NorthRenew Energy founder Garth Klimchuk shares his journey from oil and gas geology to renewable project development, and the challenges of building grid resilience in today’s shifting policy landscape.
In this episode of BIC Presents, host PJ Moynihan sat down with Garth Klimchuk, founder of NorthRenew Energy and longtime investment banker turned renewable energy developer. Raised in Calgary, Alberta, and trained as a geologist, Klimchuk’s career began in oil and gas before moving into finance at Barclays and Wharton. His work on Wall Street in power and utilities ultimately led him to focus on clean energy.
Klimchuk describes how NorthRenew Energy develops large-scale wind and solar projects across the western US, from identifying land and securing leases to permitting, environmental studies, and interconnection. The conversation explores today’s shifting political climate, with federal tax credits under threat and developers facing hard choices on which projects to advance. Klimchuk stresses the rising demand from AI-driven data centers, and the looming risks of blackouts and rising consumer costs if renewable growth stalls.
He also highlights the importance of state-level incentives, private-sector investment, and collective advocacy through organizations like the Berkshire Innovation Center’s Clean Energy Leadership Group to sustain progress. For Klimchuk, grid resilience, innovation, and collaboration will define the future of U.S. energy.
NorthRenew Energy: https://northrenew.com/
Berkshire Innovation Center: