Are solar and wind projects a good investment?

These projects will have long-term predictable revenue streams. In addition, lenders may be willing to finance merchant cashflows, but with less leverage and subject to detailed market studies and cash sweeps. These trends for solar and wind projects also apply to energy storage projects.

Can solar and wind power plants make a profit?

Solar and wind plants will be major contributors to low-carbon power grids, but there’s a key obstacle to their profitability, the authors write. Without changes, it may be more difficult for future renewables projects to make a profit.

Does project finance apply to energy storage projects?

The general principles of project finance that apply to the financing of solar and wind projects also apply to energy storage projects. Since the majority of solar projects currently under construction include a storage system, lenders in the project finance markets are willing to finance the construction and cashflows of an energy storage project.

Can renewables make a profit?

Without changes, it may be more difficult for future renewables projects to make a profit. Dramatic reductions in the cost of wind and solar have led to optimism that they can be primary contributors to low-carbon electricity grids. But there's an important obstacle to their profitability: revenue decline.

How does interconnection affect the profitability of wind and solar farms?

Interconnection enables movement of renewables over larger spatial scales, allowing renewable energy to find its way to distant markets where prices are higher. In the end, though, the net profitability of wind and solar farms is the outcome of two opposing forces: technological progress reducing cost and revenue decline reducing income.

Are solar power plants profitable?

But there's an important obstacle to their profitability: revenue decline. Adding wind and solar to the grid tends to reduce electricity prices during the times that they generate. On a sunny afternoon in California, solar generation can reach such high levels that it brings the price of electricity down to zero.