Overview
The Energy Transition Credit Summit 2025, held on June 2 in New York City, brought together industry leaders to discuss the rapidly evolving energy and infrastructure investment landscape. Co-hosted by McDermott Will & Emery and Fifth Third Securities, the event featured a high-impact investor panel, curated matchmaking sessions, and a networking reception. The panel featured leading voices from top-tier energy and infrastructure investment firms, including Apterra Infrastructure Capital, Brookfield Asset Management, Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC), and Segue Sustainable Infrastructure. The following sets out the key takeaways from this esteemed panel.
Session panelists
- Dave Blanchard, Managing Director & Investment Principal, OIC
- Ralph Cho, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Founding Member, Apterra Infrastructure Capital
- Andrew Ehrlickman, Senior Vice President, Brookfield
- Paul Hildebrand, Principal, Segue Sustainable Infrastructure
- Chris Gladbach, Partner, McDermott Will & Emery, Moderator
- James McGinnis, Managing Director, Fifth Third Securities, Moderator
In Depth
Key takeaways
Policy uncertainty and market disruption: Panelists expressed concerns over proposed legislative changes, such as the begin of construction cliff and tax credit phase-downs, which could jeopardize over $300 billion in clean energy investments. These provisions are challenging for capital-intensive projects with extended lead times.
Data centers driving power demand: The surge in AI-driven data centers is significantly impacting power markets. Developers are focusing on areas with cheap and available power, like West Texas. Lenders highlighted the necessity of reliable grid interconnection, noting that behind-the-meter solutions currently fall short of 24/7 uptime requirements.
Cautious innovation in financing structures: As transferability continues to gain traction, the emphasis is shifting towards finding buyers and scaling existing structures. Further, mid-market deals are particularly benefiting from creative capital stacks that traditional banks might overlook.
Transition to IPP models: Developers are increasingly moving towards owning and operating assets due to a softening M&A market. Lenders are adapting to support these models but caution that independent power producer (IPP) strategies demand substantial capital, operational scale, and equity, posing challenges for smaller players.
Strategic and transparent developer engagement: Lenders advised developers to engage strategically, targeting appropriate capital providers and presenting clear, straightforward models. Emphasis was placed on the quality of development pipelines over sheer quantity, with local knowledge being a critical factor.
