When I came across your website I had just finished my Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and had been offered a job by a Power Generation company. In 2006, my first year with the company, we were working on a new coal-fired power station. It became clear to me right from the start that I had to get up to speed with financial modeling for project financed power station transactions if I wanted to add value in my work [as we were working in conjunction with our financial advisor (an investment bank) and technical advisor (an engineering consultancy)].

Whilst searching on the internet for everything related to project finance I came across you website on the Harvard Project Finance Portal run by Professor Benjamin Esty.

I just couldn't believe my luck because when I visited your website - you had just launched the Power Station Models Membership website (same month, May 2006). I immediately joined and downloaded all the three financial models and other downloads on the website.

When I compare the excellent layout of your Financial Models to what was initially given to me when I started working on my employer's power station project - there is absolutely no comparison that can be made! What could have taken me months to comprehend took me about just a month - thanks to the excellent structure of your models. Remember - my academic background is Engineering and not Finance!

The best TWO things that I took away from your style of modeling is the idea of a Summary sheet and the use of Running IRR and HLOOKUP function to create a very interactive IRR calculations over ANY Project Life/Period. That's so brilliant that none of my colleagues used it or knew how to do it before I showed them!

The other Excel Spreadsheet Tips and Tricks you provide on the Membership website are absolutely brilliant for anyone who builds financial models using Excel (not just for project finance models!).

I wish you all the best - there is no doubt in my mind that you currently run the best website on the internet for anyone who models or intends modeling project financed transactions.

Again - thank you for an excellent service and brilliant financial models!

I am a Masters of Finance graduate and have been working in Project Finance now for more than 13 years (as of November 05, 2007). I was referred to the Project Finance Models website by a colleague of mine who works in the Corporate Finance division of our bank. He found your website by following a link from your Finance & Investment Books website.

At the time, August 2006, I was working with three recent graduates who had just joined the Project Finance division. I was basically mentoring them in Financial Modeling. I wanted to develop a very structured way of modeling for our division; as opposed to everyone developing financial models their own way (which has basically been the way for a long time).

I joined your Power Models Membership website in August 2006 and I was very impressed with the layout and structure on the financial models. After downloading the financial models I knew that I had found the typical modeling layout that I wanted my juniors to use when working on their financial models!

We have now developed a standard financial modeling template based on the layout of your financial models. It's really amazing how quick the guys around here complete their models since we started adopting your financial modeling layout. The turn around time for both new and experienced modelers has been slashed down by about a third!

• Summary Sheet
• Administration Sheet
• Interactive IRR Calculation
• Brilliant way you write conditional statements in cell calculations

The Summary sheet is really an excellent idea - it really helps me and other reviewers of Juniors' models to see quickly the most salient points of a transaction. It also helps one to quickly pick up glaring mistakes and other types of errors (e.g. logical mistakes).

The same goes for the Administration sheet and the other points mentioned above.

I also find your Finance & Investment Books website to be a very useful resource - I have already ordered three very useful books on project finance and derivatives from Amazon after discovering them on your website. Most of our guys here are also subscribers to the website.

You are providing project finance professionals, especially financial modelers, with a very useful resource.

Keep up the great work!

I guess that sums up my feelings and views about your financials models!

I'm a Business and Actuarial Science graduate and have been working for a Project Finance Advisory company for three years now. I joined your Power Station Models Membership website in June 2006. At the time I was really frustrated by the fact that in my company we never seemed to have a standard financial model we were using for all our transactions - it basically depended on who was leading or responsible for modeling in a particular transaction.

Since joining your Membership website I have now developed my own style of modeling based on your financial models. It's actually amazing that now everyone in my company is using the same format because the Managing Director of our company asked everybody to use my format for all models.

Your models have really helped me to be a better modeler in many ways. There's a lot I have learnt not just from the financial models but also from the other downloadable resources in the membership site.

Before I started using your models our models never had a Summary sheet and an Administration sheet - those two sheets are really an excellent idea. I have also learnt how to name cell values and write calculations in a very interactive manner. I was also very impressed by how you handle the IRR calculation in your models. It really makes it immaterial what the Project Life is - the model always returns the correct calculation (otherwise the usual way is to always re-write the IRR calculation every time the project period changes).

