Conference Coverage

Renewables project finance enthusiasts flocked to REFF Wall Street 2021 last week for two days of non-stop networking and panel discussions, after being deprived of conferences for over a year-and-a-half due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Renewables project finance enthusiasts flocked to a secluded conference center in midtown Manhattan earlier this week for REFF Wall Street 2021, after being deprived of events to attend over the last year-and-a-half. PFR editor Taryana Odayar and reporter Alfie Crooks were on site to catch the goings-on.

While some debt investors have grown increasingly comfortable financing merchant solar assets over the last few years, many market watchers at REFF Wall Street 2021 remain unconvinced that the attractive yields to be gained by taking on merchant exposure outweigh the associated risks.

Conference goers at REFF Wall Street 2021 in New York this week applauded the tremendous volume of investments in the renewables space over the last year-and-a-half, despite the disruption wrought by the Covid-19 pandemic, but some warned that there could be "surprises down the road" as a result of the rapid buildout of the asset class.

Wind sponsors look poised to favor a "more equitable" direct-pay structure following the approval of a portion of the Democrats’ proposed $3.5 trillion spending package by the US House of Representatives' Ways and Means Committee, which could alter the tax equity landscape, say insiders at REFF Wall Street 2021.

NordLB's Sondra Martinez, CohnReznick Capital's Conor McKenna, Convergent Energy + Power's Frank Genova and Kirkland & Ellis's Brian Greene discuss the latest developments in the energy storage market.

Colombia has set the dates for the country’s second renewable auction, which it first announced in November.

IJGlobal’s famed Latin America conference took place virtually on September 15 and 16 this year, after the event originally scheduled for March in Miami had to be canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

As developers phase out their coal-fired assets in Chile and replace them with renewable projects, sponsors' market shares could change, say attendees at IJLatam 2020, IJGlobal's Latin America energy and infrastructure conference.

Despite Mexico's regulatory changes in the power market in the past few months, industry insiders claim that the market may have slowed down but is not closed.

The US International Development Finance Corporation is considering deploying equity in Latin America, as it has done previously in other regions such as Southeast Asia.

Power purchase contracts with non-utility corporate offtakers are growing in popularity in Latin America but remain an exception to the norm in project finance, said industry insiders at IJLatam 2020, IJGlobal's Latin America energy and infrastructure conference.

Power Finance & Risk brought together a panel of experts to talk through the changing dynamics of California’s sun-soaked power market and the impact for project financiers. Leaders from Strata Solar, CleanCapital, Capstone Headwaters and Solar Frontier Americas talked through PG&E’s restructuring, pricing of battery storage debt and much more.

Back to back panels early on Day 1 of the REFF Wall Street 2019 conference at the Intercontinental Barclay in New York highlighted that despite the phase downs in federal renewables tax credits, the tax equity majors still the keys in the capital stack.

As the first step-down in the investment tax credit for solar looms, developers have begun to sound out banks for loans for panels and inverters that would safe harbor the equipment for the full incentives.

Despite rumblings about overbuild in PJM Interconnection, developers are pushing ahead with new build gas-fired projects there, and lenders stand ready to finance them. The only thing missing, it seems, is equity.

A panel of project finance professionals set about imagining the post-tax credit future of renewables financing at the S&P Global Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas this week, conjuring up a landscape of high yield debt and mezzanine capital supported by merchant wind and solar cashflows.

Gusts of up to 46 mph in Las Vegas this week did not dampen the spirits of attendees of the S&P Global Platts 34th Annual Global Power Conference, but did put paid to plans for open air cigar parties. PFR editor Richard Metcalf and reporter Taryana Odayar were on hand to chronicle the action, inside and outside the conference hall.

As representatives of developers, banks, investment firms and service providers descend on Las Vegas for S&P Global Platts’ 34th Annual Global Power Markets Conference, PFR takes a look at what to expect.

In October, PFR teamed up with Fitch Ratings and Orrick to host a candid discussion on the challenges and opportunities for financing America’s nascent offshore wind industry. Experts covered everything from debt pricing to offtake structures and the full report is in this week’s issue.

As market participants prepare for the U.S. offshore wind industry to take off, PFR is publishing a special report on the topic, featuring a roundtable discussion sponsored by Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe and Fitch Ratings.

Project finance veterans pushed back against the notion that free-flowing capital was producing riskier deals at the S&P Global Platts Financing US Power Conference on Oct. 23.

Amid a squeeze on returns on tax equity, developers are reporting a reversal in market dynamics, with investors coming to them looking for deals.

NRG Energy’s sale of its wind and solar development business has freed the company to procure renewables from third-party developers as it remodels itself as an energy retailer.

Celebrity spotting, a Danish debut and the usual high quality food and drink marked REFF Wall Street this year, which was attended by PFR editor Richard Metcalf and reporters Fotios Tsarouhis and Shravan Bhat

Capital Dynamics has sealed its purchase of 8point3 Energy Partners, sparking conversations about the future of the yield company business model during a busy week of summer conferences.

As the dust settled after a surprisingly strong PJM Interconnection capacity auction result last month, uncertainty around complex market design reforms made for a more sober assessment of the situation at the S&P Global Platts Northeast Power & Gas Markets Conference in New York.

Calendar clashes, avocado implements and steak—a few notes and observations from the sidelines of the Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas.

Pioneering corporate renewables offtaker Microsoft Corp. is focusing its U.S. procurement efforts on wind as the U.S. imposes tariffs on imported solar products, according to the company’s director of renewable energy.

While margins on U.S. project finance loans continue to be squeezed, lenders are still looking to enter or return to the market, given a lack of alternatives elsewhere, deal watchers told PFR on the sidelines of the Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas this week.

Delegates at the Euromoney Seminars 12th Annual Latin American Energy & Infrastructure Finance Forum in Miami Beach are keeping at least one eye on Latin America’s colorful political landscape, as a year of national elections and unfolding corruption probes promises to have a bearing on project financings and M&A deals.

Development banks say they will continue to play an important role in Latin American project finance, even as the region's larger economies ease their reliance on them as they court private investment.

PFR caught up with the great and the good of power project finance as they milled around with wine, cocktails and hors d’oeuvres laid on by Latham & Watkins at New York’s American Museum of Natural History on March 1.

Delegates traveling to Louisiana from frigid northern cities had their hopes of a respite from the cold dashed as temperatures in New Orleans hovered around freezing point for the duration of the conference this year.

Loan pricing is grinding ever tighter amid tough competition and an unrelenting influx of lenders to the U.S. project finance market, said deal watchers at the Infocast Projects and Money conference in New Orleans this week.

Power Finance & Risk is accepting pitches for Deal of 2017 as part of its 15th Annual Deals and Firms of the Year Awards, recognizing excellence in power asset M&A and project finance across the Americas.

M&Ms, Harvey Weinstein and millennials all somehow made it into the reporter’s notebook at this year’s Platts Financing U.S. Power Conference in New York.

Cheap debt and the ticking clock strapped to federal tax credits could well bolster wind project development over the next year, said financiers at the American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Energy Finance & Investment Conference 2017 on Oct. 25 and 26.

M&A, refinancing activity and even new-build financings could be on the cards in Texas in the wake of recently announced coal-fired plant retirements, according to speakers at the 19th Annual Platts Financing U.S. Power Conference in New York.

Some of the power finance world’s fresher faces gathered at CohnReznick Capital’s offices in New York’s Credit Lyonnais Building on Oct. 12 for Juniors in Energy Finance's inaugural “30 Under 30” presentation event.

Discussions on solar-plus-storage outshone talk on other emerging technologies at the 12th Annual North American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forums in New York, but lenders are at various stages on the road to financing such projects.

An influx of foreign capital from South Korea has flooded the generation space as lenders chase yield in the U.S.

As cash pours into project finance, non-bank lenders are trying hard to differentiate themselves from banks and each other.

Temperatures may have exceeded 90 degrees in Las Vegas at Solar Power International, but a cloud in the shape of the Suniva trade case loomed over delegates and dominated discussion.

The competition between lenders and tax equity providers has heated up as new entities look to invest in the solar sector and the number of projects available for financing lesson.

Goldman Sachs has hired an former senior staffer at SunEdison and TerraForm Power.

NRG Energy has received first-round bids for its renewable businesses, conventional assets and yield company, PFR has learned.

