This report details why institutional investors would be interested in investing in renewable energy through MLPs as an attractive way to diversify portfolios while responding to “green” priorities.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs -- a review of the progress made in 2014 toward achieving the goals laid out in Governor Patrick's Coordinated Climate Preparedness Initiative.
The Six Highest Performing B2B Blog Post FormatsBarry Feldman
If your B2B blogging goals include earning social media shares and backlinks to boost your search rankings, this infographic lists the size best approaches.
Each technological age has been marked by a shift in how the industrial platform enables companies to rethink their business processes and create wealth. In the talk I argue that we are limiting our view of what this next industrial/digital age can offer because of how we read, measure and through that perceive the world (how we cherry pick data). Companies are locked in metrics and quantitative measures, data that can fit into a spreadsheet. And by that they see the digital transformation merely as an efficiency tool to the fossil fuel age. But we need to stretch further…
2024 State of Marketing Report – by HubspotMarius Sescu
https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
· Scaling relationships and proving ROI
· Social media is the place for search, sales, and service
· Authentic influencer partnerships fuel brand growth
· The strongest connections happen via call, click, chat, and camera.
· Time saved with AI leads to more creative work
· Seeking: A single source of truth
· TLDR; Get on social, try AI, and align your systems.
· More human marketing, powered by robots
ChatGPT is a revolutionary addition to the world since its introduction in 2022. A big shift in the sector of information gathering and processing happened because of this chatbot. What is the story of ChatGPT? How is the bot responding to prompts and generating contents? Swipe through these slides prepared by Expeed Software, a web development company regarding the development and technical intricacies of ChatGPT!
Product Design Trends in 2024 | Teenage EngineeringsPixeldarts
The realm of product design is a constantly changing environment where technology and style intersect. Every year introduces fresh challenges and exciting trends that mold the future of this captivating art form. In this piece, we delve into the significant trends set to influence the look and functionality of product design in the year 2024.
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs -- a review of the progress made in 2014 toward achieving the goals laid out in Governor Patrick's Coordinated Climate Preparedness Initiative.
The Six Highest Performing B2B Blog Post FormatsBarry Feldman
If your B2B blogging goals include earning social media shares and backlinks to boost your search rankings, this infographic lists the size best approaches.
Each technological age has been marked by a shift in how the industrial platform enables companies to rethink their business processes and create wealth. In the talk I argue that we are limiting our view of what this next industrial/digital age can offer because of how we read, measure and through that perceive the world (how we cherry pick data). Companies are locked in metrics and quantitative measures, data that can fit into a spreadsheet. And by that they see the digital transformation merely as an efficiency tool to the fossil fuel age. But we need to stretch further…
2024 State of Marketing Report – by HubspotMarius Sescu
https://www.hubspot.com/state-of-marketing
· Scaling relationships and proving ROI
· Social media is the place for search, sales, and service
· Authentic influencer partnerships fuel brand growth
· The strongest connections happen via call, click, chat, and camera.
· Time saved with AI leads to more creative work
· Seeking: A single source of truth
· TLDR; Get on social, try AI, and align your systems.
· More human marketing, powered by robots
ChatGPT is a revolutionary addition to the world since its introduction in 2022. A big shift in the sector of information gathering and processing happened because of this chatbot. What is the story of ChatGPT? How is the bot responding to prompts and generating contents? Swipe through these slides prepared by Expeed Software, a web development company regarding the development and technical intricacies of ChatGPT!
Product Design Trends in 2024 | Teenage EngineeringsPixeldarts
The realm of product design is a constantly changing environment where technology and style intersect. Every year introduces fresh challenges and exciting trends that mold the future of this captivating art form. In this piece, we delve into the significant trends set to influence the look and functionality of product design in the year 2024.
Lecture slide titled Fraud Risk Mitigation, Webinar Lecture Delivered at the Society for West African Internal Audit Practitioners (SWAIAP) on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
when will pi network coin be available on crypto exchange.DOT TECH
There is no set date for when Pi coins will enter the market.
