Asset Management interview prep.

Behavioural questions to expect

1. Walk me through your background + renewable asset management experience.
2. Tell me about a renewable AM event or commercial decision you've owned.
3. Why renewable asset management vs project finance, development, or generation operations?
4. Why this kind of fleet + commercial structure - wind / solar / BESS / hybrid, PPA-heavy vs merchant + hedge, partnership-flip vs back-leveraged?
5. Why the firm?
6. What's your read on our fleet + commercial structure?
7. Tell me what you understand about our capital structure + reporting cadence.
8. Walk me through an asset P&L variance or budget reforecast you owned.

Technical concepts to master

• PPA + offtake mechanics + capture risk

  PPA pricing - fixed, indexed, TOD, shape-adjusted · Capture rate + basis risk · VPPA + contract for differences · Curtailment compensation · Change-in-law + force majeure

• Tax equity, partnership flip + IRA monetisation

  Partnership flip mechanics · HLBV (Hypothetical Liquidation at Book Value) · ITC vs PTC choice · ITC recapture risk · Transferability + direct pay (IRA)

• Project debt + DSCR + refinancing

  Back-leveraged vs project-level debt · DSCR + sweep + lockup · Hedge requirements · Reserves + DSRA · Refinancing windows

• OEM FSA + warranty commercial oversight

  FSA / FMSA structure + tenor · Availability guarantee accounting · Serial defect campaigns · Scope creep + change orders · End-of-FSA transition

Practical drills

• At month 7, your 300 MW wind asset is tracking 12% below EBITDA budget. Decomposition shows: availability -4% (gearbox campaign), capture rate -6% (basis blowout in your zone), curtailment +200 hr (grid TLR). DSCR is projected to slip from 1.32x to 1.18x against a 1.20x lockup. Walk through your next 60 days.
• Your new 200 MW solar + 100 MWh BESS hybrid is ready for tax-credit monetisation. Traditional partnership flip: estimated discount-to-face ~18%, 6-month diligence, ITC + PTC mixed eligibility. Transferability: ~10% discount, 8-12 weeks, tax-insurance ~1% cost, single-buyer or marketplace. Sponsor cash need is immediate. Walk through your recommendation.
• Your 150 MW onshore wind asset hits its tax-equity flip in 18 months. Existing back-leveraged debt matures in 24 months. PPA has 6 years left + a 14-year merchant tail. OEM proposes a repower (new nacelles + blades on existing towers) that resets PTC eligibility for 10 years + adds 20% capacity. Walk through your evaluation.

Smart-question anchors

• Fleet portfolio - technology mix, MW + MWh, ISO / RTO footprint, vintages
• Commercial structure - PPA vs merchant share, hedge book, capture-rate posture
• Tax-equity + IRA posture - partnership flip, transferability, direct pay use
• Debt structure + refinancing - back-leveraged vs project-level, recent refis
• OEM + O&M structure - FSA tenor, ISP vs OEM, recent LD claims

Sourced from

IRS guidance on IRA renewable tax credits + Section 6418 transferability + Section 6417 direct pay · Norton Rose Fulbright + Latham & Watkins + Vinson & Elkins renewables project finance + tax-equity client alerts · FERC + ISO / RTO market manuals + tariffs (ERCOT, CAISO, PJM, MISO, SPP, NYISO, ISO-NE) + curtailment guidance · Wood Mackenzie + BNEF + S&P Global Commodity Insights renewable + storage market reports + tax-equity league tables · American Clean Power Association + SEIA + Energy Storage Association industry reports + IPP / yieldco 10-K filings