November 13, 2024

Meghan Comiskey began working at Pine Gate Renewables in 2021 as a Director of Project Finance. A few years and job titles later, in October of 2024, Meghan became the company’s first Executive Vice President of Structured Finance. We asked Meghan to tell us about her journey in the world of renewable energy project finance, and we’re proud to share Meghan’s story of her path to leadership at Pine Gate.

 

 

How has your role evolved over time since you’ve been at Pine Gate?  

One of the things that drew me to work at Pine Gate was that it was founded with a mindset of creating a competitive edge through innovative project finance. The company started as a team of seven people working out of a conference room in Asheville and grew to raise over $8 billion in capital and become a leading independent power producer (IPP).  And in a way, my path at Pine Gate has paralleled the company’s growth: in my first role at Pine Gate, I worked to close financing on a PURPA qualifying facility in South Carolina. Then as Vice President, I led the financing for the company’s largest project to-date – a 300 MW project in Texas. And now in my new role, I’m charged with planning and managing the company’s capital raise strategy for a multi-gigawatt near term pipeline. 

 

What are some advantages that you have as a woman in leadership in a male-dominated industry?

Yes, I have spent nearly fifteen years as one of the only women in a meeting or at an industry event, though I’m hopeful that is changing. On the flipside, it’s a lot easier for colleagues and partners to find me in a crowd of men in suits! Jokes aside, I know the challenge of balancing demands from work with being a mom, wife, and friend.  

For women in the professional space, I think it’s important to lead with your skills to build the respect you’ll need to get to the next level in your career. I put in the time and effort to develop my expertise in a way that positioned me for success when I was leading complex transactions. I also don’t separate my professional self from the person I am outside of work – the personal component of being human helps me to be a better leader and role model for my team.

 

What do you think makes the Pine Gate company culture unique? 

I think it’s our special blend of entrepreneurialism within an institution. We’re doing some of the most sophisticated transactions in the renewable energy industry, and we’re doing them at scale with established, mature partners. I’ve heard from those partners what I already knew: we have one of the smartest, most capable finance teams in the IPP industry.

 

What’s a piece of advice you would give to your younger self?

Probably two things: 1. If you do the best you can do at whatever job is put in front of you, you will continue to have opportunities to grow. And 2. The escalation of demands in life and work tend to happen at the same time, and it’s not easy, but if you stay focused on what matters, it will all work out as it should. 

I didn’t take the traditional investment banking path out of college, yet I landed in an industry with rapid growth and interesting, challenging work.  I am so grateful to have found myself working in the infrastructure and energy industry at such an unprecedented time. I often think of the phrase “a rising tide lifts all boats” and at times that’s how the industry feels to me.  It allowed me to find the intersection of what I like to do and what I’m good at and dig in.

 

What are you most excited about for 2025 at PGR in your new role? 

We have some ambitious growth goals for next year — building renewable energy infrastructure is very capital intensive. The company’s needs are driving us to scale transactions and expand core partnerships to increase efficiency across our pipeline. A big part of my new role is to plan ahead and ensure we’re raising and allocating capital effectively. I’m excited to collaborate with the rest of our leadership team to drive forward the company’s mindset of innovation and ultimately bring more renewable energy online across the country.