However, the developers are working hard to get them released as soon as possible.
Once they are available, users will be able to exchange other cryptocurrencies for Pi coins on designated exchanges.
But for now the only way to sell your pi coins is through verified pi vendor.
Here is the what'sapp contact of my personal pi vendor
+12349014282
The secret way to sell pi coins effortlessly.DOT TECH
Well as we all know pi isn't launched yet. But you can still sell your pi coins effortlessly because some whales in China are interested in holding massive pi coins. And they are willing to pay good money for it. If you are interested in selling I will leave a contact for you. Just what'sapp this number below. I sold about 3000 pi coins to him and he paid me immediately.
+12349014282
how to swap pi coins to foreign currency withdrawable.DOT TECH
As of my last update, Pi is still in the testing phase and is not tradable on any exchanges.
However, Pi Network has announced plans to launch its Testnet and Mainnet in the future, which may include listing Pi on exchanges.
The current method for selling pi coins involves exchanging them with a pi vendor who purchases pi coins for investment reasons.
If you want to sell your pi coins, reach out to a pi vendor and sell them to anyone looking to sell pi coins from any country around the globe.
Below is the what'sapp information for my personal pi vendor.
+12349014282
2. Elemental Economics - Mineral demand.pdfNeal Brewster
After this second you should be able to: Explain the main determinants of demand for any mineral product, and their relative importance; recognise and explain how demand for any product is likely to change with economic activity; recognise and explain the roles of technology and relative prices in influencing demand; be able to explain the differences between the rates of growth of demand for different products.
1. Elemental Economics - Introduction to mining.pdfNeal Brewster
After this first you should: Understand the nature of mining; have an awareness of the industry’s boundaries, corporate structure and size; appreciation the complex motivations and objectives of the industries’ various participants; know how mineral reserves are defined and estimated, and how they evolve over time.
where can I find a legit pi merchant onlineDOT TECH
Yes. This is very easy what you need is a recommendation from someone who has successfully traded pi coins before with a merchant.
Who is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone who buys pi network coins and resell them to Investors looking forward to hold thousands of pi coins before the open mainnet.
I will leave the what'sapp contact of my personal pi merchant to trade with
+12349014282
Yes of course, you can easily start mining pi network coin today and sell to legit pi vendors in the United States.
Here the what'sapp contact of my personal vendor.
+12349014282
#pi network #pi coins #legit #passive income
#US
How Race, Age and Gender Shape Attitudes Towards Mental HealthThinkNow
Mental health has been in the news quite a bit lately. Dozens of U.S. states are currently suing Meta for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by inserting addictive features into their products, while the U.S. Surgeon General is touring the nation to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. The country has endured periods of low national morale, such as in the 1970s when high inflation and the energy crisis worsened public sentiment following the Vietnam War. The current mood, however, feels different. Gallup recently reported that national mental health is at an all-time low, with few bright spots to lift spirits.
To better understand how Americans are feeling and their attitudes towards mental health in general, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey of 1,500 respondents and found some interesting differences among ethnic, age and gender groups.
Technology
For example, 52% agree that technology and social media have a negative impact on mental health, but when broken out by race, 61% of Whites felt technology had a negative effect, and only 48% of Hispanics thought it did.
While technology has helped us keep in touch with friends and family in faraway places, it appears to have degraded our ability to connect in person. Staying connected online is a double-edged sword since the same news feed that brings us pictures of the grandkids and fluffy kittens also feeds us news about the wars in Israel and Ukraine, the dysfunction in Washington, the latest mass shooting and the climate crisis.
Hispanics may have a built-in defense against the isolation technology breeds, owing to their large, multigenerational households, strong social support systems, and tendency to use social media to stay connected with relatives abroad.
Age and Gender
When asked how individuals rate their mental health, men rate it higher than women by 11 percentage points, and Baby Boomers rank it highest at 83%, saying it’s good or excellent vs. 57% of Gen Z saying the same.
