Clawbacks & Milestones: Notable Solar EPC Agreement Clauses The EPC agreement governs the actual construction of a solar project, and two parts in particular can cause problems for developers as projects slip: clawback clauses tied to completion deadlines, and the milestone payment structure that governs how money moves… Continue reading “Clawbacks & Milestones: Notable Solar EPC Agreement Clauses”
Inside the Solar Executive MBA Data Room We just published a new course, and there’s nothing else like it in the world: Inside the Solar Executive MBA Data Room. Keith Cronin opened up actual data room documents and models he uses to develop, finance, and sell solar… Continue reading “Inside the Solar Executive MBA Data Room”
Why Developers Get the Solar Data Room Wrong (and What It Costs Them) Ask a handful of solar developers where their project documents live, and you’ll get some version of the same answer: a folder on someone’s desktop, scattered across an engineer’s inbox, or nowhere organized at all. HeatSpring instructor Keith Cronin has… Continue reading “Why Developers Get the Solar Data Room Wrong (and What It Costs Them)”
Managing a Commercial Solar Portfolio: How Solar Developers, EPC Contractors and O&M Teams Work Together Chris Lord helps his clients manage a portfolio of solar assets. In that role he’s also managing a network of subcontractors who don’t always have aligned interests. This is the sort of thing Chris and Keith Cronin cover in their… Continue reading “Managing a Commercial Solar Portfolio: How Solar Developers, EPC Contractors and O&M Teams Work Together”
How Does a Solar Project Dealmaker Spend His Time? “Solar Project Dealmaker” is the best way to describe Chris Lord. He’s a lawyer, financial modeler, and builder of project teams. Hearing about his work helps you understand how big solar projects happen. Below you’ll hear about a few projects… Continue reading “How Does a Solar Project Dealmaker Spend His Time?”
Here’s the Financial Model Chris Lord Uses to Unlock MW Solar + Storage Projects Financial models get solar projects built. Financial models make deals happen. Financial models make owners, developers, EPCs and investors a lot of money. So the people who build financial models are valuable. Many people understand financial models from a high… Continue reading “Here’s the Financial Model Chris Lord Uses to Unlock MW Solar + Storage Projects”
Learn Financial Modeling to Win Your Next Renewable Energy Job Learning how to build a financial model to develop large renewable energy projects is hard. Details matter. Getting one number wrong can cost millions of dollars. That’s why learning how to develop a financial model is such a valuable skill.… Continue reading “Learn Financial Modeling to Win Your Next Renewable Energy Job”
Where are the Best Opportunities for Solar + Storage? We’re excited to announce a new free class, developed in partnership with Energy Toolbase: “Optimizing the Economics of C&I Solar + Storage Projects in California“. It’s worth paying attention because the presentation is packed with useful data you won’t find… Continue reading “Where are the Best Opportunities for Solar + Storage?”
Understanding Solar Project Finance Risks In an ideal world, solar developers would find an appropriate site for solar, the local utility would offer low interconnection costs, the investor would receive a reasonable financial return and the surrounding community would welcome the project. This would make… Continue reading “Understanding Solar Project Finance Risks”
How to Complete the Deal by Keeping Solar Financing Simple Developers of small to mid-sized commercial and industrial projects, those under 300 or 400 kW, are often tempted to think about power purchase agreements (PPA) and partnership flips as the one-size-fits-all financing solution for solar projects, says Christopher Lord, instructor… Continue reading “How to Complete the Deal by Keeping Solar Financing Simple”
Non-Obvious Skills Needed in the Solar Industry This week I had the honor of participating in the first-ever SunCast Summit on Earth Day. The “Impact Your Career” session was a panel discussion between Shawn O’Brien (NABCEP), Brian Mehalic (Solar Energy International), Nico Johnson (SunCast), and me. I… Continue reading “Non-Obvious Skills Needed in the Solar Industry”
New Free Course: Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing PACE financing (property assessed clean energy financing) is a means of financing energy efficiency upgrades, disaster resiliency improvements, water conservation measures, or renewable energy upgrades to buildings through property taxes. This free 12-minute lecture: “Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing”… Continue reading “New Free Course: Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing”
Climate Change: Global Crisis + A Wealth-Creating Opportunity? Boosting our economy – both nationally and globally – and solving humanity’s shared climate change challenge are not mutually exclusive endeavors. In fact, many of today’s brightest minds say they go hand in hand, and even make the case that climate change… Continue reading “Climate Change: Global Crisis + A Wealth-Creating Opportunity?”
Data Center Essentials for Executives: A Beginner’s Guide In the 21st century, all companies are information technology (IT) companies… most just don’t know it yet. Jon Koomey helps executives modernize their IT organizations to speed up innovation, reduce costs, and increase revenues in his Data Center Essentials for… Continue reading “Data Center Essentials for Executives: A Beginner’s Guide”
Why We Haven’t Crossed the Chasm in Residential Solar & What to Do Just because we’re not shooting fish in a barrel doesn’t mean we’re moving past the late early majority, venturing into the mainstream, or “crossing the chasm” of residential solar. Since December 2015, I’ve been exploring the macro changes happening in… Continue reading “Why We Haven’t Crossed the Chasm in Residential Solar & What to Do”
Explaining the Value of Solar to Customers With such a long list of benefits, you’d think solar panels would sell themselves. But many potential customers still need convincing before they can make the jump to green living. As beneficial as solar panels are for reducing a household’s… Continue reading “Explaining the Value of Solar to Customers”
Solar Partnership Flip: Alive and Well in 2016 Chris Lord discusses partnership flips under the IRC As Mark Twain once said, “News of the recent death of the partnership flip for solar transactions is greatly exaggerated.” Okay, he didn’t exactly refer to partnership flips; he was talking about… Continue reading “Solar Partnership Flip: Alive and Well in 2016”
Solar Women Summer Series: Enabling the New Energy Economy Elena Lucas is the CEO and Co-Founder of UtilityAPI, an enterprise software company delivering access to energy usage data. Lucas is an active Board Member of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability, a former Pacific Gas and Electric Company Business Finance Analyst and… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Enabling the New Energy Economy”
Building Microgrids? Four Economic Factors to Consider Microgrids are poised to alter the economics and topology of the electricity grid, ultimately transforming the electricity industry as we know it. In this article, we discuss the four economic factors to consider before and during microgrid development and provide… Continue reading “Building Microgrids? Four Economic Factors to Consider”
Community Solar 101 There’s been a lot of buzz about community solar lately. While the amount of investment in community solar projects is a fraction of the investment of the entire solar industry, there are a few leaders who recognize the incredible potential… Continue reading “Community Solar 101”