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Releasing our Tax Equity Financial Model

Posted on June 24, 2013 by Josh Lutton

Woodlawn Associates has just made a version of its tax equity financial model available for sale at its web store.

The model can be used to answer questions such as:

  • Residential solar dealer-installer: How much value do third-party financiers get from systems I sell for them? How much value would there be for me in a captive finance solution?
  • Utility or power company: Distributed solar seems to be growing fast. What kind of returns could I get if I entered the residential or commercial solar market?
  • New tax equity investor: I’ve been approached by a solar and wind energy developer requesting that I provide tax equity funding. They’ve given me a financial model, but it is hard to audit and I would prefer to have one of my own.  Is this investment a good deal for me?
  • Solar module or inverter manufacturer: I have a product whose operating characteristics are superior to those of my competitors’ products. What premium could I charge for my product and still given investors the same return? Alternatively, if I price at the market rate, how much of a return premium does this suggest for investors in the systems?
  • Commercial rooftop owner: I’ve been approached by a solar developer offering to sell me power from a solar system they will install on my roof. How fair is the offer?

The model was designed for residential and commercial distributed solar, but can be modified for utility-scale wind or solar projects.

Designed for ease of audit, the model eschews, to the maximum extent possible, “circular” calculations and very long formulas in favor of a linear flow and easily understandable formulas.

Please check out the model in the store, view some sample pages, or contact us about modifying it for your specific needs.

Also note:  We’ll be at REFF Wall Street this week and at Intersolar in San Francisco in early July, so let us know if you want to meet at either event.

Kicking Off Solar Installation Effectiveness Project

Posted on May 29, 2012 by Josh Lutton

Note — This project is now complete. See the output here.

Woodlawn Associates is seeking sponsors for a syndicated research project, Solar Installation Effectiveness, examining the average installation cost of residential solar installers in the United States.

The primary goals of the project are to help our sponsors understand (a) how their own solar installation cost compares with the industry and (b) what they can do to make their operations more efficient.  By “installation cost,” we mean the total cost a solar installation company occurs between the time it signs a contract with a consumer and when resulting system is fully commissioned and interconnected.

[Read more…]

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