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Career Resources
Based on the most helpful WSO content, here's a detailed breakdown to address your questions about transitioning from a Project Finance role at a Renewable Developer to Infrastructure/Renewable PE or IB:
Question 1: Transitioning to Infra/Renewable PE or IB - Feasibility: Transitioning to Infra/Renewable PE or IB from a Project Finance role in a Renewable Developer is quite feasible, especially given the nature of your role which aligns closely with buy-side activities. The experience in tax equity modeling and acquisitions is highly valued in PE, particularly in specialized sectors like renewables. - Skillset Leverage: The lean team structure and significant modeling exposure will enhance your profile by providing deep, transactional experience. This is crucial for roles in PE and IB, where detailed financial modeling and understanding of complex transactions are fundamental. - Networking and Positioning: Continue to leverage networking within the industry. Position your role as akin to a buy-side analyst, emphasizing the strategic and financial evaluation aspects of your job in discussions and on your resume.
Question 2: Continuing IB Recruitment vs. Focusing on Current Role - Career Fulfillment: It's not naive to pursue your initial goal of working in IB; however, it's essential to weigh the potential long-term benefits of your current role against the uncertainty of breaking into IB. - Strategic Patience: Given the strategic nature of your current role and its alignment with PE activities, it might be more beneficial to excel in this position and transition to IB or PE later, leveraging your direct experience and possibly reaching a higher position more aligned with your MBA level. - Personal Satisfaction: If the prestige and work culture of IB are what you truly yearn for, consider continuing to network and keep an eye on new openings, but without compromising your current role's opportunities for growth and learning.
Question 3: Smaller IB vs. Project Finance Role - Compensation and Growth: While the smaller IB offers familiarity and a full-time position, the compensation and team dynamics seem to be significant drawbacks. The Project Finance role, despite a lower initial cash bonus, offers competitive pay and stock options, which could be financially rewarding in the long run. - Professional Development: The Project Finance role appears to offer more substantial professional growth, exposure to strategic deals, and a closer alignment with PE activities, which could better position you for a future transition into larger IBs or PE firms.
Additional Considerations: - Work-Life Balance: Better work hours in the Project Finance role can contribute to a higher quality of life, which is an important factor to consider. - Long-Term Career Goals: Align your current choices with your long-term career aspirations. If PE or high-level IB roles are the ultimate goal, gaining solid experience in a relevant and strategic role like your current Project Finance position could be more beneficial than staying in a smaller, less impactful IB role.
In conclusion, focusing on excelling in your current Project Finance role could provide a stronger platform for transitioning to desired high finance roles in the future. Use this time to build your expertise, network strategically, and position yourself as a strong candidate for future opportunities in IB or PE.
Sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/corporate/project-finance-exit-opportunities?customgpt=1, Renewable Energy PE Overview, Renewable Energy PE Overview, https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/ib-pu-vs-infra-project-finance-teams-for-infra-pe-recruiting?customgpt=1, Public Finance best verticals for exit opps
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If this is a respectable developer with a pipeline of projects being developed, financed, sold, and/or acquired, this opportunity is a goldmine. Your career stock will skyrocket after 1 or 2 years in this role. I agree completely with your MD’s characterization that this is more like a buyside role, since you are the client here, deploying capital and doing M&A and potentially hiring advisors.
The key to extracting maximum value from this is to get the depth of experience that you can really only get as the client. Modeling out potential sales and acquisitions from the view of the developer or acquirer, understanding the development process extremely in depth from site control to permitting/environmental to interconnect to offtake to EPC to financing and sale, evaluating acquisition opportunities from the perspective of a prospective buyer, going through the financing process for a project. In other words, getting all of the experience and exposure at a level of granularity that it’s literally impossible for your IB associate counterparts in power groups to even touch.
A reasonable exit from this would be a top power & utilities/renewables IB group or a strong MM fund, if you extract max value and can blow people away in interviews and modeling tests (which should be easy). Some of the sharpest people I’ve sat across from in meetings with sponsors were people who spent a few years at a renewable developer. You could just tell their understanding came from literally getting in the weeds and doing the dirty work, not just reading and writing a few pretty CIMs. They were dangerous.
I agree with all of the above. I work in the space at a BB and a sizeable chunk of my colleagues spent time at reputable developers. This should be a great opportunity for you assuming the team is actively looking to deploy capital. Taking a deeper dive into the development and operational aspects projects should be incredibly accretive to your career as well.
