Wind projects can be challenging to finance, with wind variability a key factor in determining debt sizing – and Greenbacker Capital Management’s recent 59 MW wind project in Maine was no exception.
Working alongside MUFG and Munich Re, kWh Analytics’ utilized a wind proxy hedge to essentially put a floor on the project’s revenues by compensating for any shortfall caused by variable wind speeds. By using decades of historical wind data for our forecasting, we were able to reallocate the project’s wind speed risk from lenders to a weather derivates counterparty, Munich Re, and substantially mitigate this risk for the debt providers, allowing them to offer additional debt on the project.
The hedge is calibrated so that the project’s “worst-case” P99 scenario was no longer a limiting factor for debt sizing, enabling the developer to secure greater than 20% more debt than otherwise expected. By helping to secure financing for wind projects, this product is accelerating the clean energy transition.