Green Asset-Backed Bond From Hannon Armstrong Has Measured GHG Savings
by the Climate Bonds Team Hannon Armstrong’s (HASI) second green ABS, $118.6m, will save 0.39 tons of GHG annually per $1,000! ($100.5m, 4.28%, 19 yr, A and $18.1m, 5.00%, 19 yr, BBB) Hannon Armstrong (NYSE:HASI) closed its second green ABS bond (Sustainable Yield Bond) following its inaugural issuance in December 2013. The ABS was a private placement split into two tranches with different credit ratings (from Kroll Bond Credit Rating Agency): $100.5m with a rating of A and 4.28% interest rate, and $18.1m with a rating of BBB and 5.00% interest rate. Both tranches have a 19-year tenor....
Buying Innergex – Texas Was Bad, But Not That Bad
By Tom Konrad, Ph.D., CFA
Last week, I published this call to buy Innergex (INGXF, INE.TO) because investors had been overreacting to the losses from the February cold snap in Texas. The stock is up since then, but still seems a decent value.
Canadian Yieldco Innergex Renewable Energy (INGXF, INE.TO) took a big financial hit from the power disruptions in Texas in March.
It's complex, but their financial hedges on power prices for three of its wind farms ended up creating enormous liabilities - more, in fact, than two of their wind farms are worth. Two of their facilities also had benefits...
$37B 2014 Green Bond Issuance Triples Market
by Tess Olsen-Rong Following a landmark green bond growth year in 2013, the labelled green bond market has once again experienced a year of incredible growth in 2014: by year-end there had been $36.6bn of green bonds issued by 73 different issuers – that’s more than a tripling of the market! The final figure was boosted by a late flurry of green municipal bonds. This exponential growth takes the total amount of green bonds outstanding to $53.2bn by the end of 2014. So, what happened to cause this tripling of issuance? Well, corporate and municipal bond...
Power REIT’s Preferred Stock Offering: A Hedge That Pays 7.75%
Power REIT's preferred stock offerning (NYSE:PW-PRA) is an excellent hedge for the legal risks borne by the holders of its common stock (NYSE:PW.)
Solar Rooftop Lease Securitization A Ground-Breaking Success
Sean Kidney Last week we blogged that SolarCity (SCTY) and Credit Suisse were about to issue a new $54.4 million, climate bond – a rooftop solar lease securitization. It’s out: BBB+, 4.8%, 13 years. The long tenor is interesting – and great. And S&P’s BBB+ rating suggest those credit analysts may be beginning to understand solar. This bond has been long-awaited by the green finance sector, who are hoping it’s the harbinger of things to come. I did get the chance to look at the S&P opinion. Their rating reflected, as they put it, their views on over-collateralization (62%...
Climate Bonds 2016 Highlights
by the Climate Bonds Team
A record year with green bond issuance of USD 81bn, up 92% on 2015 figures
The Trends
A maturing of the green bonds market, diversification across issuers, products and use of proceeds are the main trends identified in our Green Bonds Highlights 2016 summary.
The Big Numbers
92% – growth on 2015 making 2016 the most prolific year to date
USD 11.8bn – November issuance, the largest month on record
24 – number of countries with green bond issuers
27% – proportion of Chinese issuers
241 – number of labelled green bonds issued (median size USD133.7m)
>90 – number of new issuers
>50 – number...
Buyer’s Guide to New York Community Solar
By Ishaan Goel
WHY COMMUNITY SOLAR?
A home solar system is a great investment, with financial returns far in excess of any financial investment that has comparable risk. It’s also a tangible step a homeowner can take to help the environment.
Unfortunately, most New Yorkers (and Americans in general) can’t install home solar. They may be renters, or have roofs that are too old or shaded. Or they may not be able to afford the up-front cost, or not have enough income to take advantage of the tax credits.
That is why New York’s electricity regulator, the Public Service Commission, created community solar:...
The Green Bond Trend
DTE Energy Company (DTE: NYSE) recently priced a ‘green bond’ issuance of $525 million to support renewable energy and energy efficiency. The thirty-year bonds provide a coupon payment at 4.05%. DTE is planning to buy solar arrays and wind turbines with its newly flush cash kitty. The capital raise is of significance less for its size and purpose and more for the fact that a U.S. electric utility company is tapping this unusual financing vehicle.
True enough, green bonds are nothing new. Created to fund projects with environmental or climatic benefits, the first green bonds were issued in May 2007 by the European Investment Bank (EIB). The...
