Derek Nelson Email & Phone Number

New York, United States

Bentonville, Arkansas, US

White Plains, NY, US

• Acted as expert advisor to NYPA’s customers, with a focus on NYC agencies, as they realized state, local, and customer-specific renewable energy and climate goals.
• Developed creative solutions to meet each customer’s needs. Projects included small behind-the-meter solar, large front-of-the-meter standalone energy storage, Remote-Credited and Community Distributed Generation solar.
• Conducted analyses for customer sites re: solar and energy storage siting potential, tariff optimization, interconnection capacity, environmental permitting, and economic return.
• Wrote, issued, and managed clean energy project RFPs for all project solutions.
• Managed projects with customers and selected vendors through to project COD: lead weekly meetings, reviewed system designs and AHJ submissions, and negotiated pricing and contracts on customers’ behalf.

White Plains, NY, US

Long Island City, NY, US

• Performed preliminary development work for hybrid solar and energy storage projects under the NY Governor's Office of Storm Recovery (GOSR) Solar Power and Battery Back-up Program.
• Produced resilience plans for participating community centers, guiding use of hybrid solar systems during power outages.
• Managed solicitation and selection of EPC firms for hybrid solar projects in coordination with GOSR and in compliance with all relevant guidelines. Supported selected firms as they deploy projects.
• Drove research initiatives for Solar One’s resilient solar and energy storage program. Conducted research, wrote, and presented on all aspects of energy storage solutions and implementation techniques in NYC. Focused.
• Implemented strategic planning and goal setting for resilient solar team’s expansion into new markets, namely urban NJ. Developed relationships with local installers, agencies, and community partners for collaboration.
• Lead communications on Solar One’s hybrid solar efforts: presented at NY-BEST Conference and Cooper Union, and wrote a blog series on energy storage for a lay audience.

Chennai, IN

• Analyzed SunEdison’s and TerraForm Power’s SREC and wind REC portfolios.
• Maximized annual REC revenue through strategic portfolio management.
• Monitored shifting REC and solar policy landscape and communicated range of REC impacts across companies’ divisions.
• Analyzed financial and operational details of individual power plants.
• Lead REC operations for SunEdison and TerraForm Power: reported monthly kWh generation to state agencies, delivered RECs to customers, and managed invoicing and accounting teams.
• Communicated daily with internal and external stakeholders, including solar project developers, asset managers, and REC counterparties, such as utility companies and traders.

Oakland, CA, US

• Researched and wrote reports on all relevant power plant, renewable energy, fossil fuel, and legal news across Western US, with solar policy focus. Reports included assessments of new cases for which Sierra Club might.
• Created reports analyzing potential rate impacts of various public utility commission (PUC) proceedings.
• Conducted deep research on solar policy, particularly net metering, and attended numerous relevant PUC hearings.
• Provided support in all aspects of courtroom litigation: researched court and public utility commission rules; drafted standing declarations; wrote, edited, formatted, printed, filed and served all case documents.
• Coordinated and conducted primary research for coal plant sulfur dioxide (SO2) emissions modeling project. Project featured SO2 modeling reports for dozens of plants nationwide and was used in litigation.
• Wrote stories detailing Environmental Law Program’s victories for Sierra Club websites. Performed continuous maintenance and updating of these sites and other databases.

New York, NY, US

• EarthRights International/Mekong River Commission (MRC) Project (Jan. 2012-May 2012):
• Analyzed international law, standards and best practices in environmental and social impact assessment for hydropower projects along Mekong River. Focused on proposed Xayaburi Dam in Lao PDR.
• Traveled to Thailand in March 2012 on Earth Institute Global Fellowship in Sustainable Development to research Mekong River Commission policy and interview NGO officials.Columbia Center for Climate Change Law/United.
• Quantified carbon emissions from global livestock production for project led by Olivier De Schutter, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
• Created report for United Nations with policy recommendations addressing growing global demand for meat.

New York, NY, US

• Used GIS analysis to design stormwater management solutions through green infrastructure implementation across New York City’s five boroughs for project with NYSERDA.

New York, NY, US

• Prospected and excavated fossils at numerous early Miocene localities.
• Catalogued and studied these and other fossils at Nairobi National Museum.

New York, NY, US

• Conducted original research on evolution of knuckle-walking in apes using 3-D geometric morphometrics.
• Contributed to long-term primate geometric morphometrics project with professors: operated 3-D scanners, edited scans, and landmarked data.
• Edited images of primate specimens and collected data on bones and teeth for numerous projects.

New York, NY, US

• Performed detailed agro-environmental survey, including soil sampling, tree and undergrowth diversity analysis, and land use information gathering. Data analyzed and compared to results of 2006 baseline survey.

• Performed night patrols: tagged nesting loggerhead turtles, inspected for injuries, collected measurements, and assisted turtles in nest-building.
• Conducted morning surveys: recorded turtle emergences, caged nests, and made excavations.
• Presented slideshow lectures on ecology and conservation of turtles and guided eco-tourist boat trips.

Bachelor Of Arts, Sustainable Development, Evolutionary Biology Of The Human Species

Education record