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COMPLETE PROGRAMME OF THE CONFERENCE ON RENEWABLE ENERGIES OF ARGENTINA HELD ON FEBRUARY 13 IN LONDON

Date: Wednesday 13th February
Venue: Foresight Groups Events Room, The Shard
1 pm – Registration
Conference Opening: Paul Barwell, Head of Energy Sales, Next Energy Capital
1.30pm to 1.45 – Introduction

H.E.R. Carlos Sersale di Cerisano, Ambassador of Argentina

1.45 to 2.45pm Panel Discussion “Government Policy & Investments in Argentina”
Madeleine Szeluch, Head of Investor Relations BEIS
Carly Magee, Partner, Foresight Group
Maximiliano Morrone, National Director of Renewable Energies, Ministry of Energy & Mines, Government of Argentina Steve Crosley, International Business Development Manager, UK Export Finance
Sam Goss, Investment Director, Octopus Investments Sonia de Sales Lisboa, Country Director Argentina, for Evergreen Investment Partners & Advisers AG Moderator: Professor Gianluca Marcato, Henley Business School Director: PhD and DBA Programmes

Topics:

• Argentina’s Energy policy in relation to the growth of deployed renewable energy production; the National Program for the Promotion of the Use of Renewable Sources of Energy & energy mix targets, Auctions/Government investment incentives, issues concerning project development/grid connections. local employment rules and H&S standards etc.

• UK Government assistance available for UK businesses in developing projects in the renewable space in Argentina; diplomatic, investor partnerships, permits to work, networking/contacts, legal etc.

• Investors perspective of doing business in Argentina; their view of risk or not, opportunities and expected returns on investments, the renewable energy auction programme (RenovAr), ease of obtaining land and shovel-ready projects, project scale and availability etc.

2.45pm -3.45pm Panel Discussion “Constructing Renewable Energy Projects in Argentina – Case Studies”
Giles Redpath, CEO – Hive Energy José Maria Pinar, CEO, Elmya Manuel Fernandez de Castro, CEO, Fieldfare Julian Lynn, Senior Underwriter, UK Export Finance Moderator: Professor Gianluca Marcato, Henley Business School Director: PhD and DBA Programmes

Topics:

• Panel discussion around the reality of developing and constructing in Argentina – local administrative procedures, legal requirements and do they differ here from UK/Europe

• Case studies/Project overviews – project development, planning permission, grid connection, EPC experience, PPA’s, O&M

•Strategy and Implementation Delivery, from a business and technology view

•Project Examples – Case Studies

3.45pm to 4.30pm Panel Discussion “Tax and Legal Implications”
Stephen Hill, Energy Partner at Eversheds Sutherland Greg Falkof, Energy Partner at Eversheds Sutherland
Maria Eugenia Mattera, Energy & Natural Resources Associate at Tavarone, Rovelli, Salim & Miani
Pablo Baroffio, EY Senior Manager- Latin American Business Centre-Global Tax Desk Network EMEIA Sheena Mc Guiness, Tax Partner at RSM UK Moderator: Santiago Ross, Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright

Topics:

• Tax exemptions for renewable energy projects/tax treatment and exemptions on renewable energy projects in different provinces of Argentina, tax offsets for depreciation on capital goods etc, VAT, Exemption from minimum presumed income tax for the first three years for assets used to develop the promoted activities etc
• The legal framework for renewable energy which was passed in 2015 and that put into place renewable energy targets, created FODER (the government Renewable Energy Fund), and established fiscal incentives and competitive and transparent market rules to attract international investors; cross-border financing and project development in all types of renewables, wind and solar, M&A’s etc
4.30pm Wrap Up – Networking Drinks Reception until 5.45pm

Speakers Biographies

H.E.R. Carlos Sersale di Cerisano, Ambassador of Argentina

Ambassador to the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 2016. Previously, he was Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa and Ambassador-at-large to nine regional Member State countries of the SADC. In Argentina, he was Director of International Security, Nuclear and Space Affairs and President of the Missile Technology Control Regime; Director General of Human Rights; and special advisor for Argentine Dialogue at the United Nations/UNDP. He was Under Secretary for International Economic Relations (Province of Buenos Aires). He worked at the United Nations. He was in charge of negotiating the Special Associative Relationship Treaty with Italy and was acting representative to the UN’s food and agricultural bodies in Rome. He worked on economic integration and regional cooperation. He holds a degree in Economics (University of Buenos Aires) and a Master’s in international Relations (Columbia University). Before joining the Argentine Foreign Ministry; he worked in the private sector.

