Thursday, September 22, 2022

"Securitising the sun (Or, how to monetise the Inflation Reduction Act’s renewable-energy tax breaks)

From FT Alphaville, September 22:

A key tenet of American business — one nearly as old as the US itself — is to never let a government subsidy or contract go to waste. 

The latest example is the Inflation Reduction Act, or the IRA. Banks and solarpanel companies are weighing what tax breaks for renewable power could mean for them and their clients. Here’s a rundown of the IRA benefits for solar ventures, from a recent note by Bank of America strategists:  

https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2Fae76d71f-261e-4489-8eec-b30ba2bf4976.png?dpr=1&fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700

For the sellside, this could mean more sales of solar asset-backed securities, according to recent notes from Goldman Sachs and BofA. 

Last year companies sold a record volume (albeit a modest one compared with other markets) of solar-financing bonds; most of these paid for residential solar power, and were structured as either loans for equipment and installation, or power-purchasing agreements between the customer and solar provider. And they’re on track for another record year. Solar ABS issuance is the dark-blue bar in the chart from BofA below: 

https://www.ft.com/__origami/service/image/v2/images/raw/https%3A%2F%2Fd1e00ek4ebabms.cloudfront.net%2Fproduction%2F561aacf7-884c-4aea-a59f-b9312cd84798.png?dpr=1&fit=scale-down&source=next&width=700

....MUCH MORE