Evergrow

?? How do solar tax credits work? ?? Tax credits for #solar projects have been around for years, but the majority of taxpayers who could have claimed them? didn’t have high enough tax bills to take advantage of the credits—meaning the incentive wasn’t effective. To speed up the transition to solar, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) did something revolutionary: it made clean energy tax credits transferable. Today, if a business or building owner wants to install solar, they can sell their tax credits to third-party investors for cash, allowing them to finance about a third of project costs up front. This innovation in tax policy created a huge unlocking of capital for real estate investment trusts (REITs) and other owners of smaller, community-scale solar projects. Data from the past two years is clear: The IRA’s updated clean energy incentive is working. The market for transferable energy tax credits is predicted to approach $100 billion per year in transaction volume by about 2030. Many traditional banks—including JP Morgan, Bank of America, and Wells Fargo—are already buying in. With more community-scale projects coming online, more taxpayers are also able to take advantage of tax savings that come with the added benefit of investing in a cleaner, more resilient energy grid. This is great news, but the market’s growth has raised new challenges for small project owners: Large investors typically look for large projects. Every deal done requires due diligence and attracts transaction costs. Why fund ten small projects when you could fund one? This means the smaller yet essential clean energy projects that will make up a distributed grid—such as a rooftop solar project on a local high school or batteries in the basement of a condo building—don’t find buyers as easily. At Evergrow, we’re fixing that problem. We’re using technology to bring down transaction costs and streamline due diligence and transaction execution, unlocking capital for clean energy developers of all sizes. Small projects will make up the backbone of a distributed and more resilient grid. But they need capital to get up and running. Evergrow makes that possible.

2 terawatts: That’s how much solar energy the world is now able to harness into electricity generation per year. According to the Global Solar Council (GSC), it’s enough to power 92 million American households. As reported by Reuters, the GSC’s latest data offers the best and most complete estimate of global power capacity to date because it now includes smaller non–utility scale rooftop installations—like those atop data centers, warehouses, and other commercial buildings—which some governments had previously ignored in their calculations. In many countries, there isn’t a good system of registering those producers. The 2 TW milestone puts the world a quarter of the way to a goal of 8 TW for solar electricity capacity by 2030—part of a larger UN climate goal of achieving 11 TW of renewable energy capacity by that year. What’s exciting about these figures is the impact that rooftop solar can have on global climate goals: Some 40% of the world’s total capacity comes from rooftop installations. At Evergrow, we’re helping these community-scale projects get underway by simplifying and streamlining the process of financing? a clean energy project. Here's the full story from Reuters: https://lnkd.in/eN3fgVng #solar #renewables #UNClimate #cleanenergy #climatetech

It’s been an interesting year for most of us, but a very good one for #solar projects. Solar is the #1 driver of renewable energy production in the U.S. this year, thanks in large part to the IRA’s transferable tax credits for #cleanenergy production. Solar tax credits dominate the tax credit market, making up 35-40% of the total supply. Solar credit prices are also improving, particularly for smaller credits. As the middle of the market continues to grow,? distributed solar projects will make up a larger share of the solar tax credit market going forward. Mid-market projects, which fall between residential and utility scale installations, are crucial to the transition to a cleaner grid. By turning existing commercial buildings (think warehouses, data centers, and apartment buildings) into renewable energy producers, the U.S. can begin to shift toward a more distributed and resilient energy grid—and that’s a good thing for everyone. [Data source: Crux Q3 market update]

While all eyes were on the federal government last week, a number of climate-related state and local ballot initiatives made progress for #cleanenergy, #conservation, and #environmental protection. It’s a nice reminder that while climate action requires all hands on deck, there is power in local action. We highly recommend this article by The Nature Conservancy, which details each of the 12 #climate wins we saw this week. https://lnkd.in/dtB5pWtF

#Renewables now make up a bigger percentage of U.S. #energy production than ever. The EIA forecasts that renewable energy capacity will increase to 25% of all American energy generation by 2025. This represents a big step up from the 15% of U.S. energy production that renewables represented in 2016. The #1 driver of this growth is #solar. The rapid growth in renewables is largely due to the Inflation Reduction Act: By making clean energy tax credits transferable, the IRA provided a critical mechanism for funding small clean energy projects in communities across America—like rooftop solar on residential buildings. We’re encouraged by this progress—and it’s only just the beginning. Data from EIA (link in comments)

At a recent conference, we hired a palm reader to entertain attendees. Today, we’d like to make a prediction of our own. We believe the future of energy is decentralization. A large volume of small, self-sustaining #cleanenergy projects will make up the energy grid of the future. Decentralized grids are more resilient in the face of extreme weather events. They also reduce the need for expensive (and sometimes dangerous) power lines. Decentralized grids quite literally give power back to the people. This is why we care so much about financing small, community projects. It’s not a moonshot — it’s the future.

So, what now? What happens to #cleanenergy development over the next four years? It’s very likely that the clean energy transition will proceed regardless of which party controls the #WhiteHouse or #Congress. That’s because it makes economic sense—and because Americans across the entire country are already benefiting from it. This chart from the Rhodium Group’s Clean Investment Monitor shows the locations of clean energy investments announced over the past four quarters in the United States, as of this past August. It’s clear that the transition to a cleaner and more sustainable energy grid is happening all over the country, regardless of local party preferences or control. Market trends are still moving strongly toward a clean energy future, and shifts in party politics aren’t likely to derail these trends. At Evergrow, we’re still focused on the big picture: A future where clean energy is produced locally in communities across the U.S.

A Presbyterian church in Maryland may not sound like the face of the clean energy transition, but thanks to the IRA’s transferable tax credits, it can be. Evergrow recently facilitated the financing of #solar panels on the roof of the Warner Memorial Presbyterian church in Kensington, Maryland. Covering its roof in solar panels allowed the church to power all of its energy needs and even offer surplus energy at a low cost to neighbors. Tax credit financing allowed the church to cover the majority of the cost of the panels upfront, achieving their #cleanenergy goals faster. “We may be in a red brick church,” says the leader of the church’s Earth Stewardship Team, “but we’re working to be green stewards.” Read more at the link in comments ????

Today’s general elections in the United States will undoubtedly have consequences for the climate, as the two major parties have charted different ways forward on #climate and #energy policy. But while the election poses risks to certain #cleanenergy policies enacted by the Inflation Reduction Act, its tax incentives for clean power are likely here to stay. That’s because the clean energy projects funded by clean energy tax credits are located all over the country, including districts dominated by Republicans. Tax credits often garner bipartisan support once in place, and the IRA’s clean energy tax credits seem to be no exception. This BloombergNEF graph shows the potential effects of different election outcomes on climate sectors. Regardless of the election outcomes, there’s a lot more work to be done on the energy front to reach net zero. The BNEF article linked in the comments offers a deeper dive ??

?? Question: What do four multi-family apartments, one condominium, three churches, and one poultry farm have in common? ?? Answer: They’re all clean energy assets. Each of these nine properties was looking to add solar panels to their facilities — and each of them needed capital to do so. Historically, a multi-family apartment building would have no way of accessing tax credit financing for solar panels. Same goes for condominiums, churches, and poultry farms. These projects were just too small for investors to justify getting involved. With Evergrow, that’s no longer the case. We’re proud to announce what we’re calling our first 9:1 transaction: we helped one investor invest in nine solar projects, without doing nine times the due diligence or paying nine times the transaction costs. Evergrow’s technology makes these ratios possible. If you’re looking for small-scale clean energy tax financing, or an investor looking to contribute to overlooked community energy projects, get in touch