Mauricio Pereira

Mauricio Pereira has enjoyed a long-term career in renewable energy consultancy, having focused on leadership and management of technical teams, business development, P&L management, and project sponsorship.

Mauricio has extensive experience in managing and directing strategic assignments associated with the development, construction and operation of wind, solar and energy storage projects. He has successfully defined and implemented visions and strategies across different departments, while also taking ownership of KPIs and business development strategies in major consultancy firms in EMEA and LATAM. Throughout his career, Mauricio has advised on a wide range of project development services as measurement campaigns definitions, wind/solar/and SCADA data analysis, wind turbine and solar panel inspections, flow modelling, energy analysis, TDDs and report writing. He has also conducted site condition calculations, shadow flicker, noise modelling and visual impact assessments. Currently, Mauricio holds technical accountability for projects delivered by ERM Renewable Advisory UK and Ireland.

Mauricio trained as a Mechanical Engineer and is also qualified in Renewable Energy. He is a Chartered Engineer of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (CEng IMechE). Mauricio is proficient in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.

President Biden has signed a $430 billion economic and energy bill – an omnibus spending bill that seeks to address climate change, inflation and Medicare costs while allocating billions to cut carbon emissions and incenting clean energy production and development.

In a big victory for the Biden Administration, The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 quickly gathered momentum in Congress in late July after Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) – two holdouts that opposed Biden’s original climate bill – agreed to lend their support.

The legislation – which aims to cut emissions 40% by 2030 – contains $369 billion in climate and energy provisions, devoting nearly $280 billion to clean energy tax incentives.

Generally speaking, renewables in the US are facing pressure from rising supply chain costs, global supply chain disruptions and spiking commodity costs. The IRA will stimulate green technologies and ramp up domestic supply chains, creating favorable conditions for US offshore wind.

The act extends and expands several new clean energy tax credits, such as the Investment Tax Credit (ITC), Production Tax Credit (PTC) and Advanced Manufacturing Production Credit. Such long-term extensions are crucial for developers and suppliers to plan future projects without the fear of tax incentives expiring.

Perhaps the most impactful measure for offshore wind is an extension of an existing ITC, which was set to expire in 2025. The bill allows for the 30% ITC available to projects placed in service after 2024. Notably, the ITC and PTC would phase out when emission reductions meet target levels of 25% of 2022 levels or after 2032, whichever is later.

“The Inflation Reduction Act provides certainty for clean energy as this legislation breaks the ‘on-again off-again’ policy cycle,” notes Doug Pfeister, Managing Director of The Renewables Consulting Group, an ERM Group company. “This game-changing legislation will set-up US offshore wind for years to come and go a long way in helping President Biden achieve his stated target of 30 GW of US offshore wind by 2030.”

A long-term extension should also help to alleviate wind developer concerns about the rising cost of raw materials. Projects meeting certain domestic content requirements are eligible for a bonus credit. The act supplements the offshore wind supply chain with a broad array of supportive tax measures, such as extra deductions for US-made content like offshore wind shipbuilding but also for production costs of critical minerals, nacelles, tower foundations, inverters, batteries, and other components in the offshore wind supply chain.

The Act also opens up wide swaths of seabed available for future leasing opportunities. For starters, the IRA will resume offshore wind leasing off the southeast seaboard, reversing a 2020 executive order issued under President Trump. The IRA also directs the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to issue Calls for Information before September 2025 for offshore wind areas within the exclusive economic zone adjacent to US Territories such as Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the US Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands.

For the first time, the act includes significant new incentives for clean hydrogen production, such as a Clean Hydrogen PTC/ITC. The bill provides a separate credit stream for integrated hydrogen projects and is available during the first 10 years of facility operation provided projects begin construction before 2033.

Jesse Broehl is a Principal in RCG’s New York Office. He has over a decade of experience as a research analyst, consultant and wind energy subject matter expert journalist covering renewable energy. Mr. Broehl uniquely blends technical and industry knowledge on the US renewable energy market with years of writing and market report authorship experience.

Mr. Broehl is an experienced renewables analyst and has lead authorship on multiple technical and market intelligence reports. His experience includes over a decade focusing analyses on wind energy primarily, and solar and energy storage secondarily. As a skilled writer and industry analyst, Mr. Broehl is familiar with all aspects of the renewables market both domestically in the US and globally, and excels in market insights and strategy. He has served clients from across the industry, including wind turbine OEM companies, private equity companies, oil companies, and others.