Madeleine Szeluch, Head of Investor Relations at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) in the UK Government.

In her role, she focuses on aspects relating to energy security & supply, low carbon investment and funding opportunities, domestic and global stakeholder engagement, corporate finance and subsidy policy mechanisms. As part of her IR remit, she manages global relationships with a range of investors to attract investment into the UK Energy sector. Prior to joining Government in 2015, she was part of the senior management team at GLG, the largest knowledge-sharing research firm where she helped multinational institutional investors with their primary research and due diligence into the global energy industry. Madeleine was instrumental in growing the company’s Emerging Market division, focusing on Central & Eastern Europe and Sub-Saharan Africa and played a key role in helping investors make the necessary contacts, locate suitable project financing opportunities and understand key risks and obstacles. From 2009 to 2012, Madeleine worked at Thomson Reuters’ London office. She was responsible for analysing key market trends across the energy industry, stakeholder relationships, corporate governance, market intelligence and monitoring of shareholder activism for corporates in the Nordics and Scandinavia. Madeleine has over 13 years of experience with the global energy markets, supply dynamics, fundraising and stakeholder engagement. Madeleine started her early career in Investor Relations in Canada and Bermuda, working for American hedge funds.

Carly Magee Partner, Foresight Group

Carly joined Foresight Group in 2014 and is a Partner based in the London office. She has over 11 years of experience. Carly is responsible for raising and deploying capital in the energy infrastructure sector and led the establishment of Foresight’s Australian solar investment programme and fundraising activities in South Korea. Prior to joining Foresight Carly worked at Ingenious Group as an Investment Manager in their Clean Energy team where she focused on renewable energy investments in the UK. She has also worked as a Manager at EY, focusing on the renewable energy sector in their Lead Advisory team. Carly is a Chartered Accountant, IMC qualified and holds a BA in Pharmacology from the University of Bristol.

Maximiliano Morrone, National Director of Renewable Energies, Ministry of Energy & Mines, Government of Argentina

Maximiliano Morrone is the Director of the National Office for the Promotion of Renewable Energy at the Ministry of Energy and Mining of the Argentine Republic. His main task is to foster the use and the incorporation of different renewable energy sources to the national energy mix. Additionally, he is in charge of identifying and managing promotional plans, scientific and technological research, technical studies and the inventory of natural resources in Argentina. Maximiliano has 16 year of experience in the energy field, having developed solar energy and energy efficiency field projects in the last years. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering from Universidad Católica Argentina and Universidad Politécnica de Valencia (Spain), and a Master’s Degree in Renewable Energy from Universidad Tecnológica Nacional (Argentina). He also earned a certificate in Strategic Marketing from the IAE Business School (Argentina).

Paul Barwell, Head of Energy Sales, Next Energy Capital

Paul joined Next Energy Capital in 2018 as Head of Energy Sales. His role is to optimise the sale of electricity from all of Next’s existing 800MW UK and Italian assets as well as their future global subsidy free assets. Previously, Paul became the CEO of the Solar Trade Association in 2012, following 18 months as a renewable energy consultant. He managed the rapid growth of the STA and established it as the voice of solar in the UK, leading on key policy issues such as the Feed-In Tariffs, the integration of variable renewables into the electricity system plus key wins on VAT and business rates for export solar. During his 6 year tenure he built strong relationships with industry members, lobbying Government and media to promote solar as a mainstream contributor to UK Plc helping to contribute to the growth of solar from 1GW to 12GW. His earlier career was as Head of Energy Trading for various banks and energy companies where for 15 years he built a successful track record trading and marketing energy derivatives at JP Morgan, RBS Sempra, Bank of America, Koch and Goldman Sachs.

Steve Crosley International Business Development Manager, UK Export Finance

Steve has worked with UK Export Finance (UKEF) for many years in a variety of roles. He is currently part of a small International Business Development team aiming to raise awareness of UKEF’s financial support overseas (and in the UK) and works closely with the DIT sector specialists where export credit support may be a key factor in the success of projects. Steve has regional responsibility for the Middle East and Latin America and his role involves early engagement with sponsors/buyers/borrowers/bankers on project opportunities and suppliers/trade bodies in the UK and specific project leads. He has previous experience in Country Risk and of promoting in simple terms, how UKEF’s products can provide valuable support to UK companies wishing to export and to Overseas Buyers looking at engaging UK contractors/suppliers.

Sam Goss, Investment Director, Octopus Investments

Sam joined the Octopus Renewable Energy team as an Investment Director in 2014 and heads the team’s Project Finance and New Business Platform activities. Prior to joining Octopus he was an Investment Director at Platina Partners, responsible for investing in pan-European wind power and corporate turnaround transactions. Before that he worked making investments in high growth SMEs in Latin America and China. Sam holds a B.Sc. in Geography with Economics from the London School of Economics, an M.Sc. in Economics for Development from Oxford University, and an MBA from INSEAD.

Sonia de Sales Lisboa, Country Director Argentina, for Evergreen Investment Partners & Advisers AG

Sonia is Argentina Country Manager of Evergreen Investment Partners. She is Member of the Board of Directors in the Argentinian Chamber of Renewable Energies (CADER) and is President of the AMES Argentina (Association of Women in Sustainable Energies). Prior to Evergreen she has served as Argentinian Country Manager at FieldFare Renewables, overseeing the company’s operations and specially the greenfield development strategies of solar PV projects in the country. Sonia brings 5 years of experience in legal advisory, energy investment, project development and project management, having developed PV projects in excess of 1000MW. Sonia holds a Double Bachelor’s degree in Law and Political science from Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and a MBA in International Management from Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo. Sonia speaks Spanish, Portuguese and is fluent in English and French.

Giles Redpath Chief Executive Officer, Hive Energy Ltd

An entrepreneurial business leader with 25 years’ experience, investing both in the UK and internationally, developing green energy opportunities in the Solar, Wind and Tidal sectors. Established Hive Energy in 2010. Within 5 years the company was ranked as the Highest Pure Play Developer in the UK by Solar Intelligence and in the top three Solar Businesses in Britain by Bloomberg. Hive Energy now has regional headquarters in the Africa, Turkey, Spain, Argentina and Mexico with further global office locations in the pipeline. A proven track record in the delivery of multiple Solar Parks totalling over 300MW with more than 3.5GW of additional Solar Park projects approved and in development and 30+ sizeable Solar Rooftop projects completed across the UK. Further large-scale projects are in development globally, following the expansion of Hive Energy and the establishment of regional headquarters in Africa, the Middle East and Central America.

José Maria Pinar, Chief Executive Officer, Elmya S.A.,

Elmya is an EPC contractor with over 250 MW track record in solar pv, as well as other technologies. Electrical Engineer with over 14 years of experience in the energy sector, Jose Maria has participated in the engineering and construction of more than 50 energy projects worldwide. He has a track record of more than 500 million USD in solar pv transactions in the UK, Europe and Latin America with Elmya and other companies. Successful entrepreneur and recognized solar expert, Jose Maria is co-Founder and CEO of Fieldfare, as well as member of the Board of Directors Elmya. He holds an MBA from IESE-San Telmo.

Manuel Fernández de Castro, Chief Executive Officer, FieldFare Renewables

FiekdFare is a leading developer in solar energy. FieldFare develop, finance, build and operate solar plants in Latin AmericaIndustrial Engineering from the University of Seville and an MBA from the IE Business School, Manuel has over 9 years of experience in the solar photovoltaic sector. Before co-founding Fieldfare, he served in different positions at Fotowatio Renewable Ventures, been responsible for the development of projects in countries such as Spain, France, Italy, India, Mexico, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Panama, Chile and Peru. Manuel developed a pipeline of more than 400MW for FRV and is now leading FieldFare development team. He is co-founder of the Association of Solar Photovoltaic Producers in Mexico (ASOLMEX), where he still has a place at the Board of Directors. Manuel Fernandez de Castro has lived in Spain, Ireland and Mexico.

