A successful project in a highly competitive marketplace requires:
• Both proximity to transmission lines and access to transmission rights – two very different things
• Full permits from all local, state, and potentially federal agencies
• A feasible low-cost construction plan on a buildable site
• A demonstrated revenue plan – preferable a long-term power supply contract with a creditworthy buyer, or access to a reliable wholesale power market
Every project has to combat an array of uncertainties: unexpected site conditions; toxicology or biology; utility cost overruns; international tariffs on solar panels, wind turbines, or other components; changing natural gas prices; regulatory frameworks and requirements; as well as re-regulation and de-regulation. Meanwhile, the supply of power options in this country has never been higher and competition for power offtake is fierce. Solar is competing with abundant wind and natural gas to prices that are the lowest in decades, with contracts won on the thinnest of margins.
A landowner faces a daunting challenge to try to navigate all of these issues on their own. And large generation companies are focused on optimizing production out of their existing assets, building out their pipeline on a tight budget, or selectively acquiring projects that are well vetted and closest to producing revenue.
CWR Can Help
We focus on the earliest stages of renewable project development. We start working with projects from the ground up, evaluating the land, constructability, grid infrastructure, and access to power markets. We then build tailored strategies for investigating and developing the project, step by step. Finally, we implement the plan in a methodical fashion that maximizes the value of each development dollar.
By helping land owners evaluate the feasibility of projects, we can either validate a project site’s potential or help to “right size” expectations before a large amount of capital is spent. We then work alongside project owners to advance projects, spending only what is necessary for that stage, and allowing a project that hits a major roadblock to adapt quickly or to exit at a minimum of outlay. For those projects that stay the course, we actively manage all aspects of the development cycle, from engineering, to transmission, to power marketing, and finally sales and partnerships with long term owner-operators.
We are hired by you to work for you. We do not engage in construction or permanent finance other than facilitating those relationships and creating a healthy competitive environment. We focus on where we add value, we invest in you and your project.