Mr Broehl joins RCG from the leading US trade group for renewables, where he was a key member in renewable energy market, policy, and technology trend research and analyses. As a research analyst and consultant at an energy consultancy, Mr Broehl managed the firm’s global wind energy market analysis, competitive assessments, product and supply chain analysis, market forecasts and emerging technologies and strategies. In this role he was also the lead author on multiple annual reports and data products. Mr. Broehl has a degree in journalism and multiple lead authorship credits to his name.

Katrine Black is a Principal with RCG in Glasgow. Katrine’s experience includes market analysis and the management and support of both onshore and offshore wind due diligence assignments for acquisition, and vendor and lenders technical due diligence. 

Ms Black is an experienced renewable energy consultant with a focus in onshore and offshore wind due diligence. Project experience includes the operational and construction monitoring of onshore and offshore wind farms, technical due diligence report writing, contract reviews, construction schedule reviews and OpEx analysis. Ms Black is also experienced in insurance technical due diligence for onshore wind and solar projects. 

Ms Black is experienced in construction accessibility modelling, including using real weather data to assess weather downtime allowances and the impact on construction installation sequences. She has assisted clients by providing comprehensive market studies to inform future inputs to financial models and risk analysis. 

Prior to joining RCG, Ms Black was a team leader and senior consultant within a major international engineering consultancy. Her primary focus has been on projects in the UK and Ireland, mainland Europe, the US and Taiwan. Before that she was with an offshore hydrocarbon consultancy working on subsea engineering CAD. 

Ms Black is a trained mechanical engineer, with post-graduate qualification in civil engineering and project management.  

London, United Kingdom – The world’s largest pure-play sustainability advisory firm, ERM, announces the acquisition of RCG (The Renewables Consulting Group) – a global market intelligence, management consulting, and technical advisory firm operating exclusively in the renewable energy sector.

The acquisition expands ERM’s capabilities to support clients across the entire lifecycle of large-scale renewable energy projects, from market intelligence and strategy development through to the development, construction, operations, and decommissioning of projects. It further strengthens the firm’s ability to advise clients on the purchase and sale of renewable energy assets, and adds deep sector experience in offshore wind projects.

The team of RCG grows ERM’s +5,500-strong firm by approximately 60 experts, based in Europe, the Americas and Asia-Pacific. RCG’s leadership team joins the ERM partnership.

ERM continues to expand and diversify its market presence through acquisitions. The deal marks ERM’s sixth acquisition announced in 2021, including related acquisitions in next-generation low-carbon technology advisory, and renewables consulting.

Keryn James, CEO, ERM said: “Our purpose is to shape a sustainable future with the world’s leading organizations. Navigating the new opportunities presented by renewables and low-carbon technologies is central to this ambition. With the acquisition of RCG, we are in an even stronger position to help our clients unlock the enormous potential of the clean energy revolution. We warmly welcome the talented RCG team to the ERM Group.”

Sebastian Chivers, CEO, RCG said: “From the outset, our vision for RCG has focused on building the most respected firm in renewable energy consulting, globally. Becoming part of the ERM Group will help us accelerate that vision and become a global leader for our clients in the energy transition. The backing of ERM will allow us to take the business to the next level.”

Lee Clarke, COO, RCG said: “We already have a track record of successfully collaborating closely with ERM across global markets and have shared values and ways of working. Operating together as a single team unlocks competitive advantage for clients throughout the project lifecycle.”

Glasgow, Scotland – The Renewables Consulting Group, a sector specific advisory firm, has appointed Katrine Black as Senior Associate in RCG’s Glasgow office.

With increased demand for market and transaction advisory services, RCG has responded by bolstering its technical advisory team.

Before arriving at RCG, Black led technical due diligence assignments in offshore and onshore wind, on projects spanning development, construction and operational phases. This included a key role in the acquisition of a stake in Dogger Bank Offshore Wind Farm and debt financing of onshore wind portfolios.

Commenting on the appointment, Nicholas Morgan, Associate Director in RCG’s Glasgow office, said:

“We are delighted that Katrine has joined the RCG team at what is an extremely exciting time for the renewables industry. Our Glasgow team has grown strongly over recent years, throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, to meet our client’s needs in a thriving renewables industry. With experience in onshore and offshore wind, working on behalf of owners, investors and lenders, Katrine’s appointment compliments RCG’s world leading technical advisory team. Her broad skillset and project management capabilities will bring great benefit to our clients across the globe.” – Nicholas Morgan, Associate Director

The Glasgow office is leading the acceleration of the firm’s due diligence platform and technical services in order to realise its overall goal of providing a top-tier market intelligence, management consulting, and technical advisory service to the renewable energy sector and delivering long-term value for clients.