Julian Lynn, Senior Underwriter, UK Export Finance

Julian has over 30 years international banking experience in project, export, and structured finance, having worked with major international banking groups such as Standard Chartered and HSBC. He has worked in all the main sectors of power (thermal and renewable), infrastructure (water, airports, ports), oil and gas and petro-chemicals, and in the emerging markets of Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. He has also extensive experience of working with bilateral and multi-lateral lending agencies such as IFC, EBRD, Proparco, OPIC, European ECAs, US Exim, JBIC and KEXIM, as well as the likes of FMO, KfW and CDC in multi-sourced financing. Currently his role with UKEFis as a senior underwriter, renewables.

Moderator: Professor Gianluca Marcato, Henley Business School Director: PhD and DBA Programmes

Gianluca Marcato is Professor of Finance and Real Estate, Director of the PhD Programme Director and of the INREV/Henley Certificate in European Non-Listed Real Estate Investment at Henley Business School (University of Reading), where is also an Associate of the “Walker Institute” and “Sustainability in the Built Environment” Research Centres. Currently he also holds positions as Visiting Professor at the University of Amsterdam (UvA, Netherlands) and at the Center for Real Estate and Environmental Economics at NTNU Business School (Norway). Gianluca is AREUEA board member, where he serves as chair of the International Committee. Previously he worked at CASS Business School and Bocconi University and was visiting fellow at NYU and LSE. His research interests lie in asset pricing, portfolio management and real estate finance. He is a recipient of several research grants from institutions and industry bodies and has published his work in various journals including Journal of Corporate Finance, Real Estate Economics and Journal Real Estate Finance and Economics. As a consultant, he led the introduction of a new real estate index and benchmarking service for MSCI/IPD in Italy, created the Jones Lang LaSalle style index, identified performance measurement systems for renewable energy projects held by The Crown Estates and worked for several other companies on issues such as investment and securities appraisal, portfolio management and real estate finance. He has also developed a series of executive training for companies (e.g. Prudential, Generali, Bloomberg) and has worked with the General Directorate for Financial Supervision and Regulation at the Bank of Italy to train supervisors and consult on the establishment of a new national legislation for real estate funds. Currently is providing advise to the US Department of Energy on ESG compliance and company performance.

Stephen Hill, Partner – Energy & Infrastructure, Eversheds Sutherland LLP

Stephen is a partner in ES’s corporate practice. He has worked on a wide variety of national and international corporate transactions from company starts ups and venture capital funding, mergers, acquisitions and disposals, private equity, infrastructure and other fund raising (acting for both management and funder) and trade exits. Stephen acts for a number of UK and overseas major corporates including Tyco (ADT), E.ON, SunEdison and Centrica. He acts for a number of infrastructure, private equity and VCT institutions including BlackRock, Greencoat and Zouk Capital. Stephen has a particular focus on the clean energy sector. He has been involved in a number of high profile transactions in the clean energy sector including the £423m acquisition of 2 operating offshore assets for BlackRock and GIB, the 42MW sale of a biomass project to CIP, the acquisition and development of over 1.5GW worth of solar PV in the UK, the acquisition and development of onshore wind assets and solar PV plants for BlackRock totalling over 500MW, and the acquisition and debt and equity funding of UKPR by Equistone and Inflexion. Stephen is client partner for a number of international solar PV and biomass developers and regularly chairs discussion groups at international level.

Greg is a Partner in our International Arbitration Group. He is based in London and previously worked out of the Eversheds Sutherland office in Paris. He specialises in commercial and international investment arbitration as well as in public international law. He focuses on disputes concerning the energy and natural resources, construction and infrastructure, transport and manufacturing/industrials sectors, primarily in the Middle East and Africa.