Thank you both for your comments - this is very reassuring. Hopefully the experience is as good as advertised.
Would you say power groups in IB teams don’t get that involved with the development process? Eg: development approvals, environmental acts, connection agreements, OEM turbine/solar related negotiations and tendering / site optimisation to crank up NCF etc
What about working in infrastructure Project Finance at a bank? Would the exit opportunities to IB/PE be good?
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Dont know but would like to know about this
Would you say power groups in IB teams don’t get that involved with the development process? Eg: development approvals, environmental acts, connection agreements, OEM turbine/solar related negotiations and tendering / site optimisation to crank up NCF etc
From my experience on the the buy side deals that I worked on - I can see that the bankers across from us only touch upon the development process in the CIMs but are not in the weeds of it, they for sure are not reading any of these docs or negotiating those if that is what you want to understand. Most of that negotiation/clarity on the development process comes from the seller's team.
Would it still be decent if there's development/financing work but no acquisition work?
Could you give some examples of what you mean by "getting in the weeds and doing the dirty work"?
Depends on the kind of asset (contracted/merchant) and stage in the development process you are working at (early/mid stage is just ploughing equity out of the balance sheet, haven't seen complex capital getting deployed at this stage and dont find this stage interesting in general)
Things start to get spicy if you are looking at securing project financing for construction or any other financing for ready to build projects - lots of private credit, equity investors and banks want to get involved at this stage. The modeling is similar to an acquisition but gets more granular based on the contracts/docs (PPA, EPC, O&M etc.) that have been negotiated.
Getting into the weeds and the dirty work is pretty much the owner mindset - you as the developer are putting real $$ out of your own pocket, you will own & operate the asset - so you want to ensure that everything is tight, a banker may not be as incentivized (and quite frankly they may not have the time). Things that may possibly qualify as getting into the weeds:
- Reading all the credit docs (probably negotiating them as well) and seeing how various covenants, waterfalls & risks need to be modeled in granularity.
- Read project documents like PPA, EPC, & O&M and identifying risks and financial impact of those risks - eg. liquidated damages.
- You will probably be involved in managing all the administrative documents after the deal is closed (monitoring covenant compliances, calculating interest, and making loan draw requisitions) - very dry but detailed work.
DM me and we can talk about developer quality and what that means for moves into PF / banking
Large number of developers have poor reputations
What are some reputable renewable developers you could name?
For utility-scale solar:
Nextera, EDF Renewables, Invenergy, Avantus, Apex, Origis (kinda rocky rn), Hecate
For Community Solar:
Dimension Energy, Arena Renewables, Renewable Properties, ForeFront Power, Clean Capital, Cypress Creek Renewables, Soltage, Perch, Bluewave, Solstice Power Technologies, REC Solar, Freestone Renewables, OneEnergy Renewables, SunVest Solar, Arcadia, New Leaf Energy, Nautilus Solar Energy, Bear Peak Power, Chaberton Energy, Cloudbreak Energy, ESA, Renewables America, Volta Energy, Prologis, DSD Renewables, Suncode Solar, Lightstar Renewables, Fieldworks Power, White Pine Renewables, Golden State Renewable Energy, Sunrise Mountain Partners, PureSky Energy, Summit Ridge Energy, New Energy Equity, Nexamp, Altus Power
Not too familiar with wind so can't help there
if you're interested in learning about developers in the MENA region, let me know- DM
hi im interested in knowing more about developers in the mena region. Are you able to share more with me?
Similar path here. MBA grad, worked for a big developer in the finance team for my summer internship and secured a full time IB offer for full time in a renewables/power team. I would say it depends a lot on the developer. Is not thaaat easy, banks would see first people with IB experience (lots of folks in this group, multiple recent layoffs in the market) and then they see people with experience in developers. Company name is important, banks look with good eyes people from big public developers or PE backed (I.e EDF, Engie, EDPR, RWE, Orsted, Nextera, DE Shaw renewables, Jupiter, Cyperss Creek, Recurrent, Invenergy etc.).
I would continue recruiting for a full time IB role if you are not totally sold to the developer. I was in a similar position, almost accepted a finance position with a developer after my summer by this time of the year but continue recruiting and secured and IB full time role by December. Worst case is going to the position you already have, I would take the chance to get to my dream job and recruit during the next few months.
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