YieldCo Bubble: The Aftermath
Readers may be interested in listening to this podcast. Where Stephen Lacey and Shayle Kann of GreenTechMedia speak with me about the current YieldCo landscape. Follow this link to The Interchange Podcast. -Tom Konrad, Editor
Eneti and Brookfield Renewable Earnings
By Tom Konrad, Ph.D. CFA
Here are a couple earnings notes I shared last week with my Patreon followers.
Eneti, Inc. (NETI) - formerly Scorpio Bulkers (SALT)
Eneti completed its name and ticker change on February 8th. New ticker is NETI (formerly Scorpio Bulkers (SALT), which I recently wrote about here.
Highlights from February 2nd earnings report:
37 of the 47 vessels owned at the 3rd quarter have been sold or have completed sale agreements.
Net asset value is $23.94/share. Since most assets are cash or vessels held for sale, this number is basically accurate.
The stock is still a good buy...
List of High Yield Alternative Energy Stocks
This is a list of renewable and alternative energy stocks with dividend or distribution yields above 4%. The list includes most Yieldcos (high distribution companies that own renewable energy operations), but is not limited to Yieldcos. Some Yieldcos may be excluded if their yield is below 4%.
Atlantica Yield plc (AY)
Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (AQN, AQN.TO)
Bluefield Solar Income Fund Ltd. (BSIF.L)
Brookfield Renewable Partners L.P. (BEP)
Clearway Energy, Inc. (CWEN,CWEN-A)
Companhia Energética de Minas Gerais (CIG)
Covanta Holding Corporation (CVA)
Crius Energy Trust (KWH-UN.TO, CRIUF)
Enviva Partners, LP (EVA)
Foresight Solar Fund plc (FSFL.L)
GATX Corporation Series A (GMTA)
Global X YieldCo ETF (YLCO)
Greencoat UK Wind PLC (UKW.L)
Green...
Solar Bonds For Small Investors
By Beate Sonerud SolarCity (NASD:SCTY) is issuing US$200m of asset-linked retail bonds, with maturities ranging from 1-7 years and interest rates from 2-4%. Wells Fargo is the banking partner. While the bonds are registered,SolarCity expects the bonds to be buy and hold, and not traded in the secondary markets. The bond is issued for small-scale investors, with investment starting at US$1000, giving this bond issuance a crowdfunding aspect. Choosing such a different structure allows SolarCity to diversify their investor base – the company stresses that small-scale investors are a complement, not substitute, for large-scale institutional investors. While...
The True Story of Clean Renewable Energy Bonds
Sean Kidney Where did all the CREBs and QCEBs go? Mystery solved. The US has for a long time used tax credits to promote the development of oil and gas and other industries. With tax credits the bond issuer still pays a coupon, but their payment is subsidized, effectively lowering the rate of interest paid. The Obama administration brought in a big program of credits for renewable energy bonds. The plan was that States, large local governments, tribal governments and public power bodies would issue bonds to finance energy efficiency or renewable energy. The US ...
Comparing Community Solar Subscriptions And Yieldcos
By Tom Konrad, Ph.D. CFA Community solar is gaining traction in many states. The concept, also known as shared solar or solar gardens, originated in the mid-2000s as a way to allow broader participation in the ownership of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems, while also encouraging local development. Community solar broadens access to solar beyond homeowners with suitable roofs. A National Renewable Energy Laboratory report from 2015 estimated that 49 percent of households cannot own solar because they do not own their own home, or they live in high-rise buildings with insufficient roof space. Rooftop solar is impractical for many...
Fifteen Clean Energy Yield Cos, Created Unequal
Tom Konrad CFA Renewable Energy Investing Grows Up. In January I predicted 2014 would be the year "renewable energy finance comes of age." Here's how Jennifer Runyon quoted me on Renewable Energy World: Konrad believes that 2014 will be a great year for renewable energy finance, he said. He said that we saw the beginning of it in 2013 with the securitization of a bond by Solar City (SCTY) and pointed to Hannon Armstrong’s (HASI) securitization of an energy efficiency bond in late December 2013 as another indicator that renewable energy...
The Sustainable Infrastructure Income Trust
Tom Konrad CFA Jeffrey Eckel Jeffrey Eckel has an investor relations problem. No, there has not been any scandal involving fudging the books or sweatshop labor. Rather, most investors simply don’t seem to “get” his company. His company recently went public as a REIT, or Real Estate Investment Trust, and the traditional REIT investor likes the familiar. They invest for income, and for many, a track record of past income and dividends is a must. While Eckel’s company manages $1.8 billion of securitized energy efficient and sustainable infrastructure...
