Pivotal180 Newsletter February 2026
By Alison Leckie | February 17, 2026
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Dear there, In this newsletter, we have included the following content:
Please feel free to check out all our videos on Pivotal180’s YouTube. The Pivotal180 Team. |
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Amir Mehr, Managing Director at Pivotal180, is our newest team member. Responsible for our live stream and in-person course training, Amir develops and delivers course content and provides transaction-focused consulting. Amir has over a decade of experience across clean energy, infrastructure, and climate finance. He has held senior roles at Elemental Impact, Radial Power and Climate Real Impact Solutions (CRIS), along with investment roles at General Electric and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. Amir is also an Adjunct Lecturer at Yale University, where he teaches Renewable Energy Project Finance. He lives in New York City and, when not working, enjoys sports and outdoor activities, poetry (especially classical Persian poetry), and overly ambitious gardening projects. His favorite Excel shortcut is CTRL + 1. |
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Introduction to Project Finance Modeling Do you work with development, engineering, legal, accounting or tax colleagues? Do you believe it is beneficial for them to understand the broader investment context and structures? Or maybe learn a few Excel skills. And would your colleagues enjoy it? If so, then you may want to point them in the direction of our ‘Introduction to Project Finance (Modeling)’ course. This course has quickly become one of our leading offerings. The course is designed for those either newer to project finance, or those that work in the industry, but don’t necessarily lead/execute the transactions. The purpose is to help all your team members speak a common language, to understand what drives value, how risk is mitigated, and to provide some valuable Excel skills. The course covers an introduction to the corporate structure and risk mitigation, how debt and equity investors view transactions, how we use financial models to determine value or offtake prices, and what drivers have the biggest impact on value. Purchase the course online, join a public 5-session livestreamed course, or arrange a tailored in-house offering. We have taught this course to developers, equipment suppliers, offtakers, lender credit teams, and C-suite professionals. The course can be tailored to your required perspective. |
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Free Webinar: Project Finance Modeling for Mining & Natural Resources. Join industry experts from Citi, HSF Kramer, and Pivotal180 for a practical webinar on project finance and financial modeling for mining and natural resources projects. Ideal for mining and energy resource sponsors, developers, advisors, lenders, and legal counsel. Covering:
Speakers:
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Why developers + engineers need to understand project finance models: Part 2 It was a nightmare scenario: abandoned by the EPC contractor just days before the start of construction. Thankfully, a well-built financial model helped make the right choices clear to minimize loss and avoid catastrophe. |
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Corporate PPAs Explained: Structure, Benefits, and Key Risks Corporate PPAs are booming — but they aren’t simple power contracts. Physical and Virtual PPAs work very differently, and many Virtual PPAs behave like financial derivatives. If you don’t understand the structure, you can’t model the risk. Our latest guide explains: virtual vs physical PPAs, core Corporate PPA benefits, and critical 2026 risks like basis risk and cannibalization |
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DSRA Circular Reference in Excel – 3 Ways to Fix It DSRA circular references show up in almost every project finance model, because the DSRA target is based on future debt service, while debt service itself depends on cash flow that can include interest earned on the DSRA — a loop Excel can struggle to solve on its own. Modelers fix this in one of three ways, none of these are “right” or “wrong”; the key is choosing the right tool and documenting how the circularity is handled. |
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The economy should be circular. Your debt sizing shouldn’t. Circular references are one of the biggest hidden risks in project finance models, and debt sizing is often the culprit. Enabling Excel iterations may “solve” the math, but it also creates slow models, hidden errors, and unreliable results. In this article, we explain why debt sizing doesn’t need to be circular, and show a clean, present value based approach that avoids iterations entirely. |
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Course Portfolio and Scheduled Courses The courses in our existing portfolio have been developed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills to tackle all the multi-faceted pieces of a transaction. We look forward to assisting you in demystifying project finance and tax equity. Our upcoming public courses are listed below. Live Stream
Australia In-Person
Please register, reserve a place or contact us for any more information. [email protected] or [email protected] Online Courses |
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Learn the concepts to develop a financial model related to PPP/P3s for both social and economic infrastructure. The course centers on a hospital PPP and toll road, although other sub-sectors are mentioned |
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Renewable Energy Project Finance Modeling Learn how to develop a best-practice financial model and optimize it for both debt & equity investors for a renewable energy project finance deal. Using a case study, learn the concepts required to develop a financial model related to wind and solar. |
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Battery Storage Financial Modeling This course provides an overview of standalone batteries and co-located batteries with wind or solar assets. It is designed to familiarize developers, investors, and lenders with the investment decisions and risks of battery storage projects. |
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Learn how to develop a financial model for a copper project with a typical mine plan including ore mined, waste mined, input grades, high and low-grade stockpiling, and processing recoveries. Understand the key drivers of mining. |
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Tax Equity and Hybrid Modeling Gain an overview of the tax equity structures commonly used in U.S. renewable energy investments, with a focus on the development of a financial model. Dive deep into tax capital accounts, deficit restoration obligations, stop loss allocations, and HLBV accounting. |
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Financial Modeling Fundamentals Building a model from a blank spreadsheet, this course bridges the gap between theoretical learning and practical application. Participants will build a best-practice financial model and will learn the frameworks for evaluating your business and projects, including future cash flows, income statement, balance sheet, and financial statement analysis. |
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Introduction to Project Finance Modeling This course is designed to give participants a strong foundation in the core concepts that impact investments and debt structuring in project finance transactions. It’s ideal for beginner modelers, students and professionals who don’t build models daily, but need to understand project finance models and concepts. If you’re a developer, engineer, accountant, or lawyer this could be the right course for you. |
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Alison Leckie
Complexity simplified.
Advisory, financial modeling, and training courses within climate change, sustainable finance, renewable energy, and infrastructure.
We don’t just teach you how to build models. We teach you how to do deals.