We’ve worked with over 100 potential project developers, ranging from total newbies to experienced developers. We also developed two inclusively financed community-scale solar projects ourselves under the entity of New Haven Community Solar. So we know, starting a solar project and bringing it past the create stage to the build, fund, and run stages is not as easy as it should be. We provide extensive resources to project developers (we call them Originators) so they can navigate this process, but barriers still exist to moving projects forward. One of the most common barriers to developing a solar project is a lack of access to capital.
An Originator may need funds to scope project sites, pay for an interconnection study, pull permits, cover staff time worked, or pay external partners to secure site control for their system. By receiving development capital funds from crowd investors like you, the project creation phase is made more accessible for Originators and in turn increases the likelihood of projects listed on our investor marketplace upon a later date.
Targeted financial incentives like access to development capital helps the community by lowering the barriers to entry for new project developers, and making the project creation phase more accessible and inclusive. In turn, this access to capital for underserved and disadvantaged populations increases the probability of projects being implemented on the ground for communities in need. Experts at the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory found that these types of incentives can be catalytic to accelerating solar adoption for the underserved. That means more community Originators working with Raise Green, more climate action projects for the planet, and more opportunities for investors.
For investors, it not only means more investment opportunities, it includes the diversification of investment types on our marketplace. Whereas solar projects tend to have equity offerings that have a contractual cash flow delivered over a period of 10-20 years, development capital investments are typically structured around a shorter maturity period, (e.g., 1-2 years), with a fixed interest coupon paid back along with the initial investment when the project gets built or at maturity.
If you are an experienced solar developer in need of up to five million in development capital to move your next project forward, or an aspiring Originator creating your own green job who has been waiting for an opportunity to fast-track your project development work with funding, get in contact with us and we would be happy help get your project up, funded and running. If you are an investor looking to get into climate tech, sustainable finance and support community economic development to accelerate the equitable transition to a clean energy economy, create an investor account for free and keep an eye out for investments coming soon.
As always, feel free to engage us in conversation and send any questions or comments you might have to info@raisegreen.com.
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