In April 2007 I also joined your Affiliate Program - I was really skeptical at first because I thought that you guys just wanted me to promote your products for nothing! I have made a total of $631.47 since joining in April (affiliate commissions as of November 05, 2007) - not bad considering that all I do is just refer other financial modelers (mostly my colleagues, associates & friends) to the one-page website you designed for me.

I highly recommend your models to both experienced and new modelers.

I hope you guys are going to be around for a long, long time!

I am an Electrical Engineer with an MBA and have been working for an Engineering Construction company that develops infrastructure for power distribution (power pylons etc) for 8 years now. I was promoted to head the Projects Division of the company in December 2005. In 2006 I started working a lot with Investment Banks and other Engineering Firms in various projects. This required a lot of understanding of both engineering procurement models and project finance feasibility models. I wanted to develop my project finance modeling skill in particular, very fast.

I came across your website after searching for 'project finance' on google.com during April 2006. It was about a month before you launched the Power Station Models Membership website - I joined immediately when it launched.

The financial modeling skill and confidence in my division has improved so much that some of our financial advisors are now taking our models and using them in their own work because they find the format and layout very professional. This has happened where there was no financial modeling skill to talk of!

What this has done for us is that it has made us to be very proactive in forming partnerships with other companies in power distribution and generation, we also get approached a lot now by such companies as they see us as bringing a lot of value add in a partnership.

I really like the way you do the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) calculation in your models. In fact, I like the layout of ALL the sheets in your models. The Timeline Sheet, Administration sheet and Summary sheet are also a very differentiating point of the layout of your models. I really like those sheets - they make one have better control over a model. The way you setup your Assumptions sheets also makes it a breeze to update a model. In fact the three sheets - Assumptions Sheet, Administration Sheet, and Timeline Sheet makes it very easy to adapt a model. I can now adapt an old model to a new transaction in a very short time compared to before I started using your models.

I haven't found anything close to your service on the internet (as far as financial modeling is concerned!). I attended a three-day financial modeling course that cost me close to $10,000 in February 2006 but still came back wondering whether if even a third of the cost of the course was worth it. Worst of all, I found out that I still didn't know how to model!

May your business grow from strength-to-strength.

All the Best!

I hold a PhD in Electrical Engineering. I have been working in the Power Generation industry for over 20 years, nine of those with my current employer. I came across your website on the Harvard Business School's Project Finance portal during September 2006. I joined the Power Station Models Membership website immediately.

My position in my company is that of a Chief Investment Officer. I report directly to the company's Investment Committee on all new company projects and those we run in partnership with other Power Generation companies. I basically report on current projects and submit investment proposals for new projects. Submission of Investment Proposals to the Investment Committee is a very stressful event where one gets cross-questioned on all aspects of the transaction - Marketing, Technical and Financial. The Financial bit is the one I had to come up to speed with very fast (during the last two years).

I attended very costly financial modeling courses, which never seemed to really make me a rounded financial modeler. The major challenge for me has always been that because of my work overload I never really have time to sit down and wade through the theoretical/academic stuff related to modeling and project finance. All I wanted was a well-constructed financial model to adapt to my needs and use it as a template for all our projects.

When I viewed your Power Station financial models Sample Sheet images I was very interested because it looked to me like exactly what I was looking for!

After downloading your financial models I was really impressed by the way you design your financial model sheets. I found it very easy to follow the logical flow of information from the Assumptions Sheet, Timeline Sheet and Administration Sheet to the rest of the other sheets of the model. I took one of the models and made sure that I understood it thoroughly. I then started to adapt it to my situation. That took me about half-a-month. After two months I had an adapted model based on your financial model that I understood thoroughly and I was now using as my initial template for all our projects. This is now the format everybody is now using in my company.

The Summary Sheet deserves special mention. Everyone who has seen the Summary Sheet is very impressed. It's such a good idea that it is now one of the standard required annexures in all investment recommendation reports going to our Investment Committee (on the financial section of the report).

I have also been very impressed with the way you construct your calculations using conditional statements. The way you also setup the calculations for IRR, Payback Period and Debt Service Cover Ratio is also very impressive - it does away with the normal drudgery of having to update the cell calculations every time the Project Life changes. There's no doubt in my mind that very few modelers know how to do this (if any!).