A new class of tax equity investor is ready to enter the market, said speakers at the 14th annual REFF Wall Street conference in New York.

An abundance of capital has run up against a lack of major wind and solar projects to finance, forcing banks and investors to broaden their horizons, said panelists at the 14th annual REFF Wall Street conference in New York.

There were many lessons to be learned at the 14th annual REFF Wall Street conference, such as: Not everyone's mother works for a hedge fund.

Mandates and potential structural issues arising from the two recent power auctions in Mexico were discussed at a half-day conference hosted by Morrison & Foerster in its New York office on June 14.

Power Finance & Risk announced the winners of its 14th Annual Deals and Firms of the Year Awards at a drinks reception at the Bryant Park Hotel in New York on May 24.

The impact of nuclear subsidies on gas-fired generation and the difficulty of approving natural gas pipelines in New York state were hot topics at Platts Northeast Power & Gas Markets Conference, which was held at the New York Marriott Downtown on May 22 and 23.

A sponsor has assigned a lead arranger for a gas-fired project in PJM Interconnection, where project financing activity is paused in the run up to the upcoming capacity auction, attendees at the Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas told PFR.

Solar and Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) experts at the IMN Green Investing Conference on Thursday noted that both markets will see more participation as issuance accelerates and the sectors become more sophisticated.

The 32nd annual Platts Global Power Markets Conference from April 24 to April 26 at the Wynn Las Vegas. PFR managing editor Olivia Feld and reporter Fotios Tsarouhis were in attendance.

Apex Clean Energy has mandated a financial adviser to find a strategic investor for the renewable sponsor.

A partner who worked at Panda Power Funds and its predecessors for over 17 years has left the private equity firm, soon after one of its power plants filed for bankruptcy.

A Japanese bank is establishing a mergers and acquisitions advisory team with a focus on generation assets in its New York office, sources tell PFR on the sidelines of Platts Global Power Markets 2017.

Opinions on the impact—or lack of impact—of shifts in government policy on coal-fired and renewable generation converged during the opening panel discussion of Platts Global Power Markets 2017.

A New York-based head of energy finance has left a European bank.

The online poll for PFR’s Deals and Firms of the Year Awards has closed, after market participants voted for the banks, sponsors, investors and deals they thought were most impressive in 2016. The survey received roughly double the number of votes cast last year.

A lack of sunshine failed to dampen the mood at the Infocast Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit, which attracted approximately 1,000 attendees to the Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, where the prospect of tax reform was mentioned on nearly every panel.

Despite their companies taking a beating in the stock market, representatives of some of the leading publicly traded residential solar companies attending the Infocast Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit were keen to stress that they still have access to the capital markets.

New entrants to the market and a lack of power purchase agreement is creating a more competitive environment for project finance lenders and is prompting more commercial banks to look to finance distributed generation portfolios.

A big winner in the first Mexican power auction is expected by some to eschew project finance in favor of balance sheet funding, but PFR readers know differently.

As banks gear up for the first financings for renewable projects that were awarded contracts in Mexico’s inaugural post-reform power auctions, attendees at the Euromoney Seminars 11th Annual Latin America Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum in Miami discussed a range of structures that could be deployed in the region.

There is plenty of room for growth in commercial solar securitization, SFIG Vegas attendees heard on Tuesday, and lenders need capital markets access to fund it. But the lack of scale in the market is a key hurdle, creating a ‘catch 22’ situation.

The most frequently asked questions regarding nominations for our Deal of the Year Awards.

Alberta was high on the agenda at the Euromoney Seminars 8th Annual Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto last week, as market participants contemplated a shake-up of the province’s power market as part of its plan to phase out coal by 2030.

A key fixture in the power finance calendar, Infocast's annual Projects & Money conference at Harrah's New Orleans drew the great and the good of the industry. Managing editor Olivia Feld attended.

Uncertainty around the tax reform agenda of President Trump and the Republican-controlled U.S. Congress is causing stagnation in renewable project deal flow, say attendees at the Infocast Projects & Money conference in New Orleans.

The deadline for nominations for Power Finance & Risk's Deal of the Year 2016 awards is coming up quickly. Make sure your deal of the year doesn't miss out on the short list by sending in a nomination by Jan. 31.

Three companies have each bid more than $25.5 million for an offshore lease for a wind project off the coast of New York in an auction that was still in progress at press time.

Power Finance & Risk is now accepting submissions for its Deal of the Year 2016 Awards, recognizing excellence in power asset M&A and project finance across the Americas.

A show and tell story, a slip of the tongue and an odd metaphor for battery storage leaped out from the pages of the PFR reporter’s notebook following recent conferences in Mexico City and Los Angeles.

Three different kinds of lenders outlined their debt offerings for distributed solar in a panel discussion at the Infocast Distributed Solar Summit in Los Angeles on Nov. 17.

Assuming President-elect Trump does not prematurely revoke the investment tax credit (ITC), residential, commercial and industrial scale solar installations in the U.S. could reach 7.2 GW a year—resulting in 50 GW of installed capacity—by 2022, according to a Navigant analyst.

Speakers and attendees at the 20th Annual Platts Mexican Energy Conference on Nov. 14 expressed surprise at the speed and success of reforms to the energy market, but warned that some of the renewables projects that won contracts in the country’s first two power auctions may not materialize.

Asset divestitures were the talk of the Platts 18th Annual Financing U.S. Power Conference both on and off panel discussions. The conference took place on Oct. 25 and Oct. 26 at the Crowne Plaza Times Square in New York.

Four arrangers have launched a close-to-$1 billion dual-tranche debt financing for the 1.5 GW Invenergy Lackwanna combined-cycle gas-fired project in Jessup, Pa.

The wind industry is a close-knit group and the AWEA Wind Energy Finance & Investment Conference is generally a friendly affair, so there were plenty of lighter moments amid the serious discussions and dealmaking at the Westin New York at Times Square.

Despite an slowdown immediately following the production tax credit extension, this year has so far been a busy one for wind project financing at a number of the leading banks in the space.

Panelists discussed the increasing ownership of wind projects directly by utility companies at the AWEA Wind Energy Finance and Investment Conference at the Westin New York at Times Square on Oct. 5.

Tax equity investors are paying close attention to a growing risk for wind projects with non-traditional offtake agreements. At issue is the difference between the price of power at the point of injection and the price where the offtake contract is settled.

Euromoney Seminars’ 11th Annual North American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum took place at the Westin New York at Times Square from Sept. 22 to 23. PFR managing editor Olivia Feld and reporter Fotios Tsarouhis attended the conference.

Euromoney Seminars’ North American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum adjourned on Thursday, but not before attendees discussed a myriad of issues ranging from competition between project finance lenders, the impact of the upcoming U.S. election and the implications of a potential hike in interest rates.

The solar financing market is evolving as residential solar providers shift to ownership, rather than leasing solar assets, said panelists at ABS East at the Fontainebleau Miami Beach on Sept 19.

Conference participants at the first day of Euromoney Seminars’ 11th Annual North American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum gathered at the Westin New York at Times Square on Sept. 21 to discuss new constraints and opportunities in project lending.

Despite a tumultuous year, turnout was undamped at Solar Power International in Las Vegas. Over 17,000 solar industry professionals gathered at the Las Vegas Convention Center from Sept. 12 to Sept. 15 for the largest solar trade show in North America.

Solar Power International kicked off on Monday at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Managing editor Olivia Feld attended the conference.

A former vice president in structured finance at SolarCity, who was most recently working on international expansion, has left the company to found a solar financing company.

In this week’s Industry Current, Bernays ‘Buz’ Barclay, managing partner at Rimon P.C. and senior adviser to Marathon Capital, calls on the power industry to engage with blockchain technology.

Financiers at commercial and multilateral banks discussed how debt financings might be structured for projects that have obtained aggressively priced power purchase agreements in auctions under Mexico’s new market rules at the Infocast Mexico Power Finance & Investment Summit in New York on June 30.

Some of the renewables projects that won offtake contracts in a Mexico power auction in March face a lengthy development period and may even end up not being built at all, said panelists at the Infocast Mexico Power Finance & Investment Summit in New York on June 29.

PwC recently carried out a survey of U.S.-headquartered companies regarding their approach to procuring energy, and George Favaloro, an m.d. at the accountancy, tax and advisory firm, was on hand at the REFF Wall Street conference in New York to share the results.

