Ep.0 - Introducing Banking on Solar

1 00:00:02,009 --> 00:00:04,110 It's time for banking on solar. 2 00:00:04,170 --> 00:00:05,710 This is your host Bart Frischknecht. 3 00:00:06,420 --> 00:00:10,020 Solar developers, investors, and lenders all risk losing projects 4 00:00:10,020 --> 00:00:11,610 when they bog down during financing. 5 00:00:12,360 --> 00:00:16,170 Banking on Solar is the podcast community where energy transition project 6 00:00:16,170 --> 00:00:20,070 financing stakeholders share lessons learned so that more projects get built. 7 00:00:20,550 --> 00:00:23,080 By listening, you will hear how deals get done. 8 00:00:23,925 --> 00:00:26,655 This podcast is a resource for professionals that are new to the 9 00:00:26,660 --> 00:00:30,015 solar industry to get up to speed quickly on financing solar projects. 10 00:00:30,434 --> 00:00:34,544 It's also a resource for experienced professionals seeking to tap into an 11 00:00:34,544 --> 00:00:38,654 increasing network of project financing stakeholders across the US and the world. 12 00:00:39,354 --> 00:00:42,834 If you've been listening to podcasts in this industry, you'll know there are 13 00:00:42,834 --> 00:00:45,234 policy and economics oriented podcasts. 14 00:00:45,514 --> 00:00:48,794 There are big picture finance and investment podcasts, there 15 00:00:48,794 --> 00:00:52,404 are news Roundup podcasts, there are industry profile podcasts to 16 00:00:52,404 --> 00:00:54,054 interview industry illuminaries. 17 00:00:54,984 --> 00:00:58,324 These shows all tend to take a personality first smorgasbord 18 00:00:58,344 --> 00:01:02,394 approach, or a current event focused approach, both super valuable. 19 00:01:02,904 --> 00:01:06,764 In contrast, banking on solar focuses on a single transactional issue. 20 00:01:07,035 --> 00:01:09,705 How to get more projects funded with the goal of helping 21 00:01:10,175 --> 00:01:11,294 everyone get more projects built. 22 00:01:12,330 --> 00:01:15,690 The solar industry is poised for long-term growth, but there are a few bottlenecks. 23 00:01:15,690 --> 00:01:17,669 Two of them we'll address on this podcast. 24 00:01:17,699 --> 00:01:21,389 One, investors and lenders that are comfortable with solar so that they 25 00:01:21,389 --> 00:01:25,350 choose to put their capital to work in solar rather than staying on the 26 00:01:25,350 --> 00:01:29,009 sideline or settling for opportunities where they have more experience. 27 00:01:29,549 --> 00:01:33,539 And two, developers understand both renewable energy development and 28 00:01:33,539 --> 00:01:37,409 project financing deeply so that they can bring high quality projects that 29 00:01:37,409 --> 00:01:39,329 investors and lenders can say yes to. 30 00:01:40,329 --> 00:01:43,769 At first blush, this may seem to be a new to the industry issue or a new to 31 00:01:43,769 --> 00:01:45,599 the industry type podcast, and it is. 32 00:01:45,899 --> 00:01:49,409 New developers and new investors and lenders are moving into this space. 33 00:01:50,369 --> 00:01:54,119 And with how fast technology and project scope is evolving, even the 34 00:01:54,119 --> 00:01:56,819 most experienced in the industry are creating or considering new 35 00:01:56,819 --> 00:01:58,439 types of projects all the time. 36 00:01:58,919 --> 00:01:59,999 We can all help each other. 37 00:02:01,439 --> 00:02:04,320 You still may be asking yourself if you're in the right place, if you 38 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:08,072 are a solar developer, investor, lender, attorney, or consultant with 39 00:02:08,072 --> 00:02:11,882 responsibility for some aspect of project finance, you're in the right place. 40 00:02:12,482 --> 00:02:16,742 I created this podcast because I'm one of those people starting as an outsider 41 00:02:16,832 --> 00:02:18,632 working on moving to insider status. 42 00:02:19,022 --> 00:02:20,792 We'll learn together with the interview guests. 43 00:02:20,797 --> 00:02:24,512 We'll cover a range of up-to-date topics like the basics of project 44 00:02:24,512 --> 00:02:28,972 financing and typical capital stacks with renewables, but also questions 45 00:02:28,977 --> 00:02:32,320 like is merchant revenue here to stay versus contracted revenue? 46 00:02:32,322 --> 00:02:34,302 What are the issues coming out of the ira? 47 00:02:34,722 --> 00:02:35,952 How is it gonna be interpreted? 48 00:02:35,952 --> 00:02:37,212 What precedents can we look to? 49 00:02:37,212 --> 00:02:39,672 What are other pending local and state policies? 50 00:02:40,392 --> 00:02:43,632 What are additional new and and interesting financing structures? 51 00:02:43,637 --> 00:02:45,132 What are the new and growing markets? 52 00:02:45,132 --> 00:02:47,652 What are the technology innovations that we need to take into account? 53 00:02:47,652 --> 00:02:49,752 And what are the legal perspectives on all of this? 54 00:02:50,752 --> 00:02:55,102 But all of these topics from the perspective of things we've seen go right 55 00:02:55,252 --> 00:02:59,392 and things that have gone bad on the way to getting projects funded and built. 56 00:03:00,862 --> 00:03:03,787 If you have an interesting guest idea for someone you'd like to see on the show, 57 00:03:03,787 --> 00:03:07,297 or if you have something to share with this group, leave a voice message on the 58 00:03:07,297 --> 00:03:13,887 website, bankingonsolar.media, or send me a note at bart@bankingonsolar.media. 59 00:03:14,137 --> 00:03:15,517 You can also find me on LinkedIn. 60 00:03:16,777 --> 00:03:18,877 Now is the time to be banking on solar. 61 00:03:18,907 --> 00:03:21,637 There is money to be made and the planet to save. 62 00:03:21,997 --> 00:03:26,247 Until next time, I'm Bart Frischknecht, and this is Banking on Solar.