Keeling Curve

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Project Summary / Description:

This project came from my experience working at a small enhanced geothermal startup (Fervo Energy) and, later, Milbank‚ project finance practice. In both places, I saw that capital remains slow and expensive for clean energy projects, especially for newer technologies or smaller developers. Meanwhile, investors eager to use their savings to advance sustainability goals have very few opportunities to really invest directly in clean energy projects. Distribute Capital is designed to solve both problems: provide project developers with the deep, patient, flexible capital they need, and allow investors to use their savings to do well and do good.

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Impact on Underrepresented Groups:

Renewable energy is critical not only to slowing and eventually preventing climate change ‚ it is also a vital part of a more inclusive, more just economy. Smaller, community-centered energy projects such as community solar, microgrids, and distributed sources reduce costs for everyone, but have outsized benefits for rural, low-income or otherwise underserved populations who have not been well represented historically in the energy and power system. These communities are also the ones on the front lines of climate change, who endure a disproportionate share of exposure to air and water pollution, and who are shut out of a voice or an economic interest in infrastructure decisions and investments. No one has more more to gain from a transition to a more resilient, cheaper, and lower-carbon energy system. 

Distribute Capital‚ system also gives everyday investors direct ownership and control over their energy infrastructure. Today, clean energy infrastructure investment is dominated by private equity and large institutional investors. Fully 90% of Americans are not ‚ accredited‚ and are locked out of the most impactful, highest-returning investments. By deploying a novel Interval Fund structure, Distribute Capital can help these groups access these same investments ‚ and enjoy the returns, the influence, and the genuine ownership that is today the province of a tiny (and disproportionately white and male) economic elite.

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