Project Finance for Renewable Energy:‎ The Interaction of Regulatory and ‎Contractual Requirements

The global demand for electricity continues to grow, fueled by industrialization and urbanization in many parts of the world. At the same time, power generation is the largest single source of CO2 emissions and needs to be transformed fundamentally. While power generation has always been an asset-heavy industry, capital intensity is even higher for most renewable energy sources as compared to fossil fuel-based plants. Thus, policy makers worry about the availability and cost of capital for low-carbon power plants. A critical method for getting renewable energy infrastructure built is project finance that is designed to identify, allocate, and mitigate risks through project structuring and contracting. These techniques can be utilized to address risks specific to renewable projects. The project finance structures used for renewable energy projects must manage the complex risks. The aim of this paper is to comprehensively present current risks and risk management solutions of renewable energy projects to project finance.