Project Finance Modelling For Renewable Energy

Our finance modelling for renewable energy course trainer has over 30 years of experience in a wide range of finance roles. He has delivered training courses on behalf of many international training companies since 2005.

He trained as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG in South Africa and New Zealand, before moving into industry with Ford Motor Company. He held various positions there in financial analysis, budgeting and forecasting until he was appointed sales planning manager; responsible for forecasting models, production planning and supply logistics. He joined a multinational private consultancy group in Australia, as their general manager (finance); in this role, he guided the group through a period of major change and financial turnaround.

For the past 21 years, he has worked as a freelance financial modeller, analyst and trainer for a range of blue-chip clients. Assignments have included financial modelling for two major LNG projects in the Middle East, numerous renewable energy projects in both Europe and developing countries, structured financing for a large-scale property development, restructuring and outsourcing projects in the retail gas sector, and PPP transactions in the utilities, health and support services sectors.

With an extensive accounting background, he brings accounting knowledge and analytical skills to transactions and financial modelling. He has built up a great deal of experience in financial modelling in numerous sectors, including gas production, electricity generation, energy retailing, waste processing and property development sectors, as well as building financial models in central government departments, retail enterprises and high-volume online environments. He has built, developed and used models to support commercial negotiations, analyse risk, test scenarios and forecast results.

He has trained others in his specialism of financial modelling and runs public courses on behalf of major training companies all around the world.

Our finance modelling for renewable energy course covers the following:

• Learn about best practices in model structures and logic
• Build up, in manageable stages, an entire financial model for a renewable power project
• Create flexible revenue, production and cost forecasts
• Add flexible capital expenditure profiles into the model
• Include financing structures in the model
• Model dividend distributions to equity shareholders
• Learn about bank ratios and debt covenants, and how to include them in the model
• Learn to calculate the weighted average cost of capital (WACC)
• Value the project using discounted cash flow measures
• Use Excel tools to highlight risk areas, particularly in sensitivity analysis

• At Redcliffe, our finance modelling for renewable energy course builds an entirely renewable energy model from scratch
• Practical hands-on modelling under the guidance of an expert financial modeller
• Building up an operating cash flow forecast
• Modelling capital expenditure
• Learning about funding the project with equity and multiple debt tranches
• Learning to do sensitivity analysis using Excel's built-in tools

This project finance modelling course is designed to help analysts create and use project financial models on a consistent and focused basis, specifically for the renewable power generation industry.

Aims

The principal aim of the project finance modelling training course is to enable participants to create, use and analyse a project finance model, specifically for the renewable energy industry. This will be done by reviewing best practices in model structures, and then building up calculations stage-by-stage to create an entire model. We will then use Excel tools to analyse outputs, highlight areas of risk and perform sensitivity analysis.

Methodology

The learning methods used are practical, as practising newly learned techniques build skills more deeply and more effectively. Each section will be covered briefly as a module in a traditional class style, but the real learning experience will be found in the exercises within each module. Suggested solutions to each stage will be provided and discussed, and participants will be encouraged to review their work independently. Further supporting materials and additional exercises will be available for further post-course learning, with ongoing support from the facilitator.

Practical Exercises

A big focus of this project finance modelling for renewable energy training course is learning through experience. An entire model will be created from scratch. Starting with basic assumptions and input data, delegates will build a model with financial structures, inflation, cash flow waterfall, tax and dividends, equity returns and valuations, ratios and cover factors, and sensitivities.

Headlines

• Learn about using best practice financial modelling in structure and techniques
• Building flexible models to accommodate change
• Building funding structures and cash flow waterfalls
• Using the outputs of the model – ratios, sensitivity analysis, scenarios
• Creating and using an entire model for a renewable energy project