A selection of snippets gleaned on the sidelines of the 13th annual REFF Wall Street conference in New York. A regional U.S. bank seeks to break into renewables financing, and a developer gives his frank take on the Mexico power auction results.

A group of lenders assembled onstage at the culmination of REFF Wall Street this year to talk about financing trends for renewables projects, including how to deal with the merchant aspects of projects with non-utility offtake contracts.

Market participants discussed the role of public equity markets and yield companies in financing renewables projects on the second and final day of the REFF Wall Street conference in New York.

Non-utility offtakers signed contracts for about 3.4 GW of renewables last year, but long tenors are still putting some off and regulated markets still present challenges, said panelists at the REFF Wall Street conference in New York on June 21.

Renewables tax credits may have been extended at the end of last year, but tax equity investors are having to adapt to an evolving market, including ever lower-cost wind generation. Some of the major players discussed the changes at on the first day of the REFF Wall Street conference, which took place at the Grand Hyatt New York on June 21 and 22.

The rise of smaller-scale generation, including distributed solar and commercial and industrial-scale renewables, its disruptive effect on the market and its ability to attract financing were recurring topics on the first day of REFF Wall Street at the Grand Hyatt New York.

Solar financiers converged on the New York Marriott Downtown Thursday for the Information Management Network's 4th Annual Sunshine Backed Bonds Conference.

Panelists discussed the reemergence of the term loan B market and inflows of foreign capital at the Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas on April 20.

Executives representing independent power producers attacked subsidies for renewable generation at the Platts Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas on April 19.

Power Finance & Risk’s Deals & Firms of the Year Awards poll has been extended until April 16, giving you an additional week to tell us which banks, sponsors and law firms best navigated the markets in 2015.

Investors and bankers discussed the possibility that money divested from fossil fuels by institutional investors could find its way into green investments at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit in New York on April 5.

Former NRG Energy ceo David Crane offered his view on the outlook for independent power producers and a lot more in an entertaining interview at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance Summit 2016 on April 5 in New York.

A panel of senior industry executives discussed the potential impact large transmission projects could have on U.S. renewables as they looked forward to a further decline in the cost of solar at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance summit in New York on April 4.

Financiers discussed innovative opportunities to invest in solar projects on the sidelines at the Infocast Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit in San Bernardo, Calif.

Panelists debated the year ahead for the solar industry after the three year extension of the 30% investment tax credit and the turbulence in the equity markets at the Infocast Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit in The Rancho Bernardo Inn in San Diego, Calif., on March 23.

Attendees at Euromoney Seminars’ 10th Annual Latin American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum looked into the potential for accessing large regional markets through their smaller neighbors on Tuesday at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami.

Bankers at the Euromoney Seminars 10th Annual Latin American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum in Miami are thinking about how projects that win contracts in the first ever Mexican power auction will be financed.

Sponsors that have won contracts for projects into Brazilian generation auctions are struggling to find financing, according to panelists at Euromoney Seminars’ 10th Anniversary Latin American Energy Finance Forum in Miami.

A panel of bankers discussed the changing dynamic between local and international banks in Latin America, and how it could affect the availability and cost of capital at the Euromoney Seminars 10th Anniversary Latin American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum in Miami.

Power Finance & Risk’s Deals & Firms of the Year Awards are back, recognizing excellence in power finance and asset M&A across the Americas.

The term loan B market has effectively shut down, according to panelists at Infocast’s 8th Annual Projects & Money conference in New Orleans on Jan. 21.

In his role as chairman of 'Projects & Money Interactive', Buz Barclay presided over the inaugural live poll of conference goers at the annual event, asking attendees to make predictions on various key issues facing the market.

Panda Power Funds' Hummel project could have had a much racier name, if Robert Simmons had got his way.

A lack of availability of power hedges was hot topic at the Infocast 8th Annual Projects & Money conference in New Orleans on Jan. 20.

The extension of renewables tax credits at the end of last year will one of the key issues shaping the project finance market in 2016, according to speakers at Infocast's 8th Annual Projects & Money conference in New Orleans on Jan. 20.

An influx of deals in PJM, ongoing market dislocation and the upcoming 2016 presidential election were all up for discussion at the Platts 17th Annual Financing U.S. Power conference at the New York Marriot Marquis in Times Square.

The causes and consequences of the recent yield company turmoil, the impact of the Clean Power Plan and hopes to resurrect the production tax credit were all topics of conversation at the American Wind Energy Association Wind Energy Finance and Investment Seminar in at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York.

Trevor D’Ollier Lees, a director at Standard & Poor’s, began one of the first sessions of the day at Solar Capital Markets 2015 by introducing a new analogy to illustrate how the solar securitization market had developed since last year’s summit.

Developers, lawyers and senior rating agency analysts discussed challenges tax equity structures pose to solar securitizations at Infocast’s Solar Capital Markets summit in New York on Oct. 15.

The project finance market, which slowed down in August, has been hastily awoken after Labor Day.

On Sept. 17 at the PJM Market Summit on the outskirts of Philadelphia, a diverse panel discussed the risks and opportunities presented by the latest market developments in terms of project finance and investment in new generation.

On Sept. 16, PJM market participants and industry observers from further afield gathered for the PJM Market Summit to discuss the introduction of new capacity performance rules and the evolution of demand response products.

The impending expiration of tax credits for renewable projects, stock market volatility and sustained low oil prices were all hot topics at Euromoney Seminars’ 10th Anniversary North American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum on Sept. 9 and 10 in New York.

A snapshot of lighter moments at the 2015 REFF Wall Street conference in New York replete with snippets of conversation and banter across panels, luncheons and cocktails.

Even as strategic investors are increasingly becoming involved in financing renewables projects, developers are tackling a fresh set of risks and challenges in developing their generation portfolios.

The U.S. offshoot of Spain's Iberdrola is planning to launch a partial IPO once it completes its merger with Orange, Conn.-based United Illuminating Holding Co.

While the renewabels market is seeing high levels of liquidity, yieldcos are capitalizing on declining costs of capital for shovel-ready and operating projects, according to panelists at the 12th Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street conference in New York today.

Developers and financiers are actively planning securitizations for portfolios of solar installations, according to panelists at the Information Management Network’s 3rd Annual Sunshine Backed Bonds conference in New York on April 30 and May 1.

Vivid snapshots of the Platts 30th Annual Global Power Markets conference from our reporter's desk.

Scores of project financiers, investors and sponsors descended on The Wynn Las Vegas for one of the largest events in the power industry calendar: the Platts’ 30th Annual Global Power Market Conference.

Project financiers at Platts’ 30th Annual Global Power Markets are competing for business as lenders continue to surge into power and energy deals in the Americas.

Transactions backing solar storage could become mainstream in the coming years, according to panelists at Platts' 30th Annual Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas on April 13.

Rockland Capital is selling a 71 MW portfolio of contracted wind and solar projects in Minnesota and Massachusetts.

LNG export facilities in the U.S. and gas pipeline projects in Mexico will help balance a growing surplus of natural gas in North America, Bentek Energy presenters noted at Platts' 30th Annual Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas on April 13.

Developers are increasingly seeking financing for community solar projects.

Lenders and tax equity investors are increasingly looking to participate in financings backing distributed generation portfolios.

Financings backing merchant and hedged projects continue to hit the sweet spot for lenders. Debt pricing also surfaced in several panels at Euromoney Seminars’ 10th Annual U.S. Power & Renewables conference held in New York this week.

After a hectic, albeit happy, end to 2014, attendees at Infocast’s 7th Annual Projects & Money conference were optimistic for this year’s deal and development pipeline. Financiers are looking at backing more gas-fired projects as coal and nuclear retirements step-up.

Project finance lenders are increasingly looking to expand into solar distributed generation, as the cost continues to decline and deals gain traction in the market, said panelists at Infocast’s 7th Annual Projects & Money in New Orleans.

Financiers, investors and developers are considering a bevy of changes in the power industry at a time when capital continues to flow into the sector. Yield companies, emissions regulations, natural gas supply, distributed generation and adjustments in capacity markets are among the catalysts that are shifting the power project finance and M&A landscape.

