US Solar Structures: Cash Equity Considerations

The solar financing market is maturing. You can tell because new money is crowding into the market, and the capital stacks are getting more complicated.

Many of these funky structures even have names, like the "Double Dundas," "Around the World," "Walk the Dog," etc.

This can leave new entrants wondering what the relative risks and rewards are for each structure. This is particularly true if a project sponsor or seller says to an investor or buyer that it will only consider bids that assume a particular structure.

We get calls fairly often from potential buyers/investors saying, "A developer told me I would only win a bid for a project if I assumed an inverted lease in my model. What is that, anyway? Is it risky?"