Currents

Listen in as Patrick Dolan offers a general overview of securitization and then dives specifically into the niche market of property assessed clean energy (PACE) bonds. We cover which states are doing the highest volume in PACE securitizations, a history of the ratings, residential versus commercial and where he sees the future of the program.

Jim Berger discusses back-leveraged loans from a legal perspective, going over the big picture of project structures as well as the most negotiated points in these transactions, the breakdown of benefits for sponsor members and tax equity investors, security packages, cash sweeps and more.

Bankruptcy lawyer Howard Seife sits down to talk about what happens when a power purchaser files for bankruptcy, using the recent Chapter 11 filing by First Energy Solutions as a case study. As we see more power projects financed based on projected cash flows from corporate PPAs, IPPs need to understand the credit risk presented by a potential bankruptcy of their counterparty.

We sat down with Benoit Allehaut, director on the clean energy infrastructure team at Capital Dynamics, fresh off the heels of its acquisition and privatization of 8point3 Energy Partners LP. Benoit shares his views on how much appetite there is currently in the market for solar, the effects of the new solar tariffs, PPAs, the future of energy storage and more.

Join us as we take a closer look at CFIUS, the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, the committee is charged with reviewing transactions in which a foreign person will gain control over a US trade or business. Amanda Rosenberg talks about the basics, national security, specific project finance concerns, lessons learned and what is happening today.

Todd Alexander meets with Alicia Barton, president of NYSERDA to discuss New York's 50% renewable energy by 2030 plan, their aims for the offshore wind market and their stance on energy storage.

Keith Martin joins Todd Alexander to talk about the likely outcome of DOE efforts to halt coal and nuclear power plant retirements, how the growing number of US import tariffs is affecting the market, and possible moves this summer to place further restrictions on inbound US investment.

Todd Alexander discusses the M&A landscape, macro trends in the market, valuations, assumptions, natural owners and more with industry veteran Ted Brandt of Marathon Capital.

Tax equity transactions have been a mainstay of financing renewable energy projects. While the general idea—using the tax benefits from renewable energy projects as a way to generate financing for their construction—is not very complicated, tax-equity participants are subject to a number of tax risks. We speak with Daniel Schoenberg, Senior Managing Director at Aon Transaction Solutions to learn exactly what is tax credit insurance and how it is used in the renewable space.

Please join us for a webinar from Norton Rose Fulbright and ICF on energy storage. Our own Kat Gamache and Deanne Barrow are joined by Judah Rose and Shankar Chandramowli from ICF to discuss market drivers of storage adoption and potential risks and challenges.

As the community solar market continues to expand, our associate Ana Vucetic joins us to provide an update on the market and takes us through important recent changes in net metering rules across several key states.

Richard Matsui, CEO of KwH Analytics, joins us to discuss the Solar Revenue Put, an innovative new financial product that may change the way many solar projects are financed. While the solar industry faces the potential impact of tariffs, we explore how this product can reduce project costs.

Jacob Susman has been investing and developing projects in renewable energy since 1999. He led OwnEnergy from inception to its sale to EDF Renewable Energy, where he is now VP, Head of Origination. In today's episode, Jacob sits down with Todd to discuss what it takes to build a successful renewable energy startup and offers his insights on opportunities in today's market.

Join Keith Martin, David Gillespie and Michael Masri as they take you through over a dozen provisions in the recently enacted tax bill that will affect transactions in the power and broader infrastructure markets. This special episode was recorded live on December 19 starting with an overview of the changes followed by answering audience questions. 

A massive tax-cut tax bill that is in the final stages in Congress has significant consequences for the US power industry, especially renewable energy companies. Keith Martin, partner in the Washington office, joins us to discuss the implications.

Dramatic change is underway in Mexico's power sector. Clean energy auctions awarding long-term power purchase agreements have been a great success so far. The results of the third and most recent auction were announced in November, bringing some of the lowest prices for renewable energy in the world. We're joined by Raquel Bierzwinsky, partner in the New York and Mexico City offices, to discuss the auction and the reform of the Mexican renewables sector more broadly.

Back-leverage loans have become the primary way to raise debt for tax equity-funded renewable energy projects in the US. Today, we're joined by Ralph Cho and Mike Pantelogianis, Co-Heads of Power and Infrastructure Finance, North America at Investec, to discuss the state of the back-leverage loan market.

To kick off Season 2 of Currents, we've invited Rob Eberhardt, partner in New York, to discuss financial hedges for renewable energy projects. Rob helped to develop an innovative new wind power hedge last year that attracted considerable attention in the market.

Mergers and acquisitions activity in the energy sector is on the rise, and cross-border transactions are driving much of this activity. In today's episode, we talk to Marwan Azzi, from our New York office, who gives us an in-depth view of how these transactions work and shares his insight on market trends.

As political uncertainty continues to dominate the news, we take a closer look at political risk insurance: a valuable tool when developing projects in riskier emerging markets. Ken Hansen, partner in our Washington office, joins us to give a breakdown of the industry and major players, and discuss recent developments.