Mikel de Irala
Managing Director, Development and New Markets
Prior to joining Renewable Power Capital as Managing Director, Development & New Markets, Mikel de Irala has spent 11 years in Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV). His last role was Managing Director for MEA in Europe where he was responsible for leading the financial close of the first utility scale project in Armenia, the closing of a storage project in UK and developing pipeline in new markets.
Previously Mikel has been involved in the development of PV projects around different regions such as Europe, LATAM, Africa, Middle East, India and Australia. He has extensive experience in project contract negotiations such as EPC, Procurement, O&M and Asset Management for more than US$1 billion.
Mikel de Irala started his career as Consultant in the Strategic Consulting in Deloitte. He holds an Industrial Engineer bachelor from the Universidad de Navarra (Tecnun) and an MBA from the London Business School.
What’s your role at RPC?
My role at RPC is Managing Director of Development. I supervise the development activities of the company and also support the M&A activities for Due Diligence purposes.
What’s a typical working day for you?
I start every day reviewing the agenda and planning my objectives of the day.
Most of the day is spent working with my colleagues in different teams/projects. This is very enriching because you keep learning from others and the reward of achieving the objective is shared too.
At the end of the day, I try to close things as much as I can while tracking the remaining objectives to be achieved
What have you found during your time at RPC?
RPC was born during the covid lockdown through teams, and now the team is split among Europe. We keep working very closely although from different offices. On the other side, there was no legacy in RPC and everything needs to be built, including the culture. It is very exciting to contribute to this and work closely with excellent professionals.
What’s your proudest career moment?
When I decided to join the renewable industry. I was coming from the consultancy service in strategy&operations and didn’t know anything about it. 14 years later, I am still excited because I keep learning every day.
What do you do in your spare time?
I try to enjoy as much spare time as I can with my family including my three daughters.
Additionally, I try to spend some time with my friends, training and playing Rugby.
Where’s your favourite place in Europe?
My favourite place is in the pyrene, doing a trek or mtb ride far from any civilisation
What’s your favourite clean technology and why?
Solar technology is my favourite one, probably because it’s the one I know the best. I have seen how it has evolved in the last decade to become so competitive.