Are you interested in learning more about a career in clean energy finance? This spring CELI will host a three-part workshop to provide an introduction on how energy projects are project financed. At the end of three weeks, participants should expect to gain a basic familiarity with key project finance terminology, documentation, and modeling/valuation techniques.

Classes will be held in the San Francisco Financial District on March 16, March 23, and March 30th from 6:15 - 8:15 p.m.

Participants must supply their own laptop with Excel installed, and please charge your laptop before class. Participants are also expected have a fundamental understanding of MS Excel.

Would you like to get more comfortable with Excel while learning what project finance is about? This course will show you how to use Excel to evaluate solar and wind projects. We will cover commonly used functions and shortcuts, and build a simplified model using technical and financial assumptions from an actual wind project currently under construction in the Midwest. You’ll also get an overview of basic project documents and how they are related, and will walk out of the course knowing how investors value solar and wind projects and why power purchase agreements (PPAs) are fundamental to the project finance structure. 

Weeks 1 & 2: Introduction to Project Finance, Modeling and Basic Contracts

Week 1 will focus more on Excel and present basic and intermediate features, as well as some finance basics. Week 2 will focus on providing an overview of how project finance deals are structured and the key agreements that lenders or investors will need to diligence prior to funding.

Week 3: Putting it into Practice

In Week 3, participants will work on a case study in which they will be presented with a real project opportunity and will be tasked with assessing the project's feasibility from both a financial and contractual perspective.

Taught by CELI Spring 2017 Fellows Gokse Ozturkeri and Gil Shefer. Gokse is an Investment Banking Senior Associate at CohnReznick Capital and focuses on project finance and M&A transactions in the renewable energy space —Gokse holds a bachelor's degree from Okan Üniversitesi in International Relations & Chinese Studies and a Masters in Global Energy Policy and Finance from Columbia University. Gil is a Managing Associate at Orrick, Herrington and Sutcliffe LLP and advises developers and sponsors operating in the energy sector on a wide variety of matters, including tax equity financings, energy storage acquisitions, power purchase and sale agreements, and EPC and supply agreements —Gil holds a bachelor's degree in Economics from NYU and a J.D. from Georgetown University.

General Admission: $95 for all three sessions.

CELI Fellows/Alumni: $45 for all three sessions.

For more information, please contact rachel@cleanenergyleaders.org.