Outside the Boardroom: What We’ve Been Up to This Year
Written by Shawn Andrews, CEO of BridgePeak Energy Capital
This is the first in what we plan to make a quarterly series highlighting the progress we’re making “outside the boardroom” through some of our most important strategic relationships.
Last month BridgePeak announced its first half of 2026 numbers. We funded $921 million across 44 loans, closed our first independent financial audit with a clean opinion, and completed our annual SOC review. We also expanded our work in powered land for fleet mobility and edge data centers, while continuing to finance standalone battery storage projects that support grid reliability.
While I think our financial results are exciting, they don’t convey the work we’re doing behind the scenes to really understand the market. By partnering with some of the most distinguished institutions in the world, we continually challenge our understanding of the issues driving energy policy to shape our strategy. These partnerships include universities, think tanks, and action-oriented non-profits, giving BridgePeak a unique view on energy markets.
The energy landscape is changing quickly, and we believe innovation must happen with both the technology itself and how project finance is used to build an entrepreneurial energy ecosystem capable of meeting the Country’s energy goals. The current shift in federal policy demands a parallel shift in the financing models needed to power data centers and the broader electrification of the economy. Finding those financial models is a core part of what we do, and staying close to the people teaching, researching, and setting policy in this space is how our perspective keeps evolving.
As a lifelong learner, I’m always looking to meet interesting people with new ideas in energy and technology. The affiliations below, including Stanford University, the Hoover Institution, and YPO are where a lot of that learning happens.
Stanford University – Center for Fuels of the Future
The Center for Fuels of the Future (CFF) is a cross-campus effort at Stanford, housed under the Precourt Institute for Energy and the Doerr School of Sustainability, focused on decarbonizing the hardest sectors of the economy to abate.
Appointment as Visiting Scholar & White Paper
BridgePeak’s relationship with the CFF deepened this year, with my appointment as a Precourt Visiting Scholar and anchored by my work with Managing Director Naomi Boness. We’re developing a white paper, “Project Finance as a Catalyst for Grid Vision Momentum” that we plan to share with the grid policy community in the next several months.
CapStone Project Mentor
Through the CFF, I’ve also been advising on the Capstone project for an E-IPER MS/MBA student. For the Capstone, the student is pursuing a distributed energy resource strategy anchored by federal government demand. We met regularly this spring and summer to refine the business plan and financial model, work that has since opened a door to a distributed energy pilot opportunity. We expect to move forward on that later this year.
Hoover Institution – Enviropreneur Fellowship
The Hoover Institution’s Enviropreneur Fellowship Program focuses on market-based solutions to environmental problems. Fellows work alongside Hoover scholars and Stanford faculty.
Inaugural Enviropreneur Fellow (2025)
In 2025, I was named a fellow in the inaugural cohort where I focused on strategies to convert upstream methane emissions from marginal oil and gas wells into reliable power generation addressing rising data-center power demand.
Workshop – Project Finance 101
I continue to talk with my Hoover mentors, Nick Parker and Holly Fretwell. And in early July I led a Project Finance workshop for this year’s Hoover Enviropreneur cohort. Several of the Enviropreneurs are building tools that touch how investors evaluate bankability and project finance. Fellows and alumni plan to gather in person at Hoover this fall, and we’re looking forward to it.
Stanford University – Ecopreneurship Program
Stanford Ecopreneurship is a joint program of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability and the Graduate School of Business that trains students building ventures at the intersection of entrepreneurship and environmental sustainability. Its programs run from classroom courses through hands-on ventures to outside speaker sessions such as the one I led.
Workshop – From Climate Idea to Financeable Project
We brought an updated version of the Hoover PF workshop to Stanford’s Ecopreneurship summer program in late July.
The Workshop has resulted in some meaningful ongoing conversations. I’m excited to continue my discussions with an impressive group of Ecopreneurs with ideas ranging from ocean energy to novel long-duration storage to an interconnection marketplace. In each of these discussions we’re working through real-world issues around market fit and financeability. That’s the whole point of running these sessions.
OpenMinds
OpenMinds is a network of senior energy and climate leaders organized around the dual challenge that the world needs more energy and fewer emissions at the same time. OpenMinds treats that as one problem rather than a tradeoff. It is a nonpartisan execution partner, not a think tank, lobbying group, or trade association. The network includes more than 125 experts and leaders from industry, government, nonprofits, academia, and finance, with member organizations ranging from utilities and developers.
BridgePeak Endorsement
I attended the group’s April reception and Working Summit in Palo Alto and contributed ideas on project finance and capital markets to the Grid Vision Plan they’re building. In June, BridgePeak formally endorsed that plan.
We’re also working on a methane abatement and mitigation initiative. We’ll likely write more about that soon.
YPO Sustainable Business Network and Clean Energy and Technology Network
YPO is a global leadership community for chief executives with more than 38,000 members across 150+ countries. My YPO work this year covers both peer leadership and direct programming, providing me with an amazing international perspective on the energy landscape.
Chair – Clean Energy & Technology Network
This is my third year as chair of the Clean Energy & Technology Sub-Network (CET). With more than 600 members across the world, my goal is to continue to grow the network to 1,000 members over the next three years through clear communication and a focus on launching new energy-focused forums every quarter. YPO members frequently refer to the Forum as the “ultimate sounding board” for CEOs.
Forum Officer – Sustainable Business Network
And this year I’ve also taken on the additional responsibility of serving as Forum Officer for the Sustainable Business Network (SBN). SBN is a business network with almost 3,000 members across the world. I’m excited to work with SBN to identify champions that will launch forums within three categories: Sustainable Resources, Impact Focused, and Impact Aligned.
Host – SBN Awards
I judged this year’s SBN Awards, welcomed a strong group of new members into the CET forums, and ran CET microforums with members across Europe, Asia, and Latin America.
I also hosted the YPO Sustainable Business Awards podcast. One of the highlights of hosting has been the opportunity to speak with the leaders who are redefining the future of sustainable business. These awards are part of a broader initiative developed by the SBN in collaboration with partner business networks across YPO. The goal is to shine a spotlight on YPO Member companies that are demonstrating real sustainability leadership.
I’ll be posting more on these amazing people and companies on my LinkedIn over the next several months.
What’s Next
I will continue sharing updates covering these five engagements as they develop alongside our transaction news. If one of them stands out to you, the CFF white paper, the Enviropreneur Fellowship, the Ecopreneur Program, the Open Minds plan, or what’s happening across the YPO energy community, let me know. I’m always happy to make introductions or brainstorm.