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Latest North America - Capital Markets Analysis
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Green bonds – bridging the infra funding gap
Renewables North AmericaDebt capital markets and project bonds represent one of the keys to unlocking the flow of long-term yield chasing western institutional capital needed to address this infrastructure gap. One of the most exciting developments in this space in recent years has been the growth in green project bonds targeted at climate impact reduction infrastructure investments.
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Biden extends Trump-era solar tariffs with one major exception
Renewables North AmericaThe Biden administration has decided to draw out Trump-era solar tariffs for 4 more years, but is making an exception for bifacial solar panel technology, which has soured the outlook of some solar panel manufacturers, but is still considered a win for developers of solar projects
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Eyes turn to Build Back Better as House passes bipartisan infra bill
Renewables North AmericaNow that the US House of Representatives has passed the Biden administration's long-awaited $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill, renewables market participants are eyeing a $3.5 trillion reconciliation bill containing a host of federal tax credit incentives and a direct-pay option that could be voted on as soon as next week
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REFF Wall Street: Financers still wary of taking on merchant solar
Renewables North AmericaWhile some debt investors have grown increasingly comfortable financing merchant solar assets over the last few years, many market watchers at REFF Wall Street 2021 remain unconvinced that the attractive yields to be gained by taking on merchant exposure outweigh the associated risks
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REFF Wall Street: Rapid renewables buildout could cause "surprises down the road"
Renewables North AmericaConference goers at REFF Wall Street 2021 in New York this week applauded the tremendous volume of investments in the renewables space over the last year-and-a-half, despite the disruption wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, but some warned that there could be "surprises down the road" as a result of the rapid buildout of the asset class
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Solar tax equity investor exits ramp up
Renewables North AmericaDeal watchers have observed that solar project owners are increasingly buying out the tax equity investors in their projects or arranging for third-parties to take their place, as several projects pass their tax credit recapture periods
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REFF Wall Street: Wind sponsors make sense of tax equity outlook
Renewables North AmericaWind sponsors look poised to favor a "more equitable" direct-pay structure following the approval of a portion of the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion spending package by the US House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, which could alter the tax equity landscape
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The ramifications of Congress' latest REN proposals
Renewables North AmericaThe US House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee has approved a critical portion of the Democrats' proposed $3.5 trillion spending package, which includes federal tax credit extensions and a direct-pay option, but market participants have warned that some of the newer measures mixing social and energy policies could have "cataclysmic ramifications"
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Los Guzmancito, Dominican Republic
Renewables North AmericaAs the Dominican Republic opens up for private investments into renewable energy projects under President Luis Abinader, local developer Grupo Energético 23 managed this summer to wrangle debt financing for its first such asset in the country
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Playing chicken with US renewable tax credits
Renewables North AmericaNow that the Biden administration's $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill has passed muster in the Senate, market participants are turning their attention to a larger $3.5 trillion reconciliation package that the Progressive Caucus is attempting to tie it to. The reconciliation package contains a slew of tax credit incentives for renewable energy projects. So what lies ahead in Washington,DC?
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IRS pushes out safe harbor deadline for US renewables
Renewables North AmericaDevelopers aiming to qualify their renewable energy projects for federal tax credits will have an extra year to do so, after the Internal Revenue Service granted a deadline extension on 29 June to account for pandemic-related construction delays
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PJM term loan Bs trade down but are "hard to trip"
Power North AmericaSeveral term loan B deals trading in PJM Interconnection have taken a dip after clearing prices from the highly anticipated BRA for delivery year 2022/2023 were announced. But deal watchers say that this is unlikely to have a significant impact on revenues in the long run
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Tough life awaits PJM peakers as long-awaited auction disappoints
Renewables North AmericaAfter two years of delay due to uncertainty over the Minimum Offer Price Rule, PJM Interconnection has finally concluded its Base Residual Auction for delivery year 2022 / 2023, although results from the highly-anticipated auction have fallen short of market participants' expectations
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Biden's shot in the arm for US clean power
Renewables North AmericaPresident Joe Biden has announced an ambitious $2 trillion infrastructure plan that includes a wide-reaching set of initiatives aimed at supercharging the country's clean power and renewables industry
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Georgia Power sustainability bond, US
Power North AmericaGeorgia Power brought another new ESG labeled security to the US utility sector in February when it issued its first sustainability bond – which is similar to a green bond but with an expanded list of eligible projects that include social initiatives
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Lighthouse Renewable, US
Renewables North AmericaWhile yield companies have sometimes been known to bring in third-party equity providers to co-own renewable energy assets, when Clearway Energy Group recently offloaded a 1.6GW portfolio of wind,solar and solar-plus storage assets to its yieldco Clearway Energy, the third-party investor opted for an unusual capital structure, swapping out common equity for less risky preferred equity instead
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Renewables in crosshairs as SPACs take aim
Renewables North AmericaSpecial purpose acquisition companies have proliferated at a blistering pace over the past year, and market participants are virtually certain that at least one renewable energy developer will go public this way by the end of 2021
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Renewables portfolios grow in the Caribbean
Renewables North AmericaDevelopers and investors are beginning to build portfolios of renewables in the Caribbean and Central America, a region that is slowly diversifying its energy mix despite lacking investment-grade ratings
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Spotsylvania Solar Energy Center, Virginia
Renewables North AmericaWith its Spotsylvania Solar Energy Center in Virginia, developer sPower offered the project finance market something it hadn’t seen before – a solar project in PJM Interconnection with multiple household names as offtakers, the largest of its kind east of the Rocky Mountains. But while the market responded positively to the project, the road to the finish line was far from smooth