E.

ON Inhouse Consulting
Example Case Interview: Robinson
This is an example case study to help you prepare for your interviews at [Link]
Inhouse Consulting. Go through the first chapter to practice – ideally with a partner
who can challenge your thinking and give feedback. Find the solution in the second
chapter.

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Content

1 Case Interview: Robinson

2 Solution

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson

Can you help Mrs. Robinson? (1/2)

Part 1:
Mrs. Robinson and Mr. Friday live on an island [see Handout 1]. Their only access to
civilization and trade are the inhabitants of the neighboring island, a people of excellent
engineers (they also have electricity). The island is quite large with a small desert in the
middle, surrounded by stormy sea. Mr. Friday has found a treasure some time ago and
now lives off this fortune; he has build a private entertainment park near the shore
requiring 1000x more energy than a normal household – but he has no electrical power
yet! Mrs. Robinson is far less wealthy than Mr. Friday, but she has a great
entrepreneurial spirit, know-how and enough money to invest. She is keen to supply Mr.
Friday with power to earn some of his Euros. Her equipment suppliers are the
neighboring engineer islanders; but she has access to neither fossil nor nuclear fuels.
How much power is needed?
What are the options for Mrs. Robinson?
What does she need to consider in her decision making generally?

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson

Handout 1: The Island

[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson

Can you help Mrs. Robinson? (2/2)

Part 2:
What factors could influence the technology decision (except for CAPEX
required)?

Part 3:
Suppose now that Mrs. Robinson’s engineering suppliers on the neighboring island only
make a reasonable offer on wind power technology.
How should she decide between offshore and onshore systems given the
following information? [use Handout 2]

Part 4:
Suppose now that Mrs. Robinson’s finds out about potential differences in O&M cost.
[use Handout 3]

Conclusion:
What is your recommendation for Mrs. Robinson?

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson

Handout 2: Onshore vs. Offshore

KPI Unit Offshore Onshore

Time horizon Years 10 10
Load factor % 60% 25%
CAPEX wind turbine EUR/kW 1,500 1,000
CAPEX sea cable EUR/kW 500 .
Demand MWh/year 5,000 5,000
Price ct/kWh 10 10

REMINDER:
 1000 kW = 1 MW
 Load factor = running time / total time
 Output = capacity x time [kWh = kW x h]
[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson

Handout 3: Onshore vs. Offshore – New Information

KPI Unit Offshore Onshore

Cost of O&M ct/kWh 5 2
Content

1 Case Interview: Robinson

2 Solution

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson – SOLUTION

Solution (1/4)

Part 1:
How much power is needed?
 Mr. Friday needs in the area of ~5000 MWh of power (1000 x 5000 kWh, which is
roughly the European average for a household)
What are the options for Mrs. Robinson?
 Mrs. Robinson could build up renewable generation with a suitable transmission and
storage system, mainly: Wind power onshore, Wind power offshore, Hydro power,
Solar PV, Concentrated solar power, Biomass
What does she need to consider in her decision making generally?
 Need to consider invest per capacity, output (demand), price and O&M cost
 Need to consider technology risks
 Need to consider whether Mrs. Robinson could just install an interconnector from
neighboring island

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson – SOLUTION

Solution (2/4)

Part 2:
What factors could influence the technology decision (except for CAPEX
required)?
 Mrs. Robinson should consider external factors influencing the output and the
stability/risk of systems
- Wind power onshore: How much wind is there? How many hours per year?
- Wind power offshore: How much wind is there? How to solve foundation issue?
Where is site exactly/accessibility? Need transmission.
- Hydro: Are there suitable sites: Rivers, waterfalls, tidal power, etc. ?
- Solar PV: Is there sufficient sunlight? Can use diffuse light. Which technologies
feasible: Thin film / conventional mono-crystalline silicon? [deep knowledge –
nice-to-have only]
- Concentrated solar power: Direct sunlight available? E.g. in desert. Need
transition cable. (Has storage solution integrated.)
- Biomass: Sufficient fuels available in a sustainable way?

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson – SOLUTION

Solution (3/4): Onshore vs. Offshore

KPI Unit Offshore Onshore Comment
Information Time horizon Years 10 10
Load factor % 60% 25%
CAPEX wind turbine EUR/kW 1,500 1,000
CAPEX cable EUR/kW 500 .
Demand MWh 5,000 5,000
Price ct/kWh 10 10

Side calc. 1 Running hrs hrs/year 5,256 2,190 = 24h * 365d * Load factor
Approx. running hrs hrs/year 5,000 2,000 Rounded for easier calc.

Capacity needed Capacity installed kW 1,000 2,500 = Demand / Running hours * 1,000

Side calc. 2 Price EUR/MWh 100 100 = Price in ct/kWh * 1000 / 100

Earnings Revenues EUR/year 500,000 500,000 = Price * Demand

Invest EUR 2,000,000 2,500,000 = Capacity * Sum of CAPEX
Depreciation EUR/year 200,000 250,000 = Invest / Time horizon [linear]
Profit after deprec. EUR/year 300,000 250,000 = Revenue - Depreciation

New information Cost of O&M ct/kWh 5 2 Mainly maintenance (offshore includes ship),
driven by production (wear), not capacity

Side calc. 3 Cost of O&M EUR/MWh 50 20 = Cost in ct/kWh * 1000 / 100

Cost of O&M EUR/year 250,000 100,000 = Cost in MWh * Demand [= Output]

Earnings Profit after O&M EUR/year 50,000 150,000 = Revenue - O&M cost - depreciation

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[Link] Inhouse Consulting | Case Interview: Robinson – SOLUTION

Solution (4/4)

Conclusion:
What is your recommendation for Mrs. Robinson?
 Top-down summary of findings and most critical areas
 Reference to risk of maintenance in offshore windparks (hard during some times of
the year, need ships etc.)

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Registered Office: Essen
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This document describes a fictitious case study allowing candidates to prepare for their interviews at [Link] Inhouse Consulting. The figures shown do not
represent accurate historical data nor [Link]’s market view.