Founded and managed by John Harper, Birch Tree Capital offers demonstrated expertise to investors, developers, and others in renewable power generation projects. John has over twenty years of experience in structuring equity and debt financing for power and other infrastructure projects in the United States and abroad. Since 1990, Mr. Harper has been a developer, lender, and equity advisor in arranging, extending, and advising in financing of several gigawatts of power projects, including over 1,500 MW of renewable power projects since 2000.

For Ze-gen, a Birch Tree Capital client, Mr. Harper served as the start-up company’s Vice President of Finance and Treasurer. In this capacity, he raised over $22 million in venture debt and equity in moving the company from its Series A to Series B closing. Prior to founding Birch Tree Capital, Mr. Harper closed tax-oriented equity investment and debt financing for enXco, a leading wind power developer owned by the French state utility. Mr. Harper crafted ABB Financial Services’ wind sector business strategy and closed debt financing for several projects. For the project development unit of Wartsila, a Finnish power equipment manufacturer, Mr. Harper structured debt and equity financing for multiple thermal power generation projects in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Kenya. At the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, an independent agency of the U.S. Government, he led teams extending guaranteed loan financing for energy, telecom, oil & gas production, and other projects in over two dozen emerging markets

Mr. Harper has advised Federal, state, regional, and municipal entities on financing for renewable power projects. He was the lead author of a landmark 2007 report on wind financing structures published by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories (available via our Resources page). He advises on financing issues for the New England Clean Energy Council, the American Council on Renewable Energy, and Environmental Entrepreneurs.

A Well Rounded Team
Birch Tree Capital draws upon a network of consultants experienced in the evaluation and financial structuring of investments in the clean power sector. Through that network, these consultants extend their expertise to a variety of Birch Tree Capital client projects.

Birch Tree Capital consulting partners include:

• Accuress (www.accuress.com)
• Applied Technology & Mgmt (www.appliedtm.com)
• Blue Oak Energy (www.blueoakenergy.com)
• Deacon Harbor Financial (www.deaconharbor.com)
• Klavens Law Group (www.klavenslawgroup.com)
• La Capra Associates (www.lacapra.com)
• Loria Emerging Energy Consulting (www.loriaeec.com)
• McCauley Lyman (www.mccauleylyman.com)
• New Energy Opportunities (www.newenergyopps.com)
• RENEWergy
• Richard E. Gross, P.E.
• Sustainable Energy Advantage (www.seadvantage.com)