Community Wind Toolbox Chapter 9: Financing Community Wind Projects
Most commercial-scale community wind projects are multi-million dollar investment endeavors that require outside financing assistance. This section will give you some background on how to approach a bank or other financing entity. Loan terms will affect the bottom line of your wind energy project revenue, so understanding the requirements and options for financing your wind development are critical. Getting organized in the beginning will put your project in a much better negotiating position for acquiring favorable financing. With enough due diligence documentation, your project will be less risky and more attractive to a financing entity.
Read more:
This guidebook was created by Charles Kubert for the Environmental Law and Policy Center in 2004. It talks about business models, sources of equity, grant and loan programs, incentives, and power purchase agreements for community wind projects. You'll find it online on the ELPC website.
These case studies are from the Iowa Energy Center. Click here to view the case studies.
Click here to visit this resource for financing a community wind project.
This report from Lawrence Berkley National Laboratory was released in September, 2007. The report, titled "Wind Project Financing Structures: A Review & Comparative Analysis," was authored by John Harper (Birch Tree Capital, LLC), Matt Karcher (Deacon Harbor Financial, L.P.), and Mark Bolinger (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory), and was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Wind & Hydropower Technologies Program.
Best Practices
Caution
Links to more information
Information that will affect your project’s bottom line
Example