Tim Lasocki

Title: Vice President of Solar Development
Company: Infinity Renewables
Carleton Class of: 1996
Major: Economics / Political Economy

   Tim Lasocki graduated from Carleton in 1996 with an Economics Major and a Political Economy Concentration, and is now working as the Vice President of Solar Development at Infinity Renewables. At this job, he works on creating large-scale photovoltaic projects of sizes between 200 acres to 2 square miles. The electricity generated from these projects is sold under 25 year contracts to utilities or commercial and industrial buyers. Tim notes, “The Power purchase Agreement (PPA) is essential for securing the capital to invest in the engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) of solar projects."

   Tim has spent the last nine years working in solar development and finance after spending 6 years in wind energy. He knew the founders of Infinity Renewables through previously working together at Clipper Windpower. After learning they were expanding into solar energy, he knew it would be a great opportunity considering his interests and experience. He also wanted to return to a smaller, development company after 4 years at SunEdison.

   Working on solar energy and finance can be very rewarding, but also challenging. When asked about the most rewarding aspect of his job, Tim mentioned the creativity behind the process. He said, “I love taking an idea and turning it into physical reality. Solar and wind projects begin as circles on a map and finish as investments of hundreds of millions of dollars.” Over his time working in solar development, he has seen over $1 billion worth of solar projects built, which is an amazing feat considering the economic concerns surrounding solar development. Economics is one of the challenges he has faced through his work on solar development. He said, “Public policy for renewable energy works best when consumers are not seen as having to pay a significant price premium for it.” Due to this constraint, solar development companies need to be economically competitive with the other energy companies. Therefore, Tim is constantly monitoring the prices of competing combustion technologies and natural gas

   In addition to this competition between companies, there are concerns over the location of these photovoltaic projects, namely, the projects have occasionally raised concerns by neighbors or to the potential impact to sensitive environmental species. Due to these issues, Tim has to find economically effective ways to alleviate the negative effect of these projects so that they can continue to be built where originally planned.

   Over the years, there has been a lot of development in the renewable energy sector. Tim feels very fortunate to have been “an early mover into the renewable energy sector.” To be successful in this sector, companies need to find ways to make their projects scalable and profitable. Tim believes that his economics degree is perfect, because as he put it, “The sector works best when you make a positive return for your shareholders!”

   It was amazing to learn about Tim’s work in the renewable energy sector and his economic approach to it. Tim suggests that if you are interested in considering a career in sustainability/various environmental fields, it is important to develop “hard skills” in statistics, accounting, and finance, because “sustainability works best when it brings together science, engineering, and economics.”

   Check out Tim in a Bakersfield TV News Story about one of the projects he developed here!

   Tim is available for contact via email. You can reach him by emailing: tim_lasocki@hotmail.com.

   These “Sustainability Stories” alumni profiles are provided through a partnership between the Carleton Sustainability Office and the Career Center. Find out more about Carls in sustainability and environmentally-focused careers by visiting https://apps.carleton.edu/career/.