Institutional investors are increasingly looking to make direct investments in generation and gas-related infrastructure, according to panelists at Infocast’s 7th Annual Projects & Money conference in New Orleans.

Sponsors, investors and financiers are looking for the next slate of opportunities in gas-fired projects and gas-related infrastructure.

The proliferation of distributed generation, energy efficiency measures and technologies that enable demand conservation, are putting significant pressure on the traditional utility business model.

EDP Renewables North America is looking to expand its wind development footprint in Mexico in the coming two years, CEO Gabriel Alonso told the audience at the American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Energy Finance and Investment Seminar in New York.

There is about 13.6 GW of wind projects under construction in the U.S. but lenders and tax equity investors are uncertain about how many will be online to qualify for the production tax credit, according to speakers at American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Energy Finance and Investment Seminar in New York.

The step down in the investment tax credits in 2016 have solar developers and financiers at the drawing board to create financing structures that will work for a pipeline of projects, according to speakers at Solar Media's Next Generation Solar PV Finance conference in New York.

Wind developers are interested in putting back leverage onto wind projects while arranging construction financing and tax equity investments, according to financiers.

Some European lenders that have been on the bench for the last couple of years are returning to project finance, according to panelists at IJGlobal’s North America Energy & Infrastructure Financing Forum in New York today.

Companies interested in establishing operations in Mexico as the country paves the way for energy reform will have a variety of risks to overcome, panelists said at Euromoney Energy Events' Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street.

Bankers and lawyers on Thursday’s “Navigating the Debt Markets” panel were asked by moderator Kenneth Locklin, managing director at Impax Asset Management, to gaze into their crystal balls to forecast what they will be saying on the same panel in 2015.

A collection of sights and sounds from around Euromoney Energy Events' Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street.

With the oldest yieldco, NRG Yield, preparing to celebrate its first birthday on July 17, panelists at Euromoney Energy Events’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street examined issues facing the young class of power companies as they grow.

Solar and wind developers are looking to decrease project development costs in the face of expiring subsidies and dwindling renewable portfolio standards.

Many wind and solar developers with smaller projects are having difficulty locking in debt and equity, despite a widely acknowledged increase in the amount of capital available to the power sector.

Developers and financiers have bid a bounty of different technologies and project sizes into New York Green Bank’s request for proposals.

A record number of entities participated in voting for Power Finance & Risk’s awards, recognizing excellence and innovation in the power project finance industry in 2013.

Please join Power Finance & Risk and Orrick for an evening of discussion and casual cocktails on June 11 in New York.

A compilation of the sights and sounds at Green Power Conferences’ Mexican International Renewable Energy Congress in Mexico City.

Renewable project development in Mexico is slowing down as players await the outcome of follow-up legislation in June, according to bankers, attorneys and developers at Green Power Conferences’ Mexican International Renewable Energy Congress in Mexico City.

Commercial and residential solar sponsors from the U.S. and Canada are circling Mexico for growth and expansion.

Marubeni Corp. affiliate Oak Creek is looking to finance the first 148 MW portion of its roughly 400 MW Tres Mesas wind project in Tamaulipas, Mexico.

The $250 million financing backing Sempra U.S. Gas & Power’s 156 MW Energia Sierra Juarez wind project in Baja California, Mexico, is set to close in the next two weeks.

Project finance bankers at Platts’ 29th Annual Global Power Markets are seeing strong deal flow and a growing pool of lenders and financing options in the power sector this year.

The impact of distributed solar generation on the market is challenging the traditional utility-centric model and piquing financier interest, according to panelists at Platts’ 29th Annual Global Power Markets conference at the Wynn Las Vegas in Las Vegas, Nev., April 8.

The much-discussed reforms to the Mexican energy sector will provide opportunities for foreign investment in renewables projects, according to panelists at Euromoney’s 8th Annual Latin American Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami on March 11.

A maturing project finance market in Latin America is opening up opportunities for structures such as those with with term loan B or mezzanine tranches to play alongside traditional forms of debt, noted panelists at Euromoney’s 8th Annual Latin American Energy & Infrastructure Finance Forum at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami on March 12.

Working with local stakeholders and lenders in a constructive manner are critical factors in financing projects in Latin America, noted panelists at Euromoney’s 8th Annual Latin American Energy & Infrastructure Finance Forum at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami on March 11.

The proliferation of project bonds is set to continue in Latin America as financiers and sponsors work to optimize deal structures, according to panelists at Euromoney’s 8th Annual Latin American Energy & Infrastructure Finance Forum at the Biltmore Hotel in Miami on March 11.

A rush to qualify projects for the production tax credit at the end of 2013 means that thousands of megawatts of projects will be looking for financing this year.

The growth and availability of term loan Bs are set to continue, driven largely by activity in the mergers and acquisitions market, according to panelists at Euromoney’s 9th annual U.S. Power and Renewable Finance conference at the Westin New York at Times Square on Thursday.

The exceptional capacity in bank, institutional and tax equity markets has financiers and sponsors rethinking deal structures, according to panelists speaking today at Euromoney’s 9th annual U.S. Power and Renewable Finance conference at the Westin New York at Times Square.

Utilities and independent power producers are not immune from the wave of activist shareholders campaigns that have emerged as a driving force of U.S. M&A deals, bankers cautioned at the 27th Annual Exnet Power and Gas M&A Symposium conference in New York.

Dialogue is needed between developers and financiers on renewable projects that involve communities and First Nation groups, according to speakers at the 5th Annual Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto Jan. 29.

The number of assets coming up for sale in Canada is not as high as it was a couple of years ago, despite an uptick in the number of institutional investors looking to play in the space, according to panelists at the 5th Annual Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto Jan. 28.

Sponsors and lenders are zeroing in on the burgeoning liquefied natural gas space in British Columbia, according to participants at the 5th Annual Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto on Jan. 29.

Competitive transmission projects are a key area of growth for utility holding companies looking to augment the regulated subsidiaries.

Merchant project financings with financial hedges and private deals with corporate offtakers are tipped for growth in the Canadian power market due to the lack of power purchase agreements, noted panelists at the 5th Annual Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto Jan. 28.

Bank, bond and institutional markets are open for power project financings, according to panelists at the Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto Jan. 28.

Utilities are looking at rooftop solar programs and initiatives largely because of customer demand.

There was an overall tone of optimism this year at Infocast’s 6th annual Projects & Money conference at Harrah’s New Orleans.

Legal issues in PJM and a waning need for generation in ERCOT are impacting investments in new-build projects in those regions, according to panelists at Infocast’s 6th annual Projects & Money conference at Harrah’s New Orleans Jan. 15.

Mezzanine lending and project bonds are tipped for increasing activity by panelists at Infocast’s 6th annual Projects & Money conference at Harrah’s New Orleans Jan. 16.

Tax equity investment is growing, fueled largely by an increase in opportunities in the rooftop and distributed solar space, said panelists at Infocast’s 6th annual Projects & Money conference at Harrah’s New Orleans on Jan. 15.

The number of yieldcos is slated to increase this year, with existing yieldcos fueling a strong buyers market for generation assets, according to panelists at Infocast’s 6th annual Projects & Money conference at Harrah’s New Orleans on Jan. 14.

Lenders and financiers watching the rebirth of merchant and quasi-merchant project financing in the U.S. are still looking to find optimal structures for financing these assets, said panelists at Platts 15th Annual Financing U.S. Power Conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York on Oct. 28-29.

Lenders and financiers watching the rebirth of merchant and quasi-merchant project financing in the U.S. are still looking to find optimal structures for financing these assets, said panelists at Platts 15th Annual Financing U.S. Power Conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York on Oct. 28-29.

Boralex and development partners Gaz Métro Limited Partnership and Valener Inc. have closed a C$166.1 million ($159.05 million) non-recourse financing for the 68 MW phase II of the Seigneurie de Beaupré wind facility in La Jacques-Cartier, Québec.

The global term loan B market is set to have a record breaking year in 2013, beating the previous largest year of issuance in 2007.

Industry officials expect to see several developers to pursue yield company structures in the next year following the success of NRG Energy and Pattern Energy’s breakthrough deals.

Mergers and acquisition activity is slated for growth in the next year, as yieldcos look to acquire more assets to fuel growth and private equity companies look to exit investments, said panelists at Platts 15th Annual Financing U.S. Power conference at the Marriott Marquis in New York on Oct. 28-29.

Developers considering taking greenfield gas-fired projects down the term loan B path are expected to find volatility in pricing, panelists said at Project Finance’s 8th Annual North America Energy and Infrastructure Forum in New York.

Sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, pension funds, money managers and infrastructure funds are broadening their appetite as yields shrink and competition rises, investors from a range of companies said at Project Finance’s 8th Annual North America Energy and Infrastructure Forum in New York.

U.S. regional banks have emerged in the project finance as supporting cast members behind the scenes in a number of deals.

Queries regarding wind projects’ qualification for the production tax credit and the PTC’s potential extension are stymieing investments in the sector, according to panelists at the American Wind Energy Association’s wind energy finance and investment seminar at the Conrad Hotel in New York on Sept. 9-10.

The universe of tax equity investors in renewable projects is set to grow, with Coca Cola reportedly eyeing investments, according to panelists at the American Wind Energy Association’s wind energy finance and investment seminar at the Conrad Hotel in New York on Sept. 9-10.

Developers are increasingly looking to build wind facilities with merchant exposure and hedge arrangements, noted panelists at the American Wind Energy Association’s wind energy finance and investment seminar at the Conrad Hotel in New York on Sept. 9-10.

The New York State Green Bank will begin lending to renewables projects in the state in January next year.

Renewable project financing options beyond the expiration of the production and investment tax credits was the focus at Euromoney Energy Events Renewable Energy Finance Forum Wall Street at the Waldorf Astoria in New York this week.

Sponsors and bankers are working to develop renewable project bond structures to appeal to foreign and domestic institutional investors.

Gauss Energia, a Mexico City-based energy company, is looking to bring three new solar projects to market in the coming months, CEO and President Hector Olea told PFR on the sidelines of Euromoney’s Mexican Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum at the JW Marriott in Mexico City on June 26.

Peso financings are on the increase in Mexico, but there is still a chunk of the market U.S. dollar-denominated deals rule, said panelists at Euromoney’s Mexican Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum in Mexico City yesterday.

Capital will be needed to develop natural gas pipelines in Mexico, a move arising out of the country looking to import shale gas from the U.S., said panelists at Euromoney’s Mexican Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum at the JW Marriott in Mexico City on June 25.

Mexico is expected to detail energy infrastructure plans and if it does industry watchers are predicting a strong flow of power and energy projects, according to panelists at Euromoney’s Mexican Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum at the JW Marriott in Mexico City on June 25.

The smaller size and relative inexperience of development companies in Latin America will pave the way for larger more experienced multinationals to buy up local companies, said panelists at Euromoney Seminars’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum Latin America and Caribbean in Miami on May 1.

French and Japanese banks are increasing their activity in Latin America, as the renewable energy sector in the region becomes a more stable and attractive proposition, said panelists at Euromoney Seminars’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum Latin America and Caribbean in Miami.

French and Japanese banks are increasing their activity in Latin America, as the renewable energy sector in the region becomes a more stable and attractive proposition, said panelists at Euromoney Seminars’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum Latin America and Caribbean in Miami.

Hybrid bank/bond structures are being floated for renewable energy projects in Latin America, said panelists at Euromoney Seminars’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum Latin America and Caribbean in Miami.

José María Figueres, former President of Costa Rica and ceo of sustainable development consultant Carbon War Room, told PI in an interview that he is “very bullish” on renewable energy in Latin America.

Solar projects in Mexico will need more equity investments to push them forward, said panelists at Euromoney Seminars’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum-Latin America and Caribbean at the Four Seasons Hotel in Miami on Monday.

Pan-American Hydro Corp., which is led by Jose Ordoñez, former head of the Latin America power group at Citigroup, is seeking $223 million in debt and equity to develop a pipeline of small-scale hydro projects in Guatemala and Mexico.

The geothermal energy players are aiming to get more private equity funding and bank lending to back early stage development, according to panelists at the Geothermal Energy Association’s International Geothermal Energy Finance Forum at the Marriot Marquis in New Marquis in New York last week.

The arrival of plentiful and cheap natural gas in the U.S. has changed the game in the power sector and the ramifications were a constant topic throughout Platts Global Power Markets Conference in Las Vegas last week.

The unseasonably chilly Las Vegas weather put a dampener on golf rounds ahead of the formal start of the conference.

Boston-based First Wind will likely finalize an agreement to sell a wind project to an undisclosed investor before month-end, according to a deal watcher on the sidelines of Platts Global Power Markets Conference in Las Vegas.

Bankers and developers are increasingly turning to emerging markets to grow their businesses.

Marathon Capital has tapped Bryan Fennell, former v.p. of NextEra Energy Resources, and David Kirkpatrick, former v.p. of new business development at NRG Energy, as directors.

Bankers and power company executives are seeing an abundance of capital available for project financing and asset-based M&A.

Local banks are increasingly active in project finance in Latin America.

Energy and infrastructure finance advisory shop Astris Finance is looking for players to participate in a new solar offtake arrangement in northern Mexico.

Mining development in northern Chile and southern Peru is creating a need for dedicated infrastructure, including generation capacity.

The use of project bonds never reached the level expected in 2012, but there is still optimism this year, panelists said at Euromoney’s 8th Annual U.S. Power & Renewable Finance Conference at the Westin Hotel in New York on Wednesday.

Large solar projects over 150 MW are going out of vogue, according to bankers and executives at Euromoney Seminar’s U.S. Power & Renewable Conference in New York.

Now is the time to bring merchant facilities to market, according to panelists at Euromoney Seminar’s 8th Annual U.S. Power & Renewable Finance Conference in New York today.

Officials from Panda Power Funds are talking to banks in New York tomorrow to push ahead with financing efforts in earnest for the second phase of its approximately 750 MW natural gas-fired facility in Temple, Texas.

Investors interested in buying power assets in Canada are increasingly looking at development assets due to stiff competition for operating facilities and a surplus of capital to put to work.

Canadian lenders and developers are questioning whether the country’s project finance market is deep enough to fund the pipeline of power projects.

The risk that generation will be forced to reduce output is throwing a wrench in project finance and M&A deals in Ontario.

NextEra Energy Resources is planning on issuing more bonds backing renewables projects in Canada.

Northland Power is talking to lenders to fund development of 30 MW of solar projects in Ontario this quarter.

The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s Order 1000 from October will be a game changer will open up the ability of generation facilities to sell power into new markets, potentially increasing their value, attendees heard at a presentation at Infocast’s 5th annual Projects & Money conference in New Orleans.

Biomass facilities are set for a growth spurt as technology improves and the fuel type becomes a baseload hedge against natural gas-fired facilities, according to officials on the sidelines.

The power and energy industry is looking to Washington for guidance more than ever, with policy negotiations and regulatory rumblings buffeting the industry, according to panelists at Infocast’s 5th annual Projects & Money conference in New Orleans.

More natural gas-fired, nuclear and biomass generation opportunities could result from increased coal-fired retirements in the U.S., according to panelists at Infocast’s 5th Annual Projects & Money conference executive briefing in New Orleans.

Coal-fired plant shutdowns and resistance to nuclear-fired generation, against a backdrop of cheap natural gas, is pushing the industry toward a gas-heavy generation mix.

Music evoking the soundtrack behind an epic good guy versus bad guy fight in a thriller played in the background as people piled into the general session named “Game Changers” on Monday at the J.W. Marriott Desert Ridge & Spa.

A round-up of news from company presentations and panels from around EEI's 47th Financial Conference.

The automotive and power industries need to collaborate on how electric vehicles, or EVs, will integrate into the power grid because the future of the cars is central to both industries, Bill Ford Jr., executive chairman of Ford Motor Co., told a packed room during the keynote on Monday.

Crisis management is becoming a higher priority for utilities in the wake of events like the 2010 BP offshore oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and storms like Sandy.

MidAmerican Energy Holdings will look to Wall Street to raise north of $1 billion in 2013, primarily in the bond market, for utility units and projects including the Topaz solar project and transmission development in Texas, Patrick Goodman, executive v.p. and cfo, said at EEI Financial Conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

Emera is planning a series of transmission projects totaling $7.4 billion that will link the island of Newfoundland to the Canadian mainland in Labrador and Nova Scotia in a three-part transmission project that will ultimately connect to existing lines in Maine.

