Journal #1
I am entering the fourth week of my internship with Quantitative Alternatives, a start-up company founded by Bruce Usher, professor and co-chair of the Social Enterprise Program at Columbia Business School. Our goal is to quantify the production and performance of renewable energy generators (wind, solar, biomass, and others) and use this data to help lower the costs of financing renewable projects.
One of the largest hurdles facing the growth of renewable energy is the premium that financiers demand on lending capital because of the perceived riskiness of these projects. The riskiness comes, in part, from a lack of objective, accessible, and complete data on how these projects perform in the field. Our goal is to accumulate data on all types of costs associated with renewable energy production — generation, maintenance, operations, etc. — to give project financiers a far more precise look at the risks of a particular project, and in turn price the cost of capital more fairly.
In this effort I am relying on my experience in renewable energy policy while learning quickly about electricity markets and regulation. I am working with a small team of other Columbia Business School students who have backgrounds in real estate finance and international investment, which are proving to be very useful experiences. I am quickly learning the mechanics of project finance and the perspectives of a financier.
We have accomplished a great deal in just three weeks and I am looking forward to seeing our milestones by the end of the summer.
Journal #2
While in the first few weeks of my internship we searched for sources of data on renewable energy projects, we are now considering what to do with the mountain of information we now have.
We have systematically unearthed sources of public information on renewable energy generation, equipment, operations and maintenance, financing considerations, location, and any other conceivable factor that ultimately affects the cost of generating electricity from sources like wind and solar energy.
We are using this information to develop an online tool and database that can be used by finance and development practitioners to reduce the uncertainty — and thus the costs — of financing renewable energy projects. Doing so could dramatically improve the number of projects that are economically feasible and lead to cleaner, renewable energy production around the world.
As we build our website and database, we are also developing our business model and identifying potential customers, clients, and partners. I am using a lot of the knowledge I gained in my Strategy Formulation course at Columbia Business School to assess different possible business models, and I am using the perspectives I have gained from my Columbia Business School finance courses to analyze the product from the perspective of financiers, to make it as valuable to them as possible.
As the website continues to take shape, we will turn our energies to the best business model for our service.
Journal #3
I will be wrapping up my internship at Quantitative Alternatives soon and I am proud of all we have accomplished in just nine weeks. We found, organized, and analyzed information on renewable energy projects from around the world, determined multiple, scalable business models from our findings, and approached potential partnering organizations with a demonstration of our new product.
I am confident that this product can fundamentally impact the renewable energy finance sector and lead to more renewable energy in the United States, and around the world.
The venture will continue and new hires will likely come aboard shortly. There may be a possibility for myself and my Columbia Business School teammates to continue contributing throughout the school year, and I hope to continue to be a part of this great team.
This internship has been a great experience, allowing me to participate in a start-up venture from its roots, one with a strong future ahead of it. I am looking forward to seeing where the company will be in its next nine weeks and beyond.
