Internship Spotlight: Joe Wasserman ’25, D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments
An internship with a developer of renewable energy projects allowed Joe Wasserman ’25 to combine his engineering background and business school education.
We asked rising second-year MBA students to check in from their summer internships, where they applied the lessons of their first year at Yale SOM.
Internship: D.E. Shaw Renewable Investments (DESRI), Denver, CO
Hometown: Milwaukee, WI
Pronouns: he/him/his
The SOM class you’re using on the job: Financing Green Technologies
Go-to work lunch: Jimmy Johns
After-work routine: Work out or run, read my book about batteries (The BESS Book: A Cell to Grid Guide to Utility-Scale Battery Energy Storage Systems), watch TV
Favorite thing about internship city: Denver is an absolutely beautiful city where outdoor activities abound!
I first became aware of DESRI through Hackett Landefeld ’24, a former SOM Energy Club leader who was a DESRI intern last year. Furthermore, Hackett brought DESRI’s battery expert to present to the Energy Club, and I was able to connect with some of the SOM alumni currently at the company. It quickly became clear that DESRI is a fast-paced, market-leading developer/owner/operator of renewable energy projects. This is exciting to me since I am looking for more accelerated opportunities to grow my industry skillset after my electrical engineering career at a utility.
In my internship at DESRI, I work in the Special Projects team which allows me to collaborate with a broad array of groups throughout the company. Special Projects is unique in that most of the areas of focus are new or atypical to DESRI. My primary focus is on surplus interconnection, the process by which we add energy storage to our existing renewable projects. Battery storage can be used to store renewable energy when energy demand is low and disperse that energy later, when the demand grows. DESRI to better serve its customers by providing energy when it is truly needed. Some of my recent tasks have been assessing the commercial viability of these projects and interfacing with both transmission authorities and battery customers to develop them.
I’ve also been working on a research project studying the lifespan of batteries. This research will help give DESRI an idea of how long its battery technology will last, and when they should expect to make replacements/repairs. Additionally, I have been able to spend time working with the Finance & Acquisitions Team, providing support in applying for government loans which are made available through the Inflation Reduction Act. The day-to-day at DESRI can be a bit chaotic, but I find myself learning a tremendous amount about the industry daily. My role has allowed me to leverage my power systems engineering background and my business school education, so from the beginning I’ve felt like I’m at this company for a reason.
Financing Green Technologies, an elective taught by Richard Kauffman ’83, and the SOM Energy Club programming gave me a great knowledge base going into the internship. I highly recommend taking Richard’s class for anyone interested in working in renewables or investing in clean technologies. Knowing how project finance works in the industry, understanding how value is created, and learning about the development phases of a project have been extremely relevant in my role. There are also several SOM alumni working at DESRI. They have been generous with their limited time and have been extremely happy to share their perspectives on the firm and offer career advice.
One of my favorite aspects about DESRI is that they have free snacks here which I have been absolutely destroying. I really have enjoyed strolling over to the pantry, grabbing some food, and chatting with coworkers during my breaks. Getting to know other contributors at DESRI has really helped me fit in well at the company and embrace its inviting culture.
I’m excited to take what I’ve learned this summer back to the Energy Club and into the classroom. I intend to host several 101/201 sessions to teach club members about the industry, and my new knowledge of how developers work will make for useful material. My second year will also be full of electives relating to renewable energy, so I am excited to bring what I’ve learned during my internship to the classroom.
As for post-graduation goals, this internship has confirmed to me that I really want to remain in industry, and I will be working hard to return to DESRI upon graduation. The work has been both fun and meaningful, and I can see myself becoming an expert in many areas of the industry if I carry on here.