Puget Energy is talking with lenders about lining up two new credit facilities.

Iberdrola will try to reduce debt and sell off non-core assets as it retrenches to deal with a credit downgrade and persistent uncertainty about the Spain’s economy.

Utilities are expected to continue to cash in on low—in many cases, record low—rates in the bond market.

Bankers were not allowed into the open company visits at the EEI Financial Conference in Phoenix, Ariz.

Investors are looking to invest in merchant facilities to take advantage of shrinking reserve margins and increasing power demand and prices, according to participants at the Platts Financing U.S. Power conference in New York on Oct. 18 and 19.

European banks are taking steps again in North American project financing, attendees heard at the Platts Financing U.S. Power conference in New York on Oct. 18 and 19.

Natural gas prices are pushing coal plants into early retirement, said attendees at the Platts Financing U.S. Power conference in New York on Oct. 18 and 19.

Demand for what financiers are calling riskier capital is on the increase.

Trina Solar, a photovoltaic solar panel manufacturer, is looking to expand operations into Latin America.

A round-up of the candid moments at Renewable Energy Finance Forum-West at the Four Seasons in San Francisco.

Borealis Infrastructure fund has agreed to buy Midland Cogeneration from EQT Infrastructure and Fortistar.

Renewable developers waiting to make a move toward an initial public offering should begin preparing even when the markets are not ideal, bankers said at Euromoney’s Renewable Energy Financing Forum-West in San Francisco.

Solar developers are beginning to plan for how to incorporate tax equity financings into projects once the U.S. Department of Treasury Sect. 1603 cash grant program ends.

John Cavalier, co-managing partner at Hudson Clean Energy Partners, has returned to Credit Suisse.

The U.S. Army is preparing to take applications from developers vying to be on a list of preferred venders under an initiative to bring 1 GW of renewables online by 2025.

While several wind industry players say production tax credits will be extended for another year, many are looking at other financing options.

Financiers say that a bond deal backing a gas-fired project will likely happen before year-end.

Municipal utilities and co-ops are hunting 30-40 MW stakes in wind projects as they look to balance for generation portfolios.

The White House is planning to host another meeting to educate and entice potential tax equity investors in renewable energy deals in the beginning of winter.

Relationships between developers and lenders are becoming paramount in project finance assponsors look to club deals to get transactions through a constrained bank market.

Financiers are forecasting more merchant power deals in project finance, citing the appeal of markets such as ERCOT and PJM, low gas prices and the resurgence of term B loans to support the deals.

Traditional private placements and 144a deals are being targeted by sponsors as the bank loan market continues to strain under financial troubles in Europe.

The hunt is on for the next generation of project financing options, including master limited partnerships, real estate investment trusts, project bonds and securitizations, according to executive and financiers at the 9th annual REFF-Wall Street conference in New York last week.

About $2 billion in tax equity investments are making their way through the market.

Asian and U.S. lenders are stepping up project finance activity as European players scale back their efforts or step out of the market.

Institutional investors in the capital markets are showing an increasing appetite for bonds backing project finance deals, financiers told attendees at 9th annual REFF-Wall Street conference in New York.

The political uncertainty on Capitol Hill and the uncertainty over expiring renewable tax credits has some players questioning whether production tax credits are a good thing for the industry.

Sponsors of a $1.5 billion, 450 MW solar photovoltaic project near Tecate, Mexico, expect to begin talking to financiers next year about cobbling together $500 million in debt over several years for the plant.

Sponsors of a $1.5 billion, 450 MW solar photovoltaic project near Tecate, Mexico, expect to begin talking to financiers next year about cobbling together $500 million in debt over several years for the plant.

Salvador Escobedo, founding partner of Latin American solar management firm SOLAM, on the need for strong, transparent competition in the region: “The conquest of Latin America happened 500 years ago.”

Development and local banks are filling gaps in the Latin American renewables market as the landscape shifts from a corporate and equity financings to project level debt, said panelists at Euromoney Energy Events’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum – Latin America and Caribbean in Miami.

Inkia Energy is close to sealing commitments from 12 lenders participating in a roughly $600 million financing backing its $900 million, 500 MW hydro project in Peru, Pablo Eguiluz, project finance manager, said on the sidelines of Euromoney Energy Events’ Renewable Finance Forum – Latin America and Caribbean.

A coterie of overseas sponsors and manufacturers are targeting project pipelines in Latin America, driven in part by renewable portfolio standards and new auctions for power purchase agreements, said attendees at Euromoney Energy Events’ Renewable Energy Finance Forum – Latin America & Caribbean in Miami.

Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social will remain the dominant renewables investor in Latin America and the Caribbean in 2012, boosted by local content rules and a pipeline of wind projects being developed from a 2009 tender.

Renewables sponsor Green Valley Energy of Bonita Springs, Fla., is targeting a roughly $65 million financing backing it maiden project, a $100 million, 35 MW biomass project in Santa Barbara, Honduras.

Vizcaya, Spain-based Solarpack is talking to European and Japanese lenders about securing roughly $120 million in debt to back two solar photovoltaic projects in Peru.

Legislative players anticipate that the production tax credit—a key subsidy that drives wind investment—will be extended past its year-end expiry.

U.S. wind developers are looking at building project pipelines abroad as uncertainty over the extension of production tax credits puts a stranglehold on development stateside.

Financing structures mixing bank debt and bonds loom in future wind deals, said Thomas Emmons, Rabobank managing director in New York, at the American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Finance & Investment Seminar.

Solar financings—not wind deals—are driving growth in the tax equity market, said John Eber, JPMorgan managing director of energy investments, at the American Wind Energy Association’s Wind Finance & Investment Seminar.

M&A players are re-calibrating their approach to wind projects as the uncertainty over whether the production tax credits will be extended rattles the industry.

Wind Capital Group has pushed back the financing of its 150 MW wind project in Osage County, Okla.

The expiration of the U.S. Department of Treasury’s production tax credit for wind projects is halting project development beyond this year, according to industry officials at the American Wind Energy Association’s Finance & Investment Seminar in New York on Thursday.

The mergers and acquisitions market has turned tepid as renewables, thermal and coal-fired assets are bogged down by uncertainty about federal energy policy, emission regulations and the grid as baseload plants go offline.

A round-up of notable outtakes from Platts 27th Global Power Markets conference April 1-3 in Las Vegas.

The domestic reserves of natural gas should reduce the commodity’s price volatility and propel it into being more than just a renewable bridge fuel for decades to come, proponents of the natural gas told attendees at Platts 27th Global Power Markets conference.

First Solar and Exelon are in the last stages of finalizing documentation with the U.S. Department of Energy for a loan guarantee for the 230 MW solar project, Frank De Rosa, senior v.p. of First Solar, told PI on the sidelines of the Platts 27th Global Power Markets conference.

Industry officials at Platts 27th Global Power Markets conference appeared guardedly optimistic that the production tax credits for wind would be extended at some point, although the 2013 wind market could still suffer if the extension comes late in the year.

Essential Power, the U.S. power platform company of Industry Funds Management, has an eye on buying contracted assets to grow its generation platform—although it’s in no rush to buy facilities that don't fit its model.

Energy Capital Partners and Exelon are looking for opportunities to invest in, or buy, transmission projects, officials told attendees at Platts 27th Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas.

Power companies should look for ways to drive consumers toward a cleaner, more diverse generation mix given the absence of a federal long-term energy blueprint, according to speakers at Platts 27th Global Power Markets conference in Las Vegas.

Multilateral financial institutions are looking at taking bigger tickets in project financings and considering modifications to traditional deal structures.

GCL Solar Energy is seeking up to $1.5 billion in construction debt this year to support 450 MW of photovoltaic projects in California and Puerto Rico.

Sponsors and financiers weighed the potential opportunities of developing generation in Peru for export to neighboring Ecuador, Chile and Brazil.

Brazilian developer MPX Energia is looking to put together long-term financing backing its $670 million, 517 MW natural gas-fired Parnaiba II plant in Maranhão, Brazil.

Uncertainty over U.S. energy policies will endure through at least election day as presidential aspirants and their backers continue to position about the government’s role in subsidizing renewables—and solar in particular, said attendees of Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2012 in San Diego.

Solar distributed generation sponsors must achieve scale in financings to ensure financial efficiencies if the rapidly growing market is to mature, said panelists at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2012.

