Additional coverage in: PV Magazine USA, Solar Power World, Reinsurance News.
SAN FRANCISCO – kWh Analytics, the market leader in solar risk management, today announced that it structured a Solar Revenue Put for a portfolio of 4,000 projects totaling approximately 30 MW DC of capacity located in the Northeast, Florida and California. The facilities are being developed and managed by IGS Solar, a residential and commercial solar developer. The IGS Solar portfolio is being funded by ING Capital LLC (“ING”), a financial services company. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, a leading global corporate insurer, is providing capacity for the Solar Revenue Put.
This is the first publicly announced repeat closing with the Solar Revenue Put. The Solar Revenue Put supported a financing with IGS Solar, ING and others in November 2018 for a 30 MW portfolio of 4,000 projects located in the Northeast U.S.
The Solar Revenue Put is structured as an insurance policy on solar production and PPA revenues, which serves as a credit enhancement for financial investors. Using its proprietary actuarial model and risk management software (“HelioStats”), kWh Analytics developed the Solar Revenue Put to drive down investment risk and encourage development of clean, low-cost solar energy.
“We have again found efficient and reliable execution with our partners, ING, and kWh Analytics. The Solar Revenue Put enables us to both enhance our returns and reduce our downside risk,” says Mike Gatt, Chief Operating Officer of Distributed Generation at IGS. “kWh Analytics has proven out a reliable claims process for the Solar Revenue Put, enabling cashflow certainty.”
“We are pleased to have incorporated the Solar Revenue Put to support a second financing for IGS,” says Scott Hancock, Director in the Power & Renewables team at ING in New York. “The framework was established with the initial financing with the intention that it could be easily replicated for future financings with IGS.”
A recent survey of the solar industry’s most active lenders indicates that more than 50% of active lenders value the Solar Revenue Put as a credit enhancement. Solar portfolios ranging from thousands of residential rooftops to more than ten utility-scale plants have utilized financing structures supported by the Solar Revenue Put. Portfolios supported by the Solar Revenue Put are securing debt sizing increases of 10% on average.
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Learn More about us: kwhanalytics.com & kwhanalytics.com/SolarRevenuePut
kWh Media Contact:
Sarah Matsui
IGS Media Contact:
David Gilligan
614.659.5422 (o) | 614.787.6094 (m)
About the Solar Revenue Put
The Solar Revenue Put is a credit enhancement that guarantees up to 95% of a solar project’s expected energy output. kWh Analytics’ wholly-owned brokerage subsidiary places the policy with risk capacity rated investment-grade by Standard and Poor’s. As an ‘all-risk’ policy, the Solar Revenue Put protects against shortfalls in irradiance, panel failure, inverter failure, snow, and other system design flaws. The Solar Revenue Put provides comprehensive coverage that banks rely upon, enabling financial institutions to more easily finance solar projects on terms more favorable to the sponsor.
About kWh Analytics
kWh Analytics is the market leader in solar risk management. By leveraging the most comprehensive performance database of solar projects in the United States (20% of the U.S. market) and the strength of the global insurance markets, kWh Analytics’ customers are able to minimize risk and increase equity returns of their projects or portfolios. kWh Analytics also provides HelioStats risk management software to leading project finance investors in the solar market. kWh Analytics is backed by private venture capital and the US Department of Energy.
About IGS Solar
IGS Solar, a turn-key commercial and residential solar developer with significant solar assets under development, provides businesses, homes, and communities with an opportunity to participate in creating a sustainable energy future. As an affiliate of IGS Energy, IGS Solar is dedicated to delivering innovative solar energy solutions. For more information, visit IGS.com or connect with IGS Solar at linkedin.com/company/igs-solar.
About ING Capital LLC
ING Capital LLC is a financial services firm offering a full array of wholesale financial lending products and advisory services to its corporate and institutional clients. ING Capital LLC is an indirect U.S. subsidiary of ING Bank NV, part of ING Groep NV (NYSE: ING), a global financial institution with a strong European base. The purpose of ING is empowering people to stay a step ahead in life and in business. ING’s more than 53,000 employees offer retail and wholesale banking services to customers in over 40 countries. Please note that neither ING Groep NV nor ING Bank NV have a banking license in the U.S. and are therefore not permitted to conduct banking activities in the U.S.
About Swiss Re Corporate Solutions
Swiss Re Corporate Solutions provides risk transfer solutions to large and mid-sized corporations around the world. Its innovative, highly customised products and standard insurance covers help to make businesses more resilient, while its industry-leading claims service provides additional peace of mind. Swiss Re Corporate Solutions serves clients from offices worldwide and is backed by the financial strength of the Swiss Re Group. Visit corporatesolutions.swissre.com or follow us on linkedin.com/company/swiss-re-corporate-solutions and Twitter @SwissRe_CS.