Currents

Trevor Pinkerton and Lior Nuchi with Norton Rose Fulbright join us to discuss the renewable energy SPAC market. We discuss the boom the SPAC market has seen in the last year, the recent slowdown of SPAC IPOs and why it is happening, why technology-focused companies are subject to de-SPACing, the history of renewable energy in the SPAC world, what happens with the deals after they close, how much de-SPACing is happening and more.

Dr. Javier Cavada, CEO of Highview Power, joins us to talk about the energy storage technology on which the company is working. We discuss the energy storage landscape and where he sees it going in the future, market drivers for long-duration energy storage, some of the challenges with long-duration energy storage that Highview Power is addressing, projects the company is developing, the company’s growth plans, its recent $70 million funding and more.

Lee Taylor, CEO of REsurety, joins us discuss the carbon accounting market. We discuss how the company has solved the missing piece of the carbon accounting puzzle, how it has found that some renewable projects displace as much as twice the amount of carbon as others, what locational marginal prices are and how they work, a new concept called locational marginal emissions and how it can help energy buyers double their carbon savings, how this relates to Google’s 24/7 system and more.

Danny Kennedy, an early pioneer in the residential solar rooftop sector and now CEO of New Energy Nexus, a non-profit that connects entrepreneurs to capital to build clean energy projects, joins us to discuss the future of clean energy. We get into his view on the fate of coal, who is winning the race for the future, what will happen to petro states in an EV economy, China’s role in clean energy, the biggest opportunities for impact and return, the most exciting entrepreneurs in the company’s portfolio and more.

Daniel Goldman, co-founder and managing director of Clean Energy Ventures, joins us to discuss green infrastructure investment. We go over what Clean Energy Ventures looks for in potential clean energy and climate tech companies in which to invest, how its investment approach toward early-stage companies differs from the traditional venture capital model, what areas it considers most promising, what trends and technologies in the climate tech sector it expects to gain momentum in the next year and much more.

Simon Morrish, entrepreneur and CEO of Xlinks, joins us to discuss the ambitious Xlinks solar project, which transfers solar energy from Morocco via a 6.3 GW subsea cable to the UK. We get into the scope of the project, where the idea came from, the current project status and next steps, how projects like this are financed, if the model can be replicated internationally, how he is able to convince skeptics and more.

What is the outlook in Congress for the massive infrastructure plan that President Biden unveiled last week? Listen as four veteran Washington observers, John Gimigliano, principal-in-charge, federal tax legislative and regulatory services, KMPG Global, Elissa Levin, director, federal government affairs, Avangrid, Inc., Joe Mikrut, partner, Capitol Tax Partners, and Chris Miller, partner, AJW, Inc., discuss which parts of the plan they expect to be enacted with Keith Martin from Norton Rose Fulbright.

Adam Stern, executive director of Offshore Wind California, and Jim Berger, partner at Norton Rose Fulbright, join us to discuss prospects and growing momentum for offshore wind power in California. We start with an overview of progress to harness offshore wind in the US, the potential to bring this renewable energy technology to California, what it would mean for clean power, jobs and climate in the Golden State, new legislative initiatives as well as hurdles and financing to develop offshore wind in California, and how much this new industry is expected to grow in the next 10 years.

Charles Wheeler, president, co-CEO and CIO, and Benjamin Baker, managing director, at Greebacker Capital join us to discuss the firm’s mission and their fundamental approach to sustainable infrastructure. We discuss some of the most notable changes in renewable energy since the firm was founded, the hardest part about navigating the industry, the competitive landscape, the shift to a private equity focus, how the firm is expected to evolve and much more.

Has the appetite among banks and tax equity investors to finance hedged merchant power and storage projects changed as a result of the events last month in Texas and, if so, how? What lessons did lenders and tax equity investors take away about how to do future projects? Are the effects limited to projects in ERCOT? Sven Wellock, managing director and co-lead of energy – renewables and power at ING Capital, Daniel Miller, managing director at CIT Energy, James Wright, managing director and head of renewables, clean energy and sustainability for the United States at CIBC Capital Markets, and Rubiao Song, managing director and head of energy investments at JPMorgan, talk about these and related questions with Keith Martin from Norton Rose Fulbright.