiatives. On the topic of domestic manufacturing, I found it interesting as I walked the show floor to see not just one or two, but multiple Chinese companies whose “product” was to build turnkey solar panel manufacturing facilities in the U.S. These heavily pushed fully automated solutions including automated unloading of materials, electrical screening and sorting, cleaning and slicing, packaging and palletizing, and loading. AI and Cybersecurity were also prominent topics with some interesting solutions presented such as managing risk through public-private partnerships and strengthening the grid through collaboration with NREL and the DOE. It seems that EV charging in particular will benefit from the use of AI to plan for nationwide charging stations, ensuring equitable availability for LMI households. Talks on the upcoming shift to EVs included topics such as best practices on permitting and planning for charging stations, battery technology, the future of green steel, and end of life recycling. In a talk given by UL, the speakers brought up the concept that existing gas stations along roads by not be the best solution for EV charging and the BlockEnergy VP of Emerging Technology also pointed out that many drivers will prefer to charge at the grid edge (likely their own home) versus a centralized charging station. This raises the question of what distributed energy resources (DERs) will play in the shift to EVs. Naturally, the November 2024 election was also a topic that came up frequently in conversations. With the election now less than 40 days away, I hardly feel it is worth the effort to speculate anymore on what may or may not happen. It’s time to put the popcorn in the microwave and wait for the show to start. |
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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.