Solar risk manager kWh Analytics has launched a new offering that it says allows PV project owners to receive upfront payments in return for maintaining asset performance.
Dubbed Solar Generation Advance, the solution has been created in partnership with renewables investor Excelsior Energy Capital and provides a second revenue stream for operating and new build projects, kWh Analytics said.
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For development-stage assets, the offering can provide additional unencumbered cash for developers, which can boost their development fee or increase equity internal rates of return.
For operating assets, it is said to provide a flexible funding source for additional sponsor distributions or operations and maintenance enhancements to the project.
Solar Generation Advance forms part of kWh Analytics’ efforts to explore new solutions to improve project financial terms and mitigate risk for sponsors and financiers, complementing its Solar Revenue Put insurance product, through which the company has insured US$3 billion of US solar projects.
“As a long-term asset owner, we understand the benefit of flexible capital and additional revenue streams in today’s market. The Solar Generation Advance provides value-enhancing optionality to both developers and asset owners, and we are proud to be a part of this innovative solution,” said Ryan Fegley, partner and co-founder at Excelsior Energy Capital.
kWh Analytics said the product will help in the deployment of more solar while providing reliable returns to equity investors. “We are excited to deliver a solution that rewards prudent owners and stewards of solar power plants,” Richard Matsui, CEO and founder at kWh Analytics, said.
kWh Analytics recently secured US$2 million in funding from the US Department of Energy for a project that will analyse data from solar operations and maintenance logs to identify the top failure modes and prioritise the development of hardware solutions to solve them, offering insurance discounts for asset owners and manufacturers who adopt the identified solutions.
