GESS II: Management and Economics of Photovoltaic Projects

Current position:

Emilienne Tingwey joined the Renewables Academy (RENAC) AG in Berlin in 2010 and started off as a project assistant in the international know-how transfer project TREE (Transfer Renewable Energy & Efficiency). After managing various tailor-made courses offered by RENAC and carrying out solar training exercises, she is presently the project director of all face-to face training programmes at RENAC. She is head of the Green Energy Summer School, an annual study event offered by RENAC.

Professional experience:

Emilienne is a certified TüV trainer and trains people on how to carry out renewable energy training seminars and helps others to develop training programmes in renewable energy.Additionally, she is really keen to empower women and youth in the RE sector through training. With RENAC she carried out the APEC project ‘Empowering women as managers of the Renewable Energy‘ on behalf of the United States Department of Energy. Through training and mentoring, the project helped to increase the contribution of women to RE development in APEC economies. She was also in charge of a GIZ sponsored project in Cameroon: Transfer of renewable energy knowledge through the usage of solar photovoltaic to provide energy (electricity) to a local health centre: an off-grid system was installed in a local health centre and thereby training some youth in the community.

Education:

Emilienne Tingwey holds a PhD in Environmental Sciences and a Masters in Environmental and Resource Management from the Brandenburg Technical University (BTU) in Cottbus (April 2009). Born in Cameroon, Dr. Emilienne Tingwey grew up and studied in Cameroon right up to her bachelor’s degree before moving to Germany. She speaks fluent English, French, Pidgin, Moghamo and German.

Current position:

Since 2016, Alexander Boensch has been a project director in RENAC’s Green Banking team. Before joining the team, Alexander worked with RENAC as an external consultant providing seminars, course design concepts, and e-learning content for 8 years.

Professional experience:

Alexander is an experienced financial economist working in the banking and finance industry with a sector focus on energy since 2003. As a financial consultant for renewable energy project developers, financial investors, and public utilities, he was responsible for structured and corporate finance, risk and treasury management, capital procurement, bank marketing, and M&A activities. Alexander has been involved in renewable energy projects with an installed capacity of more than 1 GW and successfully raised capital of more than EUR 2 billion. In addition to his work in renewable energy finance consulting and training, he is a lecturer for academic courses on corporate finance, capital markets, and renewable energy economics at various academic institutions.

Education:

Alexander Boensch has a master’s degree (M.A.) in International Economics and an undergraduate degree in Business Administration, Finance and Strategic Management.

Current position:

Frank Schillig has 26 years of professional experience in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency. Currently, Mr. Schillig is the Managing Director at Energiegewinner Technik GmbH, an EPC company for renewable energy projects, based in Cologne, Germany. He specialises in photovoltaic projects of different scales (from kilowatt to megawatt) as well as in rooftop, greenfield, and other energy efficiency projects.

Professional experience:

Mr. Schillig has also designed educational curricula and led capacity building workshops, delivering content in developing countries on energy efficiency and renewable energy. Additionally, he has consulted on solar photovoltaic, combined heat and power (CHP), biomass-to-energy, biogas, and wind energy projects.

Education:

Mr. Schillig holds an Energy and Process Engineering (Diplom- Ingenieur) from Technical University of Berlin, located in Berlin, Germany.

Current position:

Jens Brand has been working at RENAC since March 2021. As project director of the Solar and Energy Efficiency department, he develops photovoltaics off-grid curricula and seminar training material for practitioners, trainers, and other experts in the sector. 

Professional experience:

Before joining RENAC, Jens worked at hardware manufacturing facilities, including SMD production, and designed solar home systems for markets in Africa. He brings extensive practice-based experience in hardware engineering, product design, manufacturing, and technical operations to the RENAC team.

Education:

Jens Brand holds a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in sustainable energy studies. He speaks English, French, and German.

Current Position:

Rafael Juan Martí is a project director and instructor at the Renewables Academy (RENAC) AG in Berlin. Rafael joined RENAC in 2021 and has been working on capacity building in renewable energies and green energy business projects as part of the Solar Energy/Energy Efficiency/Rural Electrification team. He is also a mentor for green energy companies and entrepreneurs in Africa as well as a trainer for the development of solar projects and storage solutions. Rafael is currently specialising in ESG and impact investing.

Professional Experience:

Before joining RENAC, Rafael gained several years of experience working on solar project development in Latin America. He has worked in the area of business development with several companies in different points of the renewable solar industry chain and has technical as well as commercial knowledge in power electronics and energy storage solutions.

Education:

Rafael Juan Martí holds an MBA in International Business Management from the Menéndez Pelayo International University in Madrid, Spain and a postgraduate diploma in Energy Economics and Management from Monterrey Institute of Technology in Monterrey, Mexico. From the University of Valencia in Valencia, Spain, he received a Law and Political Science double bachelor’s degree. Rafael speaks Spanish, English, German, and French.