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This week we once again feature Britta von Oesen, longtime #Solar Warrior and Clean Energy maven who currently serves as Managing Director with CohnReznick Capital where she opened the W. Coast (SF) Office. She has over a decade of experience with everything from investment banking to tax equity and development in the environmental sector and she’s done BILLIONS of dollars in transactions. Not surprisingly, we recently revealed that her 2020 episode is one of our top listened-to episodes on the show! She’s the top-most downloaded female guest in SunCast history, to be more specific! There are back-to-back gems found all throughout, so much so that I decided to bring it back for an abridged Tactical Tuesday.
As the Managing Director of an investment firm specifically geared towards serving the Renewable Energy sector, she has an eye for what opportunities attract investors and have the potential to maximize returns. She also has insight on how companies can best position themselves in the market and even added how to distinguish which ones are “pure infrastructure” financial groups that are hands off apart from wanting a portion of equity and as she cleverly puts it, “clipping coupons.”
So, if you ever wanted to know the answers to the following questions: What are some key elements for financing storage right now (that is, what should developers think about when getting a deal financed with solar storage)? Where do new off-take models like CCA’s (community choice aggregators) fit in this economy? Or even the spectrum of investors, from small to the bulge bracket, and how investment banks think about each of these groups? And her take on the role direct relationships have to play in all of this, and whether its a viable option for developers to bypass investment banks and work directly with pensions.
Well, gimme 15 minutes — tune in now!
(3:38) Key elements of financing storage
(5:56) The CCA Model
(13:42) International investors
(15:44) What makes a developer financeable
(18:48) Using a broker vs boutique investment bank
(19:39) Wrap up
NOTEWORTHY QUOTE:
“The biggest issue is the complexity. So for solar plus storage developers, the best advice I can give them on financeability is to make the offtake contract as uncomplicated as possible”
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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.