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Below are soundbites from panelists from the Renewable Energy Finance Forum (“REFF”) Wall Street on June 19 and 20. The mood was upbeat.  There were many references to a “wall of cash chasing projects” as a metaphor for how competitive it is to win bids to finance or purchase projects.

The soundbites are edited for clarity and are organized by topic, rather than in chronological order.  They were prepared without the benefit of a transcript or recording.

The topics covered include the tax equity, debt and M&A markets, C&I solar, offshore wind, bonus depreciation, storage, YieldCos and others.

Tax Equity Market

“Solar tax equity is 30 to 38 percent of the capital stack of a project.  Wind tax equity is 47 to 62 percent of the capital stack of a project.”  – Managing Director, Boutique Investment Bank

“We are seeing a lot more wind.  We are using our tax equity capacity in wind in 2018.  Solar is looking good for 2019 and beyond.”  Managing Director, Trust Company

“This year we will invest more in wind than in solar.” – Managing Director, Money Center Bank

“We are seeing tax equity portfolios that are seasoned trade in a secondary market.  [Generally These are tax equity portfolios] that haven’t flipped on time or that [have the benefit of material cash distributions] but not tax” credits.  – Managing Director, American Multinational Financial Services Company

“There is more tax equity now than there was before tax reform.”  Managing Director, REIT

“2018 is a slow down due to tax reform and tariffs.”  Managing Director, National Bank

“There is a lot less tax equity capacity due to the lower tax rate.” – Managing Director, American Multi-National Investment Bank

[Explained: there may be more tax equity investors in the market than last year; however, last year the corporate tax rate was 35 percent, and this year it is 21 percent, so a typical tax equity investor has 40 percent less tax appetite (and ability to invest in tax equity) in 2018 than it did in 2017.]

“If you are in BEAT [(i.e., the base erosion anti-avoidance tax in enacted as part of 2018 tax reform)], you cannot compete in tax equity.  A couple of investors were hit with BEAT and exited.” – Managing Director, American Multi-National Investment Bank

“We get ten requests for tax equity a week and say ‘yes’ to less than one a week.  We have to prioritize opportunities.”  – Managing Director, American Multi-National Investment Bank…
Continue Reading Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street Soundbites: the Tax Equity, Debt and M&A Markets, etc.

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), a federally-owned laboratory that is funded through the U.S. Department of Energy, recently released a report titled Wind Energy Finance in the United States: Current Practice and Opportunities. The report provides a thorough overview of the capital sources and financing structures commonly used in wind energy finance. Below are quotes from the report that are of particular interest to tax equity market participants. We applaud the authors for writing a comprehensive report on a topic that is extremely technical.  Also, below we include comments clarifying certain tax or legal concepts referenced in particular quotes.

Wind Expansion in 2016

• By the end of 2016, cumulative U.S. wind generation capacity stood at 82.2 gigawatts (GW), expanding by 8.7 GW from 2015 installations levels. Wind energy added the most utility-scale electricity generation capacity to the U.S. grid in 2015 and the second most in 2016. Project investment in wind in the United States has averaged $13.6 billion annually since 2006 with a cumulative investment total of $149 billion over this time period. The investment activity demonstrates the persistent appeal of wind energy and its significant role in the overall market for electricity generation in the United States.

Future Outlook

• Looking ahead, the near-term outlook for wind energy reported previously suggests a continued need for capital availability at levels consistent with deployment seen in 2015 and 2016. The market has shown the capacity to finance projects at this level using current mechanisms at economically viable rates; however, increased deployment could necessitate new sources of capital. Broad changes to the financial industry—such as the possibility of major corporate tax reform, the currently scheduled phase out of the PTC and ITC for wind, and, specifically, a change in the role of tax equity—could fundamentally reshape the predominant mechanism for wind energy investment. It is possible that financing practices may need to evolve, while the growing body of wind energy deployment and operational experiences could help to attract new market participants.

PTC and Accelerated Tax Depreciation

• The United States Federal Government incentivizes renewable energy projects principally through the tax code. As of this writing, wind technologies are eligible to receive either the production tax credit (PTC) or the investment tax credit (ITC) (one or the other, but not both) as well as accelerated depreciation tax offsets through the Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System (MACRS).

The PTC

• The tax credit incentives (the PTC and ITC) provide an after-tax credit on tax liabilities (i.e., the taxes paid) and thus are often described as dollar-for-dollar tax incentives. As of this writing the PTC is currently worth $0.024 for every kWh generated over a 10-year period while the ITC is structured as a one-time credit valued at 30% of eligible system costs. For projects to claim the aforementioned full PTC or ITC values, however, the project is required to have begun construction prior to December 31, 2016. Projects that begin construction in 2017 through 2019 are available for a reduced-value PTC or ITC.
Continue Reading NREL’s Wind Finance Report Highlights

Below are soundbites from panel discussions on September 14, 2016 at Solar Power International in Las Vegas.  The soundbites are organized by topic, rather than in chronological order, and were prepared without the benefit of a transcript or a recording.

Supply of Tax Equity Investment

“There are 32 tax equity investors in the renewables market, about 26 of those invest in solar.” — Managing Director from a Money Center Bank

“It is very challenging when syndicators are trying to bring in new investors.  Each new investor takes nine to 15 months to work through its approval issues.” — Director, Renewable Energy Investments for a Commercial Bank

“We continue to see insurance companies get into the market.  They like the asset.  You might have newcomers that invest in 20 MW of projects in commercial transactions.” — Managing Director of a Boutique Financial Advisor

“There are more investors for solar than wind.  Wind is limited to experienced project [financiers].  Overall there is enough tax equity capacity for solar.” — Managing Director of a Boutique Financial Advisor

“We prioritize tax equity investment opportunities based on:

  1. Basic project finance fundamentals – quality of the sponsor and its management team, the quality of the power purchase agreement (“PPA”), the quality of the equipment and its warranties, and pro forma stress tests.
  2. The minimum amount out the door.  For solar, we want to be investing $75 to $100 million per transaction.  If the transaction involves commercial and industrial or residential projects, we like it to take no more than six to nine months to deploy that amount.
  3. Repeat business.  Does the sponsor have a pipeline of projects, so we can reuse the papers we have” negotiated. —  Managing Director from a Money Center Bank

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Continue Reading Solar Power International Panel Discussions Soundbites

Below are soundbites from panelists at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street held in New York City on June 21 and 22, 2016.  The soundbites are divided by topic below: market conditions, the tax equity market, cost of capital, community solar, challenges facing the renewables market, net metering, the YieldCo market, economics for utilities and storage.

Market Conditions

“The market is long capital and short projects.”  Boutique Investment Banker

“The brightest spot in clean tech today is that panels, turbines, batteries and balance of system are all moving down in cost.” Bulge Bracket Investment Banker

“Year over year there have been very precipitous declines in the cost of these technologies.”  Boutique Investment Banker

“Before the expiration of the production tax credit, wind will reach grid parity [with electricity from natural gas] in many parts of the country.” Bulge Bracket Investment Banker

Background: The production tax credit is available for projects that “start construction” prior to 2021, and to meet the Internal Revenue Service safe harbor a wind project would have to be placed in service prior to 2026.  Our article discussing the start of construction rules for wind projects is available here.

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Continue Reading Soundbites from 2016 Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street

First Published in May 2014 in North American Wind Power

Many wind developers regularly require additional capital infusion and keep their eyes peeled for opportunities to raise it. Three recent trends in public equity transactions for developers are yieldcos, listing on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and the declining use of real estate investment trusts…