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Strategic Advisor·Clean Energy·Grid Infrastructure

Jigar Shah

Partner (Powerhouse Ventures); Senior Fellow (World Resources Institute); Co-Founder (Multiplier*); Advisory Chair (Deploy Action) at Powerhouse Ventures; multiple advisory roles

Washington, D.C.

JS
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Why they matter

Most operationally-versed voice in U.S. climate finance: built one of the seminal clean-energy businesses, then ran the largest single block of clean-energy financing in U.S. history.

Background

Director of the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office from March 2021 to January 2025, where he oversaw the deployment of more than $400B in loan authority under the Inflation Reduction Act. Founder of SunEdison (the first solar-as-a-service company) and co-founder of Generate Capital. After leaving DOE in 2025: part-time Partner at Powerhouse Ventures, Senior Fellow at World Resources Institute, co-founder of Multiplier* (helping climate entrepreneurs scale exits), and founding Advisory Chair of Deploy Action (energy reforms).

Notable deals

  • 2003
    Founded SunEdison and pioneered the solar power-purchase agreement model, catalyzing the U.S. utility-scale solar industry.
  • 2024
    As DOE LPO Director, deployed the largest single-year increase in U.S. clean-energy loan authority in history, with $107.6B in active applications and tens of billions in conditional commitments.
  • 2025
    Joined Powerhouse Ventures as part-time Partner after leaving DOE.

Call-prep brief

Background

Jigar is the rare person who has played at every level of the climate-finance stack: founder (SunEdison, Generate Capital), policy operator (DOE LPO), and now investor (Powerhouse Ventures). The DOE role gave him an unmatched view of which businesses can absorb scale capital.

What he cares about

  • Deployment velocity — what gets in the ground vs. what stays on the slide.
  • Building the muscle to absorb the capital the IRA is releasing.
  • Permitting reform as the biggest underdiscussed lever.

Recent moves

  • Left DOE in January 2025 as the administration changed.
  • Joined Powerhouse Ventures, co-founded Multiplier*, became Senior Fellow at WRI.
  • Active podcaster (Energy Empire, Open Circuit).

Sensitivities

  • Has a strong public-affairs orientation. Comfortable with the press; don't say anything you don't want repeated.
  • Speaks at near-CEO frequency about DOE achievements; the framing is sometimes more positive than independent observers would give.

Questions to ask

  1. Where does he see the biggest opportunity gap between what IRA enabled and what the market is actually building?
  2. Which clean-energy categories are most likely to absorb late-stage growth equity in the next 18 months?
  3. Which non-obvious permitting/interconnection reforms would do the most to unlock his LPO pipeline graduates?

Outreach draft

Subject
Post-LPO landscape - 30 minutes?
Mr. Shah, I lead clean-energy and grid investing at [Firm]. Your perspective from both the LPO seat and your new Powerhouse / WRI / Multiplier roles is the most operationally-grounded source we know of on what's actually building vs. just announced. Would you have 30 minutes for a structured conversation in the next month? Best regards, [Your name] [Your firm]

Linked companies

Sources