Wharton Club Of DC

WAMM: The Energy Transition: The Bull/Bear Renewables Debate 2/21

The energy transition is well underway as the global energy system is shifting away from fossil fuels. Wharton Club members & guests are invited

Join Washington Association of Money Managers on
Wednesday, February 21st for a discussion on

The Energy Transition: The Bull/Bear Renewables Debate

Location:
National Press Club, the Lisagor Room

Time:
Reception will begin at 6:00 PM EDT
Panel discussion will begin at 6:30 PM EDT

COVID-19 Safety Guidelines: We require all registrants to be vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to attending WAMM events. 

The energy transition is well underway as the global energy system is shifting away from fossil fuels. According to BloombergNEF, global investment in the low-carbon energy transition surged 17% in 2023 reaching $1.77 trillion, despite the effects of elevated geopolitical turbulence, high interest rates, and cost inflation. Electrified transport (e.g., cars, buses, commercial vehicles, and the associated infrastructure) is now the largest sector for spending in the energy transition, growing 36% in 2023 to $634 billion.

Decarbonization of the U.S. economy alone is expected to translate into a $4 trillion investment opportunity through 2050. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) signed into law on August 16, 2022 includes about $369 billion in incentives for energy and climate-related programs, which are projected to accelerate the deployment of renewable generation from about 300GW currently to over 3,500GW by 2050. Furthermore, the need for grid resiliency and “smart grid” spending, as well as electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure requirements, will drive over $100 billion per year investment in transmission and distribution assets. Tax credit transferability, i.e., one of the key provisions of the IRA, is projected to boost cash flow profiles by providing early monetization of tax credits.

Nonetheless, the need to accelerate the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy is fraught with roadblocks in an environment defined by higher-for-longer interest rates and tighter financing conditions. Deteriorating affordability of EVs and lengthening life of internal combustion engines pose another challenge to eroding one of oil’s key sources of demand. IRA repeal risks in light of the upcoming election have also been a key discussion topic within the investment community. Although unlikely to materialize, modified terms or the use of administrative powers to limit the law’s impact could translate into slower capital deployment and earnings growth.

We are fortunate to have highly respected industry experts to walk us through the opportunities, challenges, and risks associated with the energy transition. Michael Cohen is Chief US Economist and Head of Oil and Refining in bp’s Strategy, Sustainability & Ventures group. In this role, he is responsible for short, medium, and long term oil market and industry analysis that informs bp’s Leadership Team and the bp Energy Outlook. Stephen Morel is the Chief Executive Officer and was formerly the Chief Investment Officer of the Montgomery County Green Bank. Christopher (Chris) Versace is the Chief Investment Officer and thematic strategist at Tematica Research, a thematic research and indexing firm.

Please note that the Chatham House Rule applies – neither the comments of the speaker nor those of other participants are for attribution.
 

Chris Versace
Chief Investment Officer and Thematic Strategist
Tematica Research

With 30 years of cross-industry experience, Chris Versace brings his thematic investing lens to Action Alerts PLUS each day as lead portfolio manager. His daily insights, analysis, and recommendations provide the foundation for the Action Alerts PLUS portfolio.

Versace began his career in equity research before founding Versace Management in 2005. He joined TheStreet team in 2011 as a Real Money contributor before becoming portfolio manager of Action Alerts PLUS in 2021. He holds an MBA from Fordham Gabelli School of Business and has co-authored a book called “Cocktail Investing - Distilling Everyday Noise into Clear Investing Signals for Better Returns.”

With a passion for teaching others about investing, Versace spent 9 years as an Assistant Professor of Finance at NJCU School of Business. When he’s not contributing to TheStreet’s premium services, he can be found speaking at industry conferences or at a Bruce Springsteen concert (he’s seen him 50 times and counting!).

Versace also pens the Nasdaq Daily Markets note and in his free time builds thematic and targeted exposure models and ETFs, which has amassed hundreds of millions of dollars in assets.

Michael Cohen

Chief US Economist and Head of Oil and Refining
bp

Michael Cohen is Chief US Economist and Head of Oil and Refining in bp’s Strategy, Sustainability & Ventures group. In this role, he is responsible for short, medium, and long term oil market and industry analysis that informs bp’s Leadership Team and the bp Energy Outlook.

Prior to joining bp in May 2019, Michael was Barclays’ Global Head of Commodities Research. He also worked for a decade in the public sector as an Economist with the US Department of Energy, and as a senior member of the Oil Markets Division at the IEA.

He is a council member of the US Association of Energy Economists’ Business committee, a non-resident fellow at the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines, and a board member of Our Energy Policy. He frequently lectures on energy, oil markets, and geopolitics at several universities.

Michael graduated Phi Beta Kappa with dual undergraduate degrees in Business and Political Science from The Ohio State University and a Masters in International Economics from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is fluent in Russian and French.

Stephen Morel

Chief Executive Officer
Montgomery County Green Bank

Stephen Morel is the Chief Executive Officer and was formerly the Chief Investment Officer of the Montgomery County Green Bank (MCGB). He comes to the Green Bank with a professional background in corporate and project finance, with a particular interest in the use of public and private funds to fill market gaps and catalyze investment into high impact sectors. Stephen brings his strong skills in financial management and project-related investment to the MCGB in order to accelerate the deployment of programs and products towards achieving the Bank’s clean energy and energy efficiency objectives.

Prior to the MCGB, Stephen led a financial consulting company dedicated to connecting infrastructure developers with debt and equity financing sources. This role followed almost a decade of experience as an investment officer and project finance specialist for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation. Stephen began his financial career in investment banking at Taylor-DeJongh and Friedman, Billings, Ramsey.

He received an M.A. from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and a B.S. from the George Washington University. He lives in Alexandria, VA with his wife and two dogs.