I highly recommend your service and products to anyone who wants to improve his/her financial modeling skills.

The cost of the Membership of the Power Station Models belies the value one gets on joining. As far as I'm concerned the cost of Membership is a real steal!

Keep up the good work.

I am a Masters of Finance and an MBA graduate. I spent 5 years with an Auditing Firm before I joined the Projects Division of my current employer, a Power Generation & Distribution company, about two years ago. I work on both internal and external projects in which we work with financial advisors and legal advisors as Technical Advisors and/or Operations & Management (O & M) Contractors.

When I joined my current employer, because of my academic background, I was assigned the responsibility of financial modeling. I am basically the chief reviewer of all financial models in the Projects Division. My main aim from the very start was to take our value add in projects in which we participate beyond just the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Costs (EPC) estimation, to full-scale financial modeling.

In July 2006 I came across your Power Station Models Membership website on the web pages of the Finance & Investment Books website, to which I am also a subscriber. After viewing the images of the financial model sheets I decided to purchase membership. I was absolutely 'sold out' to the way the financial models are written. After reviewing the models I found that it was very easy to follow the links from cell to cell and from sheet to sheet. I therefore had no doubt that they were going to be very easy to understand by most of our staff members. I therefore updated and adapted one of the models to our situation (inflation, tax rates, EPC Costs etc) and then used the final model as our modeling template for all future projects. We are now using that as our standard financial modeling template.

I really like the Timeline sheet. It's really an excellent idea to have one sheet in which one can control the project timeline and other associates variables. I also like the Summary sheet and Administration sheet. I also found that the way you write you cell formulae is generally above average - I have learnt a lot of effective formula construction from your models. The IRR, Payback Period and the DSCR Ratio calculations are very impressive.

In projects in which we work with external advisors it's now amazing the value-add that we bring in terms of modeling - we do more than just estimate EPC Costs!

Thanks to you guys for an excellent product and service.

(I attended a one-day $5,000.00 financial modeling course in May 2006 - the financial modeling spreadsheets that we received from that course are a joke when I compare them to all the well written financial models available to Members on the Power Station Models website - all for just $60.00 when I joined.)

I have referred a lot of other people to your website - I recently joined your Affiliate Program. I really believe in your service and products.

Keep up the good work.

I am a Certified Accountant with over 8 years in Investment Banking. I have been working for my current employer for about 3 years. I am a Senior Associate in the Project Finance division of the bank.

I first came across your website on a Resources page of the Course Notes of a Euromoney Advanced Modeling Course I attended in 2002. Your website was one of the resources mentioned on the Resources page the course presenter suggested that we checkout. At the time you had a Power Station Financial model that subscribers could download for free. I was really impressed by the layout on the sheets of that model. I adapted it and have been using it since that time. When you launched the Power Station Models Membership website I joined it immediately as I was already impressed with your financial model.

What I got after joining was really more financial models and downloadable spreadsheets and PDFs that teach one spreadsheet tips & tricks that are very useful in Financial Modeling.

As a Senior Associate I am responsible for financial modeling and reviewing of the financial models by other associates and analysts. As mentioned above, I adapted your model way back in 2002 and I had that setup as our standard financial modeling template. We had our Webmaster upload it to our company Intranet where it is available for download by anyone who wants to work on a project finance power model.

My favourite thing that I have learnt from your style of modeling is the inclusion of the Timeline sheet, Summary sheet and the Administration sheet. These three sheets really differentiate your models from any other I have come across. They give one a very effective control over a model. Also the way you setup the Assumptions sheet makes it so easy to quickly update a financial model. The way you write the IRR, Payback Period, and DSCR calculation is very interactive. It's really brilliant!

Please keep up the good work - you have cheering fans out there!

I hold a Masters degree in Electrical Engineering and I'm currently reading for an MBA. One of the greatest disadvantages or challenges that I face as an MBA student is that I have never ever worked before. After my degree studies I registered for the MBA. I am only one of three students out of a class of 48 students who went straight to business school after their degree studies. It's not something I can encourage anyone to do!

