Insights

INSIGHTS

Proximo Congress 2026 brought the industry together, on stage and off it, and we captured both. From the winners' circle to the corridors between sessions, our team sat down with dealmakers to hear what it actually took to get the year's standout transactions done, and how the market is really feeling right now.

It's the same instinct behind everything we do. Proximo isn't only known for bringing the industry together, we're known for the intelligence that comes out of it. The interviews below are a taste of that: for deal data, market analysis and interviews year-round, that's what a Proximo Intelligence subscription gives you.

Proximo Intelligence

Deal of the Year Interviews

DOTY Winner: MN8 Energy

David Callen, CFO of MN8 Energy, breaks down the thinking behind the Bond of the Year Award, a $29-project, 1,000 megawatt portfolio financing built on the company's master indenture structure.

In this interview

- How MN8 convinced investors to lend against uncontracted, merchant power revenues, a first for many in the room
- Why strong state renewable portfolio standards changed the risk calculus for lenders
- The banks who stepped up to lead and bring investors together on the deal
- Why this is MN8's fourth bond issuance, and what it signals for how the market finances renewables going forward

DOTY Winner: Arevon Energy

Mimi Cavari, who leads project and portfolio finance at Arevon Energy, joins her team to break down the thinking behind the North American Solar Transaction of the Year, the financing behind Arevon's utility scale solar and storage development in Pike County, Indiana.

In this interview

- A financing structure the market hadn't seen before, and why it's since become the blueprint for others
- The offtakers and financing partners who came together to make the deal possible
- The moment the deal nearly stalled, and the phone call that got it back on track
- Why one policy shift mid-deal became the ultimate test of partner commitment

DOTY Winner: Mayer Brown (Brightline West)

George Miller, partner at Mayer Brown, breaks down the thinking behind the North American Rail Deal of the Year, the financing behind Brightline West, the first privately developed high speed passenger rail project in the US in a century.

In this interview

- Why this deal closed before the rest of the project's financing was fully committed, and what that meant for the documentation
- The ten-year relationship between Mayer Brown's team and Fortress Investment Group that made it possible
- Who Miller credits with pulling the deal together, from sponsor to counsel
- What a still-uncertain outcome for the project could still mean for the future of US high speed rail

DOTY Winner: Apex Clean Energy

Grady O'Shaughnessy, who leads project finance at Apex Clean Energy, breaks down the thinking behind the North American Wind Deal of the Year, a transaction that closed just weeks after reaching commercial operations.

In this interview

- The deal nearly derailed days before close, right as a new administration's first executive orders hit the industry
- How years of banking relationships, not just deal terms, kept lenders at the table through the uncertainty
- The financing partners behind the deal, from senior lenders to tax equity
- What it took to go from a shaky close to full commercial operations in a matter of months

DOTY Winner: Enfinity Global

Ricardo Diaz, CEO Americas at Enfinity Global, breaks down the thinking behind Project Eagle, the North America Solar & Storage Deal of the Year, a $245 million structured credit facility closed at the height of market uncertainty.

In this interview

- Why this deal closed just 30 days after one of the most volatile weeks in the market this year
- The blue-chip backers who stood by Enfinity when confidence elsewhere was shaken
- Why repeat business with financing partners mattered more than ever on this deal
- What Diaz sees as the real bottleneck behind the AI and data centre boom, and why it's power

Industry Interviews

Industry Interview: Centerstream

Wayne Barnett, VP of Corporate Development, Strategy and External Affairs at Centerstream (a portfolio company of Greystar's infrastructure platform.), shares how a $250 million greenfield district energy project in St. Louis is reshaping what's possible in urban chilled water infrastructure.

In this interview

- A $250 million financing just closed with JP Morgan, and what it's unlocking on the ground
- Why this may be the largest urban greenfield district energy project built in a decade
- The regulatory and utility conversations reshaping how energy infrastructure gets built
- What a $300 million pipeline over the next 6 to 12 months actually looks like in practice

Industry Interview: Fengate Asset Management

Jensen Clark, Director at Fengate Asset Management, covers publicly procured social and transportation assets across Canada and the US, and where he's seeing capital move next.

In this interview

- Why Canada's provinces are stepping back from private capital, and who's stepping in instead
- The federal opportunity Clark sees emerging under Canada's nation-building agenda
- Why the traditional hard-bid contract model

Industry Interview: Lightfield Partners

Jason Kahan, co-founder and partner at Lightfield Partners, unpacks why capital is flooding into data centers, and why power developers may be the real beneficiaries of that rush.

In this interview

- Why tax credit phase-outs and a data center capital rush are stretching developers thin this year
- The demand hyperscalers can't build fast enough to meet, and what that means for power investors
- How Lightfield is financing developers before they even reach notice-to-proceed
- The diligence gap catching out data center developers who move too fast on land

Industry Interview: Lloyds

Timothy Chin, Head of Infrastructure and Project Finance, North America at Lloyds, on the deal flow behind this year's power demand and why natural gas is having a resurgence.

In this interview

- Why project finance banks are in high demand this year, and where diligence is getting harder
- The resurgence of natural gas power, and why it's needed to meet demand
- Where supply and demand for project finance capital are out of balance right now
- The newer technologies, like fuel cells, moving from niche to mainstream

INSIGHTS

Deal of the Year Interviews

Industry Interviews

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