How do you finance a wind project? Join the discussion at WINDPOWER 2016

One of the most critical decisions made during the development of a wind project concerns financing. If you can’t pay for a project, you can’t get it built.

Join us for a robust discussion about this key issue at WINDPOWER 2016 during Wind Finance: State of the Art and Where to Next? This panel will focus on the five tiers of capital available to wind developers and the potential for advances within each option.

I recently spoke with session chair Keith Martin, a partner at Chadbourne & Parke LLP, for some insight on what attendees can expect to hear.

Mr. Martin started by telling me there is a renewed sense of optimism about the wind market because of the large number of corporate power purchase agreements that are being signed and December’s five-year extension of the production tax credit.

However, he noted development pipelines have thinned, as companies tried to get as many projects underway as possible before last year’s potential PTC expiration. Now that there is long-term policy stability, it’s time to restock those development pipelines.

The presence of so many CEOs and CFOs at the wind finance and investment summit in San Diego this February is a sign that companies are diving back into project development and will be back to raising equity to fund development, according to Mr. Martin. He also said there is more interest in wind from long-term investors, like pension funds and insurance companies.

Where will the money come from to fund all the new development? At the wind finance panel, attendees can expect to hear discussions about another rush to stockpile equipment before year end, the potential shift in tax equity back to a buyer’s market, the competition among banks for projects and the state of the term loan B, securitization and project bond markets, and the current discount rates to value operating projects and develop co/op co business models.

We are expecting a lively discussion among a group of five CFOs who all face different financing challenges. This session will be open to all attendees and will be located on the show floor in the Power Station. Panelists will include:

• Tom Festle, CFO, E.ON Climate & Renewables North America
• Pete Keel, CFO, SunEdison, North American Utility and Global Wind
• James T. Murphy, Executive Vice President, CFO & COO, Invenergy, LLC
• Michael Storch, Executive Vice President, Enel Green Power North America, Inc
• Paul Walker, CFO, RES Americas