Although I have studied Electrical Engineering I don't really want to work as an Engineer but rather in Investment Banking and/or Project Finance. This is the decision I reached after consultation with lecturers when I was about to start my MBA studies. One module that is not that popular here at the business school involves working on a Project Feasibility Case Study in an industry field of your choice. I chose a Project Finance Power Station Case study. I am working on three projects - two are closed (completed) projects whilst one is a current IPP Power Station Project.

Your website was suggested to me by one of our lecturers - he told me that he thought that if I joined your Power Station Models Membership site it could make my life very easy! I joined the Power Station Models website in January 2007. That was the best thing I did for the whole of 2007! I worked very hard through the months of January-February 2007 learning your models. By the end of February I had my own model (based on one of your models) that I started to use on my assignments. I completed the assignments THREE MONTHS ahead of time! The most interesting thing out of all this is that I secured my self a job without even applying for it. The Investment Bank acting as financial advisors to the Power Generation company IPP project were so impressed by my financial model that they offered me a job in their Corporate and Project Finance Division as an Associate. I will be starting with them in March 2008. I have to thank you guys for that!

I really don't have past experience in financial modeling to give a very objective view concerning favorite things I like about the model - I currently just like everything about it! Using what I was told by the professionals from the Investment Bank as a guide, the Summary Sheet, Administration Sheet and the Timeline Sheet seem to be what they liked most. They were also very impressed by the calculations in most of the cells in the model.

I have also joined your Affiliate Program - it's really nice to make money promoting something one knows is of great value to anyone who works in a relevant industry (project finance etc).

I wish you guys all the luck in your business - you are running a very useful resource!

I hold a PhD in Power Engineering and a Masters degree in Finance. I have worked in Engineering Consulting for 10 years and about 23 years in Investment Banking (Project Finance). I retired from Investment Banking in 2002. I was working for an international investment bank in Florida, USA. After I retired I returned to my native Brazil. In September 2006 the Investment Bank I used to work for won a bid to be a Financial Advisor to a Power Generating company's new Power Station in Brazil. I was asked out of retirement to head the bank's Brazilian Project Finance team. Most of the junior members of the team are engineers and not investment bankers by background. My challenge was therefore to teach the juniors in the team financial modeling.

I was referred to your website by a friend of mine who teaches Project Finance courses in Europe, Africa & Asia. In October 2007 I joined your Power Station Models Membership website. I initially familiarized myself with the layout of the models and started to adapt one to our transaction. I then emailed it to all members of the team. Over a period of two weeks I basically ran through the model using an overhead projector - to basically show the team how the model works and how to change (adapt) it. After a month everyone in the team was comfortable with the financial model and it has worked very well for me as both a teaching tool and as a Base Case Model for our transaction.

There was not much I had to change in your model - it really has the layout of the models we used to use in our team around 1997. What was new to me was the Summary Sheet, Timeline Sheet and the Administration Sheet. These sheets are very useful and helpful when adapting and updating the financial model. The Assumptions Sheet is also very well constructed. The use of formulas in the model cells is really above average - very interactive! I was also very impressed by the IRR calculation. The way you combine the HLOOKUP function and the Running IRR calculation is superb!

I whole heartedly recommend your products to anyone who's involved in Project Finance. I repeat - you are the most useful Project Finance resource I've come across on the Internet.

I wish you all the best in your business - keep up the good work.

I hold a Masters degree in Engineering and an MBA. I work for an Australian Project Finance Firm based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. I have been with the firm for two years now - I joined them immediately after graduating from business school.

Your website was listed as a resource in the course notes of one of the Euromoney Training Financial Modeling Courses I attended during February 2007. I joined the Power Station Models Membership website in February 2007. The reason for joining your Membership website was really to improve my financial modeling skill. I adapted your models to our environment and developed a template that I now use for all Power projects. Your model has really become my 'secret weapon' in the sense that in a very short period of time it has made my financial modeling skills look superior than even some of the most experienced modelers in our company. The Summary Sheet, Administration Sheet and the Timeline Sheet are my favorite sheets in the model. I must say that generally, your model is very well constructed. The results calculations - IRR, Payback Period and DSCR are also very unique in the way you write them.

I have also joined your Affiliate Program - I feel you offer a very valuable service that must be promoted to all Project Finance professionals!

Keep up the good work.