Scatec Solar North America, an arm of Oslo developer Scatec Solar, is talking to lenders about financings backing almost $165 million of solar projects in the U.S. this year.

Solar sponsors short-listed in 2011 request for offers in California have bid $73-78 per MWh before applying time-of-day factors, said attendees at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2012 in San Diego.

At least two lenders are capable of offering 18-year tenors in this contracted bank market, said Elizabeth Waters, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ director of project finance, at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit in San Diego, pointing to BTMU and Mizuho Corporate Bank.

Project finance bonds are facing many hurdles despite their favor among developers and financiers, according to attendees of the 6th Annual Latin America Energy and Infrastructure Finance Forum in Miami.

Social concerns are impeding wind project development in Mexico and large hydro projects in Peru and Brazil.

GE Energy Financial Services has invested $100 million in LS Power’s $550 million, 127 MW Arlington Valley II solar photovoltaic project in Maricopa County, Ariz., said Kevin Walsh, managing director and leader of power and renewable energy, on the sidelines of Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2012.

Chevron affiliate Chevron Energy Solutions is expected to emerge as a player in tax equity this year, according to multiple renewables leaders at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2012 in San Diego.

Abengoa Solar will look to snag up to $400 million in tax equity for its $1.6 billion, 250 MW Mojave concentrating solar power project in San Bernardino County, Calif., in 2013 or 2014.

Representatives of two major renewables investors, JPMorgan and U.S. Bank, doubt large taxpaying U.S. corporations will become regular players in tax equity.

The White House intends to fight unfair trade practices in U.S. markets, and China is a significant target of the evolving policy.

A Duke Energy affiliate is planning to seek several hundred million dollars in financing to support 402 MW at its Los Vientos wind projects in Willacy County, Texas.

The need for mezzanine debt to support project financings should be limited to the riskiest deals despite the fact a third of traditional lenders are sidelined by the euro-zone crisis, said investors at Euromoney Seminar’s 7th Annual US Power and Renewable Finance Conference.

Pricing of financings supporting strong, contracted projects is ranging between 250-275 basis points over LIBOR, up from 200-225 bps last summer, said financiers at Euromoney Seminar’s 7th Annual U.S. Power and Renewable Energy Conference in New York.

Anbaric Transmission, an affiliate of the sponsors behind the Neptune and Hudson transmission projects, anticipates a four-year development period preceding financing for its proposed 80-100 mile transmission line from upstate New York to near West Point, N.Y.

Sponsors of mammoth solar projects in the U.S. seeking financing are indirectly benefiting from the U.S. Department of Energy’s expired loan guarantee program, said panelists at Euromoney Seminar’s 7th Annual U.S. Power and Renewable Energy Conference said.

Summit Power is looking to close a roughly $1.3 billion debt financing backing its $2.4 billion, 400 MW integrated gasification combined-cycle project this summer.

The Alberta Electric System Operator will launch in July a call for transmission developers to build a 248-280 mile, 500 kV transmission project in Alberta.

Ontario is likely to turn to developing more natural gas-fired projects as the province moves toward the retirement of several gigawatts of nuclear facilities, said Jason Chee-Aloy, managing director at Power Advisory at the Euromoney Seminar’s Canadian Power Finance Conference in Toronto.

Market players in Canada anticipate consolidation of wind developers or sales of projects in the coming year as smaller developers find it difficult to line up the early development capital needed to push toward construction.

Travelers Capital Corp., a Burnaby, B.C.-based advisory shop, is working with developers of rooftop, distributed generation and hydro projects to line up financing from Canadian life insurance companies and pension plans.

Infrastructure buyers will continue to throw their names in the hat for generation assets as their internal return targets have come down.

Project financiers are zeroing in on bonds to buoy large non-recourse deals this year.

Observations from around Infocast's Projects & Money conference in New Orleans.

Developers and utilities are questioning the viability of offtake agreements as the decreasing cost of development for some renewables make older contracts seem unduly expensive to regulators.

Project finance deal flow for wind will likely be heavy in the early months of 2012 but ease in the back half of the year as developers race to qualify for the production tax credit, which expires for wind at year-end.

The power sector is shifting to a project finance model increasingly dependent on a larger equity component and mezzanine debt, especially for merchant projects, said panelists at Infocast’s Projects & Money 2012 in New Orleans.

Developers and financiers are bullish on the long-term potential of new gas-fired projects in the U.S., despite the expected slow 2012 for project financings and an oversupply of existing capacity across the U.S.

Utilities in two Canadian provinces may seek up to 5 GW of new generation via solicitations by 2020, said Brian Vaasjo, Capital Power president and ceo, on the sidelines of Infocast’s Projects & Money 2012 conference in New Orleans.

Canadian Solar expects to develop 50-100 MW of commercial and small utility-scale solar projects in the U.S. in 2012—its first foray in the country.

A round-up of news from Infocast's Green Energy M&A Outlook for 2012.

Regional banks are looking at renewable energy tax equity investments, according to participants at a California conference last week.

enXco has agreed to buy a 38 MW wind project in Cambria and Blair Counties, Penn., from Gamesa Energy USA.

Firms are working to stoke up institutional investor interest in the nascent Brazilian project bond market to fund hundreds of billions of dollars of power and infrastructure projects in the country’s pipeline.

GCL Solar Energy is planning to take about 400 MW, or roughly $1 billion, of solar photovoltaic projects through the project finance market next year.

The countdown is on for wind developers looking to bring in a tax equity investor into debt structures by the end of next year in order to qualify for production tax credits.

Large wind developers with an eye toward adding late stage development projects to their development pipeline may be in luck over the next few months.

Earn-outs are expected to remain a key feature in renewable project M&A in the next year as buyer appetite for risk remains low, said Ross Rosenberg, v.p. of corporate development & strategy at First Solar at Infocast's Green Energy M&A Outlook for 2012 in Santa Clara, Calif.

Scotia Capital has picked up several loans from BNP Paribas’ project finance portfolio in the Americas.

Developers of hydro projects under 100 MW are calling for exclusive auctions because of the difficulty scoring power purchase agreements from general auctions hosted by the Brazilian federal government.

Sponsors and relationship lenders are targeting Colombia for power project development as the country plots a multi-billion dollar infrastructure program and enjoys investment grade credit ratings for the first time in over a decade.

The financing package backing Odebrecht’s $1.25 billion Chaglia hydro project in central Peru is slated to close in February.

Wind developers looking to bid into Brazil’s next auction for generation are worried that the downward trend in pricing in contracts will make many projects unfeasible.

Observations from around the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference.

A round-up of news from the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference about companies including Southern Co., American Electric Power, Black Hills Corp., CH Energy Group and FirstEnergy.

Fortis, the St. John, Newfoundland-based utility holding company, is scouting for acquisition opportunities of power and gas utilities in the U.S.

The expansion of distributed solar generation is contributing to decreased demand from major users for traditional wholesale power providers, said Glen Grabelsky, Fitch Ratings managing director, at the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference in Orlando, Fla.

The U.S. utilities industry may be in the midst of a second-wave of deregulation and competition and the first since the late 1990s, said Brian Hayduk, the former president of one-time PNM Resources subsidiary First Choice Power, at the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Public Service Enterprise Group is readying $750 million in transmission lines from Warren County, N.J., through Morris County to Essex County.

Pacific Gas & Electric plans to tap the capital markets in 2012 to help finance its heavy capital expenditures program, Kent Harvey, senior v.p. and cfo, told PI at the Edison Electric Institute Financial Conference in Orlando, Fla.

Coal-fired plants generating under 400 MW are most vulnerable to forced retirements under upcoming U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emissions regulation.

Westar Energy and a joint venture of American Electric Power and MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company will look for construction financing for the $225 million Prairie Wind Transmission project late next year.

Korea Electric Power Co. is looking for wind and solar project acquisitions in the U.S. and Canada as a way to meet its domestic renewable portfolio standard.

Portland General Electric is readying a request for proposals for 500-700 MW of gas-fired generation.

Talks are continuing between AES and prospective buyers for its AES Eastern Energy subsidiary even as the coal-fired unit anticipates challenges in making its next debt payment.

Cleco Power is seeking up to 750 MW of gas-fired generation.

