You are cordially invited to attend

together with

Finance Series Event #3:

“REC Markets and Your Bottom Line”

Date: November 30, 2010

Time: 8:00-8:30am – Breakfast and Networking

           8:30-10:00am – Panel Discussion

Cost:   Members:                     FREE

            Non-Members:             $40.00

Location: Cooley LLP, 500 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02216

Moderator:  Stephen "Zam" Zamierowski, Director, Deloitte Services LP

Panelists:   (Bios below)

George Ashton, Vice President and CFO, Sol Systems 

Renu Gupta, Special Counsel, Cooley, LLP

Prashant Shah, Senior Manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Andrew Belden, Project Consultant, Meister Consultants Group

John Harper, Founder and Principal, Birch Tree Capital, LLC

Overview:

With the current lack of national policy supporting the clean energy industry, Renewable Energy Credits (REC) play an ever-increasing role in funding clean energy projects and companies.

• With national energy policy on hold and significant change in governors’ offices, what changes should we except to the REC markets?
• What are the various types of RECs that may be generated, the mechanisms for monetizing RECs, and the regulatory frameworks within which RECs are traded?
• How does the compliance REC market function?  How do SRECS work?
• What are current indicative REC values?  To what extent can they impact project pro formas?
• What are the principal pitfalls to avoid in negotiating commercial agreements for the purchase and sale of RECs, or financing of projects having a REC revenue stream?
• What are the key policy and regulatory drivers that will shape the REC markets going forward?
• What new sectors may become relevant, potentially with special regimes?  Efficiency?  ORECS?
• How can regional REC markets fill in the gap and potentially accelerate a federal energy policy? 
• Is there direct accessibility for new technologies in REC-driven projects and programs?
  

Join our panel of experts for a discussion on theses topics and on the importance of the REC markets in providing revenue streams for project finance. 

George Ashton, Vice President and CFO, Sol Systems 

As Vice President and CFO of Sol Systems, George Ashton, manages the financial and accounting operations for one of the largest solar financial services firms on the East Coast. With several years experience in SREC markets, he co-manages a multi-megawatt SREC portfolio spanning more than 13 states in the Mid-Atlantic, North East, and Mid-West regions. He also leads the Commercial SREC Services group, working closely with developers, installers, and public/private financiers to create financeable solutions to get solar in the ground.

George Ashton came to Sol Systems with more than a decade of investment, trading, and capital market analysis experience, working in the Capital Markets Group at Fannie Mae. There he managed more than $20 billion in asset purchases during his last year of employment and cultivated and developed business relationships with some of largest banks in the country and several Wall Street firms.

George Ashton has an MBA from the University of Maryland and a dual BS in Finance and Economics from the College of William and Mary. He also serves on the Board of the Washington Jesuit Academy, a middle school for promising disadvantaged male youths.

Renu Gupta, Special Counsel, Cooley, LLP

Renu Gupta joined the Cooley in 2010 and is a resident in the Washington, DC office.

Ms. Gupta has handled environmental review and permitting matters involved in the proposed siting, construction and operation of energy infrastructure projects, such as the development of wind, solar and conventional power generation facilities, LNG import terminals, natural gas pipelines and electric power transmission lines. Ms. Gupta's practice also involves the negotiation of carbon credit and renewable energy credit purchase and sale agreements for wind, solar, biomass and other renewable power generation facilities. She has extensive experience with conducting environmental due diligence for mergers, acquisitions and other commercial transactions, and she routinely advises clients on environmental compliance matters.

Ms. Gupta has represented clients on matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, U.S. Minerals Management Service, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Army Corp of Engineers and other federal and state environmental and land use agencies. She has experience with issues under the National Environmental Policy Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Endangered Species Act, Clean Water Act and Clean Air Act, as well as other federal and state environmental laws and regulations.

Ms. Gupta received her J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Houston in 1994, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif, and she served as a research editor for the Houston Journal of International Law. She received her B.A. in 1989 from Rice University. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia and Texas.

Prashant Shah, Senior Manager, Deloitte & Touche LLP

Prashant is a Senior Manager with Deloitte’s Energy & Resources practice. Prashant brings extensive energy trading & risk Management (ETRM), energy industry, risk management, consulting, systems implementation and project management experience to assist clients’ in their trading and risk management needs. Prashant has demonstrated track record in project management with ability to lead projects from concept to completion.

Prashant leads the Operations & Technology aspects of the Carbon Markets group. As part of the Carbon Markets group, Prashant has played a key role in understanding the business process and technology implications of carbon markets. Prashant has also co-authored an article on “Exploring climate change - Business process requirements for carbon transacting”. He was also a Co-presenter at Deloitte’s 3rd CIO Round Table on “Climate Change: Preparing for Carbon Disclosure, Reporting and Transacting”. Prashant has also presented at the CFO Networking Group on “Carbon Policy Alternatives and Implications for Disclosures and Reporting”.  Prashant was also a co-presenter at Deloitte’s 4th Annual CIO Roundtable on “Role of IT in Carbon disclosures and reporting”. Prashant has  led internal efforts on Business Requirements for Carbon Management systems and efforts around Greenhouse Gas  (GHG) Management System vendor analysis

Prashant has been am ETRM PMO Advisor for a global commodities  trader; he has led a quantitative (analytical) capability creation engagement focusing on earnings validation, price forecasting, fundamental analyses and technology surrounding analytical models for an oil super-major, development of global arbitrage model IT application for an oil super-major, an ETRM - Data warehouse assessment engagement for regional power major, ETRM functionality assessment for a regulated gas utility.

Prior to Deloitte, Prashant was Associate Vice President at a niche risk and compliance IT consulting organization. Prashant led numerous energy trading and risk management projects. He was part of the management group, helped developed company strategy, and led many client relationships.  Prashant has led ETRM system implementation, ETRM system assessment, market & credit risk implementation, market and credit risk reporting, Value-at-Risk (VaR), and business process projects. Prashant was the designated Subject Matter Specialist for ETRM and middle office processes. Prior to that, Prashant was at Accenture, Ltd. where he led many strategy and business process reengineering engagements. He was member of the Risk Management and Finance Group. Prashant led an engagement to develop a retail strategy of a petroleum major, a BPR implementation projects which yielded over $8 million in savings during the project phase itself, and a coal procurement optimization engagement which helped save the client over $1.6 million in recurring costs. Prior to Accenture, Prashant led a number of strategy and energy supply and logistics engagements at Business Consulting Group. His work involved helping international oil major with their country business strategy, and feasibility analyses for setting up “tank farms” for petroleum products.

Andrew Belden, Project Consultant, Meister Consultants Group

Andrew Belden is a consultant specializing in renewable energy and water sustainability. His current work portfolio includes renewable energy market research and municipal cleantech policy development. Prior to working for MCG, he held positions at the Water Resources Agency and the State of Delaware's Green Energy Fund. He is a graduate of the University of Delaware's Energy and Environmental Policy master's program and holds a B.A. degree from Cornell University in biological sciences.

John Harper, Founder and Principal, Birch Tree Capital, LLC

John Harper is the founder of Birch Tree Capital (www.birchtreecapital.net).  Birch Tree Capital is a leading financial advisory firm helping clean energy investors, project developers, federal and state agencies, and utilities on financing for renewable power projects.  The firm has assisted a clean power equity infrastructure fund, authored a seminal report on wind project financing for the U.S. Department of Energy, co-authored a study for the Cape Light Compact assessing the use of cooperatives to finance community wind projects, advised state agencies and companies on federal loan guarantees and other financing options, and advised clean tech companies on financing for projects employing new clean energy technologies.

From 2007-09, Mr. Harper served as the Vice President of Finance and Treasurer for Ze-Gen, Inc.(www.ze-gen.com).   At Ze-Gen, Mr. Harper managed Ze-Gen’s internal finance and spearheaded significant capital funding, including a $20 million Series B equity round and a $2.5 million corporate venture debt facility. Before founding Birch Tree Capital, Mr. Harper sourced financing for multiple power projects in senior finance positions with Enxco, Inc. (www.enxco.com); ABB Energy Capital LLC (www.abb.com), Wartsila Power Development Company (www.wartsila.com), and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (www.opic.gov).

Mr. Harper holds a Masters of Law and Diplomacy from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and degrees from L’Université de Grenoble and Pomona College.  Mr. Harper is also a member of the New England Clean Energy Council’s Policy Committee and is active with the American Council on Renewable Energy and Environmental Entrepreneurs.