07
Jan
Meeting the energy demand
The North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) recently published a report that cautions about rising forecasts for upcoming energy requirements and a lack of a definite plan for obtaining the necessary power supply. With the U.S. experiencing a revival in its manufacturing industry, and the growth of power-hungry data centres being built to support artificial intelligence technologies, this combination is predicted to drive a substantial rise in energy consumption, far surpassing previous estimates made by grid operators. Also, the expected increase in energy demand may be difficult to meet due to the retirement of power plants and the challenges in bringing new generation and transmission assets online. In this session hear panellists discuss:
- LNG export is booming in the US. What privately financed projects are supporting this sector?
- How has the regulatory environment impacted investment opportunities?
- What practices should be employed when using reporting frameworks?
- What implications do emerging technologies such as AI have?
- How is the US energy matrix changing and where are investors finding conventional and renewable power opportunities?
- The disruption of global politics and its impact on energy prices.
- Impact of climate change and extreme weather.
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SpeakersMark Voccola Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Infrastructure Americas Ardian
Himanshu Saxena Chairman & Chief Executive Officer Lotus Infrastructure Partners
Peggy Smyth Partner QIC
Mark Florian Managing Director and Head BlackRock Global Infrastructure Funds
John Veech Chief Investment Officer Marathon Capital Partners
Miguel Peña Head of US/Canada Project Finance BBVA
Onofrio Castiglia Reporter Infralogic
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Mark Voccola is Senior Managing Director and Co-Head of Ardian Infrastructure US. In addition to investing activities, Mark is part of the infrastructure co-investment/syndication team.
Mark is a board member of portfolio company Hill Top.
Mark joined Ardian in 2018. Previously, Mark was a Partner at Ares Management, within the Ares Private Equity Group, where he was responsible for sourcing and appraising investment opportunities and monitoring portfolio companies. Prior to joining Ares in 2015, he was a Partner at Energy Investors Funds (EIF).
Peggy Smyth joined QIC in 2021 as U.S. Senior Advisor, Global Infrastructure, based in New York, and Chair of the CenTrio Board of Directors. She became a Partner in 2022. Peggy leads QIC’s North American infrastructure investment team on investment strategy and asset management.
Peggy brings deep experience in decarbonization and sustainability as well as extensive leadership experience in guiding transformations resulting in increased productivity, engagement and performance across the energy, manufacturing, telecommunications and professional service sectors. She is the former Chief Financial Officer of National Grid U.S. – one of the world’s largest publicly owned energy companies – and is an Independent Director of Etsy (digital marketplace), Frontier Communications (digital), Lilium (electric mobility) and Remitly (fintech for immigrants).
As a noted authority on the role of finance executives in driving ESG, she was recently recognized by the Energy Inclusion Conference as one of the “100 Most Influential Women in Energy” and by GreenBiz News as one of its “20 C-Suite Sustainability Champions.” She also received the United Way of New York City’s Power of Women to Make a Difference Award in 2018.
Peggy is a member of the Executive Committee of the Fordham University President’s Council and a member of the Board of Trustees and the Audit Committee of Concern Worldwide, Ireland’s largest aid and humanitarian organization. She is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Ireland (EU).
Mark B. Florian, Managing Director, Head of BlackRock Global Infrastructure Funds ("BGIF"), started the BGIF franchise in 2008. Since inception, Mr. Florian has overseen all of the Fund's activities, including overall strategy, portfolio construction, investment origination, structuring, execution, monitoring, and exit strategy. He is the Chairman of the Investment Committee for BGIF.
The BGIF team manages over $15 billion in capital commitments across four vintages. BGIF invests globally in essential contracted infrastructure assets and businesses by capitalizing on the long-term trends of decarbonization, decentralization and digitalization. The BGIF team has created over 40 portfolio companies across the globe for the Funds and includes over 60 investment professionals who are located in Greenwich (Connecticut), London, Singapore, Houston and Mexico City. The BGIF team joined BlackRock in 2017 from First Reserve, a private equity firm that supported the creation of the BGIF franchise starting in 2008, when Mr. Florian joined the firm. The BGIF team raised the first two fund vintages while at First Reserve.
Prior to BGIF, Mr. Florian was a Partner at Goldman Sachs, fulfilling two primary roles at the firm: 1) managing its global Infrastructure Investment Banking business, and 2) serving on the Investment Committee for Goldman Sachs Infrastructure Partners. His 23-year Goldman Sachs career spanned a wide range of areas within the firm, including the government finance, corporate finance investment banking, and the mergers & acquisitions group. While at Goldman Sachs, he led over $25 billion of mergers and acquisition transactions, and also had structured over $35 billion in financing and hedging transactions. He has been asked to testify to the U.S. Congress on infrastructure issues multiple times and was appointed to a Federal Government commission, which developed recommendations to the U.S. Congress on key changes to its infrastructure finance system.
Mr. Florian holds a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science and Economics, magna cum laude, from Duke University and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Profile to follow shortly.
- 30 years of experience in the industry
- Joined BBVA in 2008, where he has held several position in the Investment Banking and Finance within the project finance department.
- In 2011 he was appointed to the role of Global Head of Infrastructure
- Deeply involved in Latam since 2013Appointed Head of PF Americas in 3Q 2017.
- Moved to US in Nov. 2021 to set up fully dedicated North America Project Finance team based in New York
- Prior to joining BBVA he has held relevant positions at British Airport Authority (BAA), XL Capital Assurance, Cintra and Ferrovial based in either London or Madrid
Profile to follow shortly.