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I’ve been getting a LOT of inbound over the last year since President Joe Biden took office as investors and renewable energy developers the world over increasingly see the United States as a “great place to invest”. The fervor for developing solar and energy storage is at a pitch I have never experienced in my 15+ yrs of being a solar energy industry participant. Just this week, Quinbrook, the Giant International IPP founded by Australian Legend David Scaysbrook, announced that they’re investing in nearly 2GWof PV projects (and 3.3GWh of energy storage) in the US State of Nevada alone! To that end, I often get questions about “what to look for” as a company that wants to invest in either projects, a portfolio/platform, or even to enter & build a business in the US. Turns out, many of the same filters apply to the US market as other international expansion markets. How do I know? Because I was trained by, and always go back to inquire with, one of the best who himself learned at GE more than a Decade ago!
Sergio Blanco was my direct boss at Conergy, the last real “job” I held, at a time when I was trying to learn what it takes to develop and acquire pipeline in the then-booming Latin America solar market. We went through a LOT of projects, market consideration and strategy meetings, and on-the-ground hunting. So, you could say we both understand what it looks like to develop new markets through trial-by-fire. Sergio is now the Director of Project Finance at Partner Engineering and Science (Partner) and is focused on helping Partner’s stakeholders evaluate and due-diligence the Renewables sector. He leads the Due Diligence process, financial modeling, project accounting, and feasibility reports for lenders of solar PV and Storage projects, amongst others.
He has managed the acquisition and financing of more than 1GW on solar projects throughout the USA and Latin America, and has also managed organizations and M&A Transactions for S&P 500 Companies and relevant Renewable Energy Developers throughout Latin America and the US. And, notably, he was part of the private sector negotiation group that materially supported/created the introduction of the Net Metering bill in Chile, and the signature of the Renewable Energy Agreement between Chile and the United States of America.
In today’s discussion, we focus on the 3 key areas that international companies must focus on when investing in new markets:
Knowledge gathering / best practices - How well do I understand the market?
Foreign direct investment - What kind of investment will it take, and what are the expected returns?
Operational Readiness - What must I understand about place, people, projects to stand up a functional business in the region?
As you’ll hear, Sergio has been the local liaison for utility and infrastructure companies to expand to new markets for more than 20 years. His start dates all the way back to his early career when he spent a lot of time helping Brazilian investors get comfortable with leaving their home market to invest in Mexico as a foreign liaison for one of Mexico’s largest national banks.
Sergio and I also get into:
What else is attracting players to the US Market?
What are the key 2 or 3 mistakes investors make that Sergio helps them avoid?
What are the rules to “play by” in this market?
And, what are the best channels to find investors if you’re looking to expand outside your core “home” market into the US or other regions?
It’s a treasure trove of insight packed into a tiny package, so I hope you enjoy this Tactical Tuesday, Solar Warrior! Thanks for taking the time to stop by. I’d love to hear from you. How did this episode land? Good timing? Leave you with more questions than answers? I’m here for you…DM me or better yet leave your Questions as a comment on my LI Post for today’s episode (might have to scroll to find it)!
VIDEO:
Hey, just for fun here is the first event produced by Suncast in July 2015 where I had Sergio as a panelist for our launch of LACSA (Latin American & Caribbean Solar Alliance).
NOTEWORTHY QUOTE:
“It’s better to sell your credentials than to sell your project.”
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ABOUT THE HOST OF SUNCAST:
Nico Johnson is the creator and host of SunCast, consistently rated a top solar podcast in the clean energy sector. The content of the show is geared towards listeners looking for insights on where the markets are headed, how to position themselves or their companies, and what today's market leaders do to stay ahead of the pack.
Nico is an Investor, Executive Coach, and 15-year veteran of the solar industry, having led development in the US and Latin America for global companies like Trina Solar and Conergy.
You can connect with Nico Johnson on Twitter, LinkedIn or email.
If you’ve been second-guessing your work decisions or maybe trying to reconsider how you "fit" in the renewable energy industry -> grab 20 minutes on Nico's calendar and discuss whether having him as Your personal coach might be the right next step.