Raise Green Project Finance + Development FAQs

Raise Green has an internal due diligence process to protect investors and ensure funds raised through our platform will be used for its reported purpose. As part of this review, Raise Green requires all solar projects have 1) evidence of site control (signed lease or memorandum of understanding), 2) a Project Proforma (excel), and 3) evidence of application to utility for RECs and/or interconnection study.

Project finance is a specialized area within finance focused on providing long-term funding to infrastructure and industrial projects. It involves creating a new company that owns the infrastructure asset. This is particularly relevant for wind and solar projects, but also applies to transportation infrastructure, mining works, and telecommunications. Project finance generally consists of assembling a number of investors and capital providers that provide financing to a project based on its future cash flows.

Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) companies design the solar array, purchase the equipment, and make it operational. The best option to get a couple names is to reach out to organizations in your area that have installed solar and ask who they worked with. Either way, you want to find a couple of EPCs to get quotes from to compare and ensure you are getting a competitive system price. Raise Green can also connect you with an EPC if required.

Raise Green has established a number of Enterprise Partners to support Originators that work with us. Raise Green can connect you with an accountant that is familiar with project finance and crowdfunding.

Notice to Proceed is a status of a project in which that project has reach certain milestones and construction can begin. These milestones generally include a secured offtake aggreement, a site lease, incentive approval, interconnection approval, and EPC and O&M providers are contracted.

We can help connect you with Tax Equity investors, depending on the size and scale of your project.

Understanding the categories of persons that are covered by Rule 503 is important because issuers are required to conduct a factual inquiry to determine whether any covered person has had a disqualifying event, and the existence of such an event will generally disqualify the offering from reliance on Regulation Crowdfunding. “Covered persons” include: the issuer, including its predecessors and affiliated issuers; directors, officers, general partners or managing members of the issuer; beneficial owners of 20% or more of the issuer’s outstanding voting equity securities, calculated on the basis of voting power; promoters connected with the issuer in any capacity at time of sale; and persons compensated for soliciting investors, including the general partners, directors, officers or managing members of any such solicitor.

Community solar is a specific policy that enables projects to sell electricity to an aggregated group of subscribers. Community solar refers to local solar facilities shared by multiple community subscribers who receive credit on their electricity bills for their share of the power produced. This model for solar is being rapidly adopted nationwide. According to SEIA, There are 41 states, plus D.C., with at least one community solar project on-line, with 3.4 gigawatts installed cumulatively through Q2 2021. At least 19 states and D.C. have recognized the benefits of shared renewables by encouraging their growth through policy and programs (see IREC shared renewables scorecard). But since policies vary widely across state and jurisdiction, what is more crucial is whether your state expressly allows “Third-party ownership” of solar projects. If it does, then Raise Green is a fit! If not, then there are still ways to make it work, but you may only be able to issue debt through Raise Green rather than equity.