Jesse Laniak

Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, Master of Environmental Management, 2020
Financing and Deploying Clean Energy

Jesse Laniak is a Second year Master of Environmental Management candidate at the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies (F&ES) where he is focusing his coursework on energy and the environment.  He is interested in innovation, entrepreneurship and other market-based solutions for accelerating a clean energy future. Jesse wants to work at the intersection of the public and private sectors to create effective and lasting change. At Yale, Jesse is a Clean Energy Finance Forum Writer and has worked as a teaching fellow for environmental economist Rob Mendelsohn. Prior to joining F&ES, he worked at EnerNOC (now Enel X), a leading provider in energy management solutions for commercial and industrial customers. He specialized in PJM and Ontario energy markets and helped enroll customers in demand response, peak shaving and battery storage opportunities. Prior to EnerNOC Jesse worked as a Sustainability Analyst for Sustainability Roundtable Inc., a corporate sustainability consulting and advisory firm located in Cambridge, MA. He holds a BA in Economics from Gordon College. Jesse is an avid rock climber and enjoys traveling to pursue his hobby, which has taken him to Colorado, Wyoming, and California in pursuit of adventure. 

Authored Articles

The Future of Small-Scale Aggregation Deals: New Frameworks and Developments from the Renewable Energy Markets Conference

A panel discussion about new forms of VPPA aggregation formed a focal point for this year’s Renewable Energy Markets conference in San Diego. Now, some companies are taking shares of VPPA projects rather than bilaterally contracting to build one strictly for their own renewable energy demand. The talk explored the...
Storm damage in Puerto Rico

Damaged distribution lines in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria / Western Area Power / CC BY 2.0

Leveraging Smart Contracts for Peer-to-Peer Solar Financing in Puerto Rico

“Smart” contracts leverage blockchain technology to streamline and automate many of the most technical and time-consuming financial and logistical steps in smaller-scale solar development. Furthermore, smart contracts integrate peer-to-peer financial mechanisms, tapping into new capital pools for small and distributed renewable systems.