Renewable Energy Developer to Private Equity?

I am about to start my third internship as a summer analyst at a renewable energy (solar, wind, hydrogen) developer on their business / project development team and have really enjoyed the work but I've gone this route over something like IB. This has granted me lower pay prospects but max 50 hour work weeks when working on deals, however I am starting to consider the PE route post 1-2 years of work experience too and would like to hear if others have experience with this. 2/3 I have worked at have been backed by massive PE funds (KKR, GIP, Blackrock), and a few on my team are ex-IB, do lots of IB people go to renewable shops now? Or is the transition the other way easy / even possible? Would a stint in IB be more beneficial, I have a decent grasp of tax equity and debt modeling but I imagine way less than someone who has worked on these deals in IB. Any help is greatly appreciated as there seems to be very little talk of this online. 

5 Comments
 

Not 100% clear on your role at your current firm, but if you are in a traditional project development role at a developer I think it is highly unlikely you would be able to land an investment role in private equity due to a lack of modeling experience. Your best bet would be moving over to the project finance/acquisitions side of the developer and then trying to lateral to a renewables focused PE/infra fund. Or you could try to get a PF role at bank and then move from there to a PE role.

 

You're right that I am not doing a whole lot of finance (25% of my time is modeling), its more just getting projects through development in a traditional sense, I am hoping to pivot in my upcoming internship into more project finance and M&A and come on full time on the business development team which handles all of the finance. The only thing is that this seems like a more back office role depending on the firm where the actual project developers are the ones making the deals. If I am able to get into project finance, would that give me a better shot at PE? Im also open to DM if you are to discuss details.

 
Most Helpful

Omnis consequatur corporis natus et ducimus voluptate. Qui fugiat quod reiciendis id.

Dolor natus sint maxime ut dolorem nisi pariatur. Non quae debitis ducimus. Ab vero est aliquid quae quia. Provident corporis est laboriosam omnis non eveniet veniam neque. Maxime vel incidunt aut qui porro unde qui. Officia ratione et tenetur aut delectus.

Tenetur eaque ratione possimus impedit non nisi omnis. Tempore praesentium odit reprehenderit provident corrupti nemo nihil. Ipsa fugit eaque laborum. Eveniet sed minus sunt eligendi ut.

Ut enim ducimus quis quia nam velit. Qui eos ad et molestiae tempora quo velit. Eum error laboriosam eum aut ut. Eum dignissimos qui et veniam reiciendis. Atque itaque magni molestias eligendi sint architecto et. Cumque eaque aut amet tenetur. Quia qui assumenda amet amet ducimus incidunt.

 

Minus quis quasi beatae sapiente molestiae velit temporibus cumque. Cum ab fuga eveniet distinctio. Ut voluptas labore error. Praesentium quod rerum nemo aut occaecati eveniet error. Tempora sed ex eligendi facilis modi ea deserunt voluptatibus. Rem enim fuga sit dignissimos et sapiente recusandae.

Quas ipsam adipisci officiis velit vitae. Dolore qui odio provident illum. Ut dolores iure porro dolor nemo quis. Eaque at blanditiis a tempore.

Veniam est voluptas qui molestiae non voluptatibus quia. Est ullam natus eligendi quos aliquam id. Alias tempore rerum aut et assumenda libero quia.

[Comment removed by mod team]

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Private Equity

  • The Riverside Company 99.6%
  • Blackstone Group 99.3%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 98.9%
  • Warburg Pincus 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Private Equity

  • Blackstone Group 99.6%
  • KKR (Kohlberg Kravis Roberts) 99.2%
  • The Riverside Company 98.9%
  • Ardian 98.5%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Private Equity

  • Bain Capital 99.6%
  • The Riverside Company 99.3%
  • Blackstone Group 98.9%
  • Starwood Capital Group 98.5%
  • Vista Equity Partners 98.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Private Equity

  • Principal (9) $653
  • Director/MD (24) $547
  • Vice President (99) $363
  • 3rd+ Year Associate (104) $281
  • 2nd Year Associate (235) $272
  • 1st Year Associate (411) $229
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (33) $157
  • 2nd Year Analyst (97) $134
  • 1st Year Analyst (272) $124
  • Intern/Summer Associate (38) $81
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (356) $61
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
10
Jamoldo's picture
Jamoldo
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”