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Adam Cowie-Haskell, a Master of Environmental Management student, spent his summer as a Regulatory and Government Affairs Intern at Pattern Energy.

Each year, Nicholas School of the Environment students complete internships with organizations around the world. These internships provide valuable opportunities to gain career-related experience and build a professional network. 

51±¬ÁÏ Environment recently caught up with Adam to learn more about his experience.

What projects did you work on during your internship? What did you find most rewarding or memorable?

Adam Cowie-Haskell at Pattern Energy's offices

Being on the regulatory team, I had the benefit of being exposed to so many different parts of Pattern’s business. I worked on a total of about 15 projects across various teams throughout the summer. Projects included a review of domestic clean hydrogen policies, leveraging Inflation Reduction Act credits to pilot a community engagement project, and a deeper dive into how a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) ruling on one wholesale market may impact Pattern. I wanted to intern with Pattern to better understand wholesale markets, and to apply what I learned in a NSOE class called Markets for Electric Power, so this final project on wholesale markets was most rewarding to me because I applied what I learned academically to the perspective of stakeholder with a commercial interest. 
That said, credit to Pattern for putting together an internship program that invests in the summer interns. I felt seamlessly integrated with the larger team after just a few weeks. 

How did the coursework and resources at the Nicholas School prepare you for success in this role as well as your internship search?

My summer at Pattern confirmed that I had chosen the right academic program at the Nic School. Just from the introductory energy classes alone, I felt I had the foundational knowledge necessary of each issue or technology I worked on, and somewhere like Pattern where they have so many different sides of the business—from transmission to renewables to clean fuels—it helps to be a generalist. 

Two experiences I would call out as especially helpful for my summer work are the class I mentioned before—Markets for Electric Power taught by Dalia Patiño-Echeverri—and a project focused on permitting reform I supported through my assistantship at the Nicholas Institute, led by Jackson Ewing. 

Did you collaborate with any Nicholas School alumni during your summer experience?

I had the pleasure of connecting with Kenneth Sercy at the Niskanen Center through a colleague at Pattern. I also happened to meet Jared Rist of PG&E on the soccer field in Golden Gate Park.

How do you envision this experience contributing to your long-term career goals?

This summer was very productive for my long-term career goals. Not only did I learn what it was like working on the regulatory team of a large independent power producer, I also learned what it would be like working on the development team, the green fuels team, the power marketing team, etc. 

Additionally, throughout the summer I organized 1:1s with 15 or so people, mostly within Pattern, to learn about their individual career paths and the details of their work. As I approach my last year as a graduate student, these conversations and the ones I expect to have this fall will help guide where I end up after I graduate.

Adam Cowie-Haskell with the 2024 Pattern Energy internship cohort