Journal 1
Two weeks ago, I started my summer fellowship at Karbone, based in New York City. Karbone provides renewable energy brokerage and project finance, and related research and advisory services. The company occupies a unique position as a one-stop shop for renewable energy developers looking to finance a project, access market research, and lock in a long-term contract for carbon offsets or renewable energy certificates (RECs).
I am working within the project finance and research groups, where my responsibilities include analyzing projects by way of modeling their financials, and analyzing the technology and the team for all solar, wind, and biofuels projects. I have been put on two very interesting projects.
On one, I am working with an innovative algae-to-biofuels company based in Australia that has engaged Karbone to raise capital for several commercial-scale facilities. The company has formal agreements with three of Australia’s largest coal-fired power stations to deploy its emissions abatement and algae-harvesting technology on a commercial scale. The company also has an agreement to deploy its technology outside of Australia at a power station in Thailand.
On another project, I am working with a client that is a private investment fund based in New York City looking to commit debt and equity capital towards the construction and financing of solar energy generation assets. We have already issued an RFP to selected solar developers, and we will help the private investment fund evaluate the potential projects as we receive RFP responses.
Over the first two weeks, I have also conducted research on behalf of the business development team to look into potential new markets for the firm.
The renewable energy markets in the United States are ever-changing and it is an exciting industry to be in. There is a lot to learn about different kinds of financing as well as the individual technologies. The team at Karbone is passionate about what they do and have involved me right away on two interesting projects, which should keep me very busy for a good part of my time here.
Journal 2
The last few weeks have passed very quickly. I have continued to work with the algae-to-biofuels company based in Australia that is trying to raise capital for several commercial-scale facilities. While the investment is attractive, it has been difficult finding capital sources in the United States, because there are quite a few attractive US-based algae companies. It is tough to compete with US companies given that the company we are working with is in Australia.
The project that has occupied most of my time, however, is working with the private investment fund based in New York City looking to commit debt and equity capital towards the construction and financing of solar energy generation assets. Having sourced more than 30 projects, we are now in the process of evaluating individual projects and negotiating terms for each investment. Our client is eager to put capital to work and we are working quickly to find the best projects. Each project is very different, and it is interesting to be part of the entire financing process.
I have also assisted with some of the firm’s research engagements. For one project, I co-authored and delivered a custom research report on the US solar market for a large, South Korean solar firm. As part of the report, we also advised the South Korean firm on a US market entry strategy, in particular on the best approach to acquire a portfolio of assets in the New Jersey market.
I am learning a great deal about how solar projects are financed, different debt structures, and the intricacies of each state’s renewable energy market. Working in a smaller company has allowed me plenty of responsibility and ownership over individual projects. Additionally, I was able to join the entire team at an all-day, offsite sales training session, where I learned skills transferable to any job.
Journal 3
My summer fellowship at Karbone has been a very valuable experience. I ended up staying on an additional week to finish up a research project that has turned out extremely well, but required a lot of extra work.
The project involved modeling demand and supply for renewable energy generation for utilities in California, Oregon, and Washington, in order to determine future pricing forecasts for renewable energy credits. The client was a large power consortium that is building a portfolio of wind assets in the Western United States.
Karbone is expanding its service areas and into new markets, and there is momentum for growth. I have had some key successes this summer and hope to stay involved with the organization in the future.
