For Eileen Fargis, enduring clean energy portfolios are built on disciplined asset selection, integrated ESG frameworks, and meaningful local partnerships. This approach defines assets that are able to become part of a regional fabric, withstand market volatility, and continue generating value long after construction ends.
“Creating long-term value starts with the fundamentals that make an asset resilient for decades, not just years,” says Fargis, former Chief Financial Officer and Chief Growth Officer at One Power Company, the largest installer of behind-the-meter wind energy in North America. With more than 20 years leading energy and infrastructure investments, she has managed multi‑billion‑dollar portfolios across both mature and emerging markets, shaping a truly global perspective on what makes clean energy assets endure.
Her insights reveal how investors can build long-term value in clean energy portfolios, particularly as the sector matures and the energy transition accelerates. “My career is focused on buildable, durable value in both the US and emerging markets and accelerating the clean energy transition globally,” she says.
Choosing Resilient Assets for Predictable Returns
Fargis believes that long-term value begins with disciplined asset selection. Many investors continue to fixate on headline IRRs, but she emphasizes the need for a deeper view of market fundamentals and structural risks. In her experience leading investments across Latin America and the Caribbean, the strongest results came from prioritizing markets with stable regulation, high‑quality renewable resources, and reliable grid infrastructure. She underscores one principle in particular: contracting assets with offtakers willing to contract in U.S. dollars, a structure that helps reduce currency exposure and supports more predictable long‑term returns.
“Long-term value starts with choosing the right projects. This means not just evaluating IRRs, but assessing regulatory stability, grid interconnection risk, and long-term offtake contracts,” she explains. It’s a strategy that is simple in theory but challenging in practice, requiring strong due diligence and the willingness to walk away from assets that don’t meet the threshold for durability.
Embedding ESG Metrics That Strengthen Performance
Environmental, social and governance integration continues to evolve across global investment markets. The impact of ESG strategies is most significant when it shapes decisions from the outset rather than serving as a retrospective reporting exercise. “ESG cannot be an afterthought. It has to be embedded from day one,” Fargis says.
For her, ESG is not a tradeoff with financial performance but a driver of it. During her tenure leading private equity portfolios at Ecofin, a specialist investment firm focused on sustainable infrastructure and energy transition, Fargis oversaw the integration of ESG key performance indicators across every investment in the platform. This integrated approach not only improved portfolio sustainability but also strengthened investor confidence, an increasingly important factor as institutional allocators scrutinize climate alignment.
Strengthening Communities to Unlock Sustained Growth
The final pillar of Fargis’s investment approach is the need for energy assets to deliver meaningful local impact. Her perspective is shaped in part by years of developing projects in emerging markets, where community alignment can make or break long-term performance.
At One Power Company, local job creation, extensive safety training, and STEM scholarships were integral parts of the company’s culture. These initiatives strengthened trust, attracted regional talent, and deepened the economic roots of the assets. “To unlock real lasting value, energy projects must strengthen local economies,” she says. Community-centric assets tend to face fewer disruptions, gain stronger support from regional stakeholders, and integrate more seamlessly into long-term development plans.
A Blueprint for Lasting Value
For Fargis, the energy transition is not just about deploying capital at scale toward sustainable projects. It is about creating assets that endure. Her blueprint is grounded in three interconnected principles: careful project selection, strong ESG frameworks, and authentic community involvement. “Creating long-term value in clean energy is not just about technology, policy, or finance,” she notes. “It is about disciplined asset selection, embedded ESG, and strong local partnerships.” As clean energy markets continue expanding in complexity and competition, her perspective offers investors a grounded and actionable framework for building portfolios that deliver resilience as well as returns.
Follow Eileen Fargis on LinkedIn or visit overlookenergyadvisors.com for more insights.
