Contributors

Shantanu Srivastava and Tanya Rana

Shantanu Srivastava is responsible for leading the sustainable finance and climate risk initiatives at IEEFA South Asia. He specializes in the financing, policy, and technology aspects of the Indian electricity market.

Shantanu's primary objective is to contribute to the establishment of a strong sustainable finance ecosystem in the region. He also aims to provide guidance to financial regulators and intermediaries on how to address climate risks and leverage the opportunities presented by the energy transition. Additionally, Shantanu's work involves evaluating listed companies in the Indian energy sector, examining their transition strategies, assessing their financing requirements, and analyzing their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) profiles. 

Shantanu possesses prior experience in corporate finance and strategy consulting, having collaborated with clients in various industries based in North America and the Middle East. A CFA charter holder, he holds an MBA degree in finance from IMT and an engineering degree from NMIMS University.

Tanya Rana is an Energy Analyst at IEEFA, where she concentrates on India's energy transition, encompassing the decarbonization of industries and the power sector. Her efforts are committed to effectively navigating the complexities associated with transitioning toward a net-zero future.

Previously, during her internship at AuctusESG, Tanya developed a profound understanding of major developments in ESG, Sustainable Finance, and Climate Risk. Engaging in extensive research and reading valuable reports, she gained insights into the evolving landscape of environmental, social, and governance considerations.

Following her graduation, she spent two years with Ernst and Young (EY) Global Delivery Services in its Assurance vertical, focusing on negotiating and communicating with overseas clients, primarily based in France.

Transitioning from her role as an Auditor at EY, Tanya decided to contribute to the French education sector. In 2020, the French Ministry of Education provided her with the opportunity to serve as an English Language Faculty in Public High Schools in France.

Tanya holds a Bachelor’s degree in the field of commerce from the University of Delhi and is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Public Policy from the National Law School of India University, Bengaluru, India.

Sharad Somani

Sharad is the Asia Pacific head of Infrastructure for KPMG. With over 20 years of experience in power and utilities sector covering the entire lifecycle of projects from conceptualization to operations, Sharda brings in-depth experience of working with different stakeholders including governments, regulatory agencies, developers, financial institutions and technology providers. He has been focused on leveraging technology for better infrastructure delivery as well structuring innovative financing for infrastructure sector. Energy transition and climate change are key parts of his focus as clients navigate the environment and sustainability challenges.

Sharad has advised various government and private sector clients in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. Sharad’s main thrust has been on privatization / PPP advisory, fund raising and project implementation and operational optimization for power, renewable energy, water, waste management, and technology projects in the region.

Some of the key projects he has successfully advised on include 2GW of aggregate solar IPPs in Dubai; Waste to energy projects in Singapore; Desalination and water recycling PPPs in Singapore; Airports structuring and financing in Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand; and electricity utility restructuring / regulatory advisory in Brunei, India, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Sharad is electronics engineer with an MBA in Finance.

Simon Nicholas

Simon Nicholas is an energy finance analyst with IEEFA in Australia. Simon holds an honours degree from Imperial College, London and is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. He has 16 years’ experience working within the finance sector in both London and Sydney at ABN Amro, Macquarie Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Sophaphan Saptippayarattana

Sophaphan Saptippayarattana is the Power, Utilities & Renewables Sector Leader for Deloitte Southeast Asia. Saptippayarattana is also an audit partner with Deloitte in Thailand, with over 20 years of extensive experience in audit.

In her role, she sets the overall direction of the Power, Utilities & Renewables sector portfolio, the development of eminence initiatives, the go-to-market strategies across the businesses, as well as team leadership development. She also oversees Deloitte’s work with national utilities companies and various energy clients across the region.

Stefanie Khaw and Aufar Satria

Stefanie Khaw, Principal, is an expert at Boston Consulting Group’s Climate & Sustainability Hub for Innovation in Asia, which aims to pave the way towards building a more sustainable future in the region

Aufar Satria, Consultant, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Steve Minnihan

Steve Minnihan is a Senior Analyst at Lux Research. He leads the company’s Grid Storage Intelligence service while simultaneously exploring new research areas. In this role, he speaks first-hand with innovative companies, start-ups, government agencies, and research groups that are developing technologies in the fields of power and energy storage. 

Steven Minnihan

Steven Minnihan leads Lux Research’s Grid Storage Intelligence service while simultaneously exploring new research areas. Prior to joining Lux Research, Steve worked at Johnson and Johnson Consumer Products where he performed formulation development and claim substantiation for a variety of over-the-counter drugs and medical devices. Steve holds a B.S. in Material Science and Engineering with a concentration on Nanoscale Materials from the University of Pennsylvania.

Stewart Taggart

A former energy market journalist, Grenatec principal Stewart Taggart has published peer-reviewed research as well as written countless trade, specialist and general interest press articles on the ‘Pan-Asian Energy Infrastructure’ concept. 

Suman Ghorai

Suman Ghorai is a Senior Manager in Energy and Utility practice under the Government Reforms and Infrastructure Development practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers, India. He has more than 17 years of experience in the power sector restructuring projects specialising in distribution performance improvement.

Suresh Vishwakarma & Dr Ruchi Tyagi

Suresh is associated with the electric utility sector for the past 28 years. He has a degree in electrical engineering and MBA and holds Professional Engineer status in Canada and Chartered Engineer in UK. Dr Tyagi is presently designated as Assistant Professor (Selection Grade) in the Department of Human Resources & Organizational Behavior of the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies.