David W. South

Senior Principal, Sustainability, Energy & Utilities Practice
West Monroe Partners

David South devises innovative business solutions and strategies for clients challenged by the interaction among technologies (power generation, energy efficiency, process and environmental), commodity and financial markets, and regulatory requirements related to energy, emissions/residuals and sustainability. He has worked with numerous companies in the power generation, industrial/manufacturing, financial, technology development, and transportation sectors, as well as public-sector organizations such as trade associations, research institutions, and government agencies at the local, state and federal levels.

David combines substantial business consulting experience with deep resource, technology and delivery infrastructure experience includes coal, natural gas, nuclear power, distributed/on-site, cogeneration, renewable/clean energy and clean fuels. He has devised strategies for compliance with clean air and greenhouse gas emissions -- including making contributions to trading mechanisms for SO2, NOx, CO2, and RECs -- and water and waste residuals. For example, he is widely recognized for his work on emissions and renewable energy credit (REC) trading; monetization of clean air, greenhouse gas, environmental and energy credits to facilitate project economics; multi-pollutant control and mitigation strategies; and quantification and monetization of avoided (displaced) emissions.

David has helped clients optimize their performance or minimize their sustainability risks through use of life cycle, benchmarking, supply chain and foot printing techniques. He has also conducted numerous due diligence and financial engineering studies on innovative clean energy and fuel systems for technology startups, project developers and investors.

David joined West Monroe Partners from Technology & Market Solutions, LLC. He was founder and president of this consultancy for the past 10 years, which provided analytic, strategic, economic, and regulatory advisory services on technology, market, and business issues to entities with energy, environmental or natural resource concerns.

His previous roles included manager of business development for Amerex; vice president of Energy Resources International, Inc.; senior program manager for technology and environmental policy for Argonne National Laboratory; and economist for Mittlehauser Corporation.

A recognized subject matter expert on business and technology matters affecting the energy and environmental sectors, he has authored numerous journal articles and book contributions, published more than 300 conference papers and technical reports, and delivered briefings, conference presentations, and expert testimony.

David earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from John Carroll University with a concentration in Energy and Environmental Studies. He also completed graduate course work at the University of Illinois at Chicago.