Greg has extensive experience of acting as counsel and advocate in institutional and ad hoc arbitrations, including under the ICSID, ICC, LCIA, CIETAC, and UNCITRAL Rules. His recent experience includes acting for investors in an ICSID arbitration against a European State; acting for a Middle Eastern national oil company as respondent in a multi-billion dollar arbitration relating to claims for lost profit, gas sales, gas price review issues, reservoir performance, hydrocarbon production and equipment failures; advising a European super-major in three related gas price review actions in Europe; acting for a Canadian concessionaire in a dispute concerning an oil concession in Egypt; advising an EPC contractor on an ICC dispute concerning the salvaging of an oil tanker; acting for investors in an ad hoc investment treaty dispute concerning the LPG industry in South Asia; advising a North African State in defending an international investment arbitration arising from the events surrounding the Arab Spring, brought by a Korean construction firm; advising a professional construction services practice on an ICC dispute involving a multi-billion dollar construction project in Asia; and acting for a State in an ICC dispute relating to a highway concession in Eastern Europe; and appearing before the English court for the enforcement of a foreign arbitral award against an African State.

Greg is co-founder and a former Director of Delos Dispute Resolution, an independent arbitration institution that promotes quality, flexibility, and time and cost efficiency in the resolution of international disputes.

Prior to his legal career, Greg previously worked as a construction project manager in the UK and South Africa, gaining experience on construction projects with architectural firms and construction contractors.
María Eugenia Mattera, Senior Associate, Tavarone, Rovelli, Salim & Miani Law Firm (TRSyM)
María Eugenia Mattera joined TRSyM’s Energy and Natural Resources Team in 2016. Since then, she has been giving counsel to major local and foreign IPP’s, mainly renewable, regarding regulatory and corporate matters. She has actively participated in public and private tenders for the awarding of PPAs, especially in Program RenovAr.
María is an Argentinian qualified lawyer with experience in Administrative, Constitutional Law and Energy infrastructure projects and is currently completing an LL.M. in Energy & Natural Resources at Queen Mary University of London. She holds a law degree with Honours from the University of Buenos Aires and a Specialization in Administrative Law and Economics from the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina.

Pablo Baroffio, EY Senior Manager- Latin American Business Centre-Global Tax Desk Network EMEIA

Pablo is a Senior Tax Manager with the Latin American Business Centre (LABC) at EY London. He advises multinational companies with investments and operations in Argentina and other Latin American countries and has more than 15 years of experience in international tax matters. Pablo is a Certified Public Accountant graduated from the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and has carried out Taxation post graduate studies at the same University.

Prior to joining the EY London team, he has worked at EY Argentina based in Buenos Aires. Sheena McGuiness, Tax Partner at RSM UK Sheena is a partner is RSM’s corporate tax team and has over 20 years’ experience in advising companies on their tax affairs. Her work encompasses all aspects of managing the tax life cycle of companies, from due diligence and tax efficient structuring on acquisition, managing the tax filing obligations and ongoing tax advice all the way through to divestment preparation and readiness. Sheena has extensive experience gained during her time in both practice and industry. Sheena understands the importance of providing businesses with pragmatic and practical advice gained during her six years at Royal Dutch Shell plc, where she was the Head of Tax for Shell Renewables. She has advised clients of various sizes ranging from large corporates (such as BP) to PE houses and owner managed businesses and in various industry sectors such as renewables, retail, leisure, public sector, media and advertising. Sheena speaks regularly on the tax aspects applicable to the renewables sector. She is both a chartered accountant and chartered tax adviser.

Moderator: Santiago Ross, Associate, Norton Rose Fulbright

Santiago is a renewable energy projects lawyer based in London and member of the Global Energy team at Norton Rose Fulbright. He focuses on the construction, operational and regulatory aspects of renewable energy projects in emerging markets. Santiago has been involved in the Latin American energy industry since 2011, where he has advised developers, commercial lenders, multilaterals and investors on renewable energy projects in Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Peru and the Dominican Republic. Santiago read law at the Andres Bello Catholic University in Venezuela, and obtained a Master’s Degree in Law from Kings College, University of London.

by Emilio López King

Director

www.energiasrenovables.com.ar 

[email protected]