A rally in stock markets has opened a window for securing term B loans, bankers and executives said at the conference.

Financial players have an eye out for coal-fired generation investments, but opportunities are difficult to value.

The European sovereign debt crisis may have sidelined some project lenders, compressed tenors and widened spreads, but there is appetite to wrap deals, said Matt O’Connor, leader of GE Energy Financial Services’ financial institutions group, at Platts’ 13th Annual Financing US Power in New York.

Solar photovoltaic sponsors are pitching extremely low prices to utilities as the sponsors face a paucity of power purchase agreements and robust competition.

Energy Capital Partners is nearing the first close on its maiden mezzanine debt fund.

A collection of interesting tidbits picked up at, and behind, the scene of the conference.

New tax equity players may emerge to take advantage of tax credits even after the expected sunset of the U.S. Department of Treasury cash grant on Dec. 31, said Robert Sternthal, president of Reznick Capital Markets.

Renewables developers are concerned about a paucity of power purchase agreements and uncertainty surrounding those contracts in the U.S. and Canada.

PowerBridge, the Fairfield, Conn.-based transmission developer behind the Neptune and Hudson lines, is planning early-stage projects in northern New England, Hawaii and upstate New York.

La Caixa expects to relocate four existing project financiers from Spain to staff an office in New York that it aims to open within three months, said an industry observer.

Contracted assets will continue to be in demand amid concerns over a potential double dip recession and volatility in the term loan markets.

Gamesa Energy will look to grow in Asian wind markets as the company tries to compensate for falling installation rates in the U.S. China and India are expected to offset the donwturn, said Stephen Brownell, acting general counsel at Gamesa at Stroock & Stroock & Lavans 2011 Evolving Energy Industry Directions in New York.

Capital Power has agreed to purchase a 150 MW wind project in Alberta from Greengate Power Corp. for $33 million.

Reznick Capital Markets is in the market to expand its capital advisory practice into a full boutique investment bank.

ENN Group North America, an affiliate of Chinese solar manufacturer ENN Solar, is looking to finance 20 MW of solar photovoltaic projects in New Jersey by year-end to qualify for the U.S.

Marathon Capital is working with a utility and pension funds to establish a vehicle that will co-invest in Edison Mission Energy’s wind portfolio.

The geothermal, hydro, solar and wind industries are lobbying Congress to allow master limited partnerships to invest in renewables projects, said Keith Martin, Chadbourne & Parke partner, on the sidelines of the REFF-Wall Street conference in New York City hosted by the American Council on Renewable Energy and Euromoney Energy Events.

Starwood Energy Group has wrapped a roughly $40 million financing backing 10 MW at a solar photovoltaic project in Sault Ste.

EverPower is targeting roughly $45 million in debt to support two merchant wind farms it is developing

Coal-fired plants are expected to trickle into the financing and M&A markets as developers get more clarity on regulations from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

NRG Energy is in the early stages of an initiative to securitize portions of the revenue from its solar portfolio as a way to diversify its access to capital.

The nuclear renaissance that was taking hold in the U.S. is expected to be stopped in its tracks—at least temporarily—as a result of the ongoing crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s earthquake and tsunami-battered Fukushima nuclear plant.

New natural gas-fired projects will continue to take a backseat to asset M&A as low power demand and pricing signal that new build is not yet required.

Empresa Electrica de Guatemala, a distribution company based in Guatemala City, is teaming up with two other local distribution companies on an 800 MW request for proposals that will bring in 480 MW of renewable power.

Tenaska is monitoring whether a bill in the Illinois legislature will put its $3.5 billion, 600 MW Taylorville integrated gasification combined cycle project back on track.

Competitive Power Ventures expects to finalize the $400 million financing backing its 850 MW Sentinel combined-cycle facility in the middle of next month.

A new raft of international developers are seeking financing for $600-830 million of North American solar projects.

EDF Energies Nouvelles aims to wrap a financing backing its roughly $48 million St. Isidore B solar plant in May.

The U.S. Department of Energy is expected to process at least 25 more applications in the queue for federal loan guarantees.

Financiers at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2011 are split over the merits of the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program for commercial-ready technologies.

Financiers at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2011 are split over the merits of the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program for commercial-ready technologies.

MetLife has bought in to BP Solar’s 32 MW Long Island Solar Farm as an investor and partner, said Jim Shandalov, BP senior director of solar development in San Francisco, on the sidelines of Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2011.

Solar generation is in growth mode, but technology and a lack of federal renewable portfolio standards continue to dog the sector, according to panelists at Infocast’s Solar Power Finance & Investment Summit 2011 in San Diego, Calif.

Geothermal financing is available, but investors remain wary of drilling risks, said multiple financiers, advisors and developers.

Republicans in the House of Representatives are proposing to slash $1.4 billion from the U.S. Department of Energy’s loan guarantee program as part of a plan to cut billions from this year’s federal budget.

Raymond James is readying a $184 million bond issue backing a geothermal plant in North America, said Jimmy Leung, a Toronto-based managing director at the Geothermal Energy Association’s Geothermal Energy Finance Forum 2011 in New York.

Congress is unlikely to extend the U.S. Department of Treasury cash grant beyond its scheduled expiration of Dec. 31, attorneys and lobbyists said Feb. 9 at the Geothermal Energy Association’s Geothermal Energy Finance Forum in New York.

Hannon Armstrong Capital of Annapolis, Md., and Glacier Geothermal and Seafood Corp., a New York-based subsidiary of Icelandic bank Islandsbanki, have launched GeoBanc, a joint venture to advise geothermal sponsors on development and financing.

Hawaii Electric Light Co. has added an additional 8 MW from Ormat Technologies’ Puna Geothermal Venture to a power purchase agreement lasting more than 20 years.

Direct Energy is on the prowl for natural-gas fired generation acquisitions in the Northeast to support its demand requirements in the region.

Google will consider making investments in pre-construction stage wind, solar or geothermal projects.

Clean Line Energy Partners is applying for utility status make it easier to recover costs on its transmission projects and access rights to the land.

Auto manufacturers and tech companies, like Cisco Systems and Google, are being tipped as likely power investors that move their products into the realm of energy efficiency or balancing.

The Ontario Energy Board is inviting private companies to compete for the right to build a roughly $550 million transmission line.

Sea Breeze Power has filed the second part of its loan guarantee application with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The Ontario Power Authority is planning to kick off a new request for proposals to ink power purchase agreements for up to 500 MW of generation.

Developers, lenders and solar manufacturers are working together to meet local content requirements under the Ontario Power Authority's feed in tariff program and to ensure financing for projects.

Finavera Renewables is close to locking in equity via a partner for a portion of its $800 million wind pipeline before targeting a debt financing.

SkyPower will look to the project finance market for up to $720 million to support roughly one-fifth of its 1.2 GW solar photovoltaic pipeline in Ontario this year.

Canadian sponsors are not likely to find cheaper pricing this year because U.S. developers will be looking north of the border for lenders to finance a slew of projects, bankers said on a panel at Euromoney's 2nd Annual Canadian Power Finance conference in Toronto.

Project finance lenders expect to deploy more capital in 2011 than last year and are increasingly willing to finance new or upgraded technologies as credit committees ease up on conservative directives, senior financiers said Wednesday at Infocast’s Projects & Money 2001 conference in New Orleans.

Tax equity players, including Credit Suisse and Union Bank, hope to invest more in solar energy in 2011.

Cost, risk and regulatory factors will ultimately boost the appeal of capital markets over syndicated bank debt financings, bankers say.

Private equity firms project stronger market conditions in 2011 after a seeming return to normalcy by the close of 2010.

Executives at Competitive Power Ventures, Duke Energy, New Harbor and NRG Energy anticipate at least two more years of patchwork energy state policies amid prolonged federal regulatory uncertainty.

Financiers and advisers are divided on whether utilities will take a more active role developing renewables projects.

An uptick in leveraged leases of wind farms is likely in 2011 as sponsors and investors become more comfortable with the structure.

Sponsors of commercial-scale biomass and waste-to-energy plants in the U.S. are expected to qualify for loan guarantees of up to $250 million per project under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sect. 9003 biorefinery program.

The pricing floor will remain at 237.5-250 basis points over LIBOR for most long-term project financings this year, said bankers attending Infocast’s Projects & Money 2011 conference in New Orleans..