Gen Z spends the most amount of time on social media, so the notion that social media negatively affects mental health appears to be correlated. Unfortunately, Gen Z is also the generation that’s least comfortable discussing mental health concerns with healthcare professionals. Only 40% of them state they’re comfortable discussing their issues with a professional compared to 60% of Millennials and 65% of Boomers.
Race Affects Attitudes
As seen in previous research conducted by ThinkNow, Asian Americans lag other groups when it comes to awareness of mental health issues. Twenty-four percent of Asian Americans believe that having a mental health issue is a sign of weakness compared to the 16% average for all groups. Asians are also considerably less likely to be aware of mental health services in their communities (42% vs. 55%) and most likely to seek out information on social media (51% vs. 35%).
AI Trends in Creative Operations 2024 by Artwork Flow.pdfmarketingartwork
This article is all about what AI trends will emerge in the field of creative operations in 2024. All the marketers and brand builders should be aware of these trends for their further use and save themselves some time!
Lecture slide titled Fraud Risk Mitigation, Webinar Lecture Delivered at the Society for West African Internal Audit Practitioners (SWAIAP) on Wednesday, November 8, 2023.
when will pi network coin be available on crypto exchange.DOT TECH
There is no set date for when Pi coins will enter the market.
However, the developers are working hard to get them released as soon as possible.
Once they are available, users will be able to exchange other cryptocurrencies for Pi coins on designated exchanges.
But for now the only way to sell your pi coins is through verified pi vendor.
Here is the what'sapp contact of my personal pi vendor
+12349014282
The secret way to sell pi coins effortlessly.DOT TECH
Well as we all know pi isn't launched yet. But you can still sell your pi coins effortlessly because some whales in China are interested in holding massive pi coins. And they are willing to pay good money for it. If you are interested in selling I will leave a contact for you. Just what'sapp this number below. I sold about 3000 pi coins to him and he paid me immediately.
+12349014282
how to swap pi coins to foreign currency withdrawable.DOT TECH
As of my last update, Pi is still in the testing phase and is not tradable on any exchanges.
However, Pi Network has announced plans to launch its Testnet and Mainnet in the future, which may include listing Pi on exchanges.
The current method for selling pi coins involves exchanging them with a pi vendor who purchases pi coins for investment reasons.
If you want to sell your pi coins, reach out to a pi vendor and sell them to anyone looking to sell pi coins from any country around the globe.
Below is the what'sapp information for my personal pi vendor.
+12349014282
2. Elemental Economics - Mineral demand.pdfNeal Brewster
After this second you should be able to: Explain the main determinants of demand for any mineral product, and their relative importance; recognise and explain how demand for any product is likely to change with economic activity; recognise and explain the roles of technology and relative prices in influencing demand; be able to explain the differences between the rates of growth of demand for different products.
1. Elemental Economics - Introduction to mining.pdfNeal Brewster
After this first you should: Understand the nature of mining; have an awareness of the industry’s boundaries, corporate structure and size; appreciation the complex motivations and objectives of the industries’ various participants; know how mineral reserves are defined and estimated, and how they evolve over time.
where can I find a legit pi merchant onlineDOT TECH
Yes. This is very easy what you need is a recommendation from someone who has successfully traded pi coins before with a merchant.
Who is a pi merchant?
A pi merchant is someone who buys pi network coins and resell them to Investors looking forward to hold thousands of pi coins before the open mainnet.
I will leave the what'sapp contact of my personal pi merchant to trade with
+12349014282
Yes of course, you can easily start mining pi network coin today and sell to legit pi vendors in the United States.
Here the what'sapp contact of my personal vendor.
+12349014282
#pi network #pi coins #legit #passive income
#US
How Race, Age and Gender Shape Attitudes Towards Mental HealthThinkNow
Mental health has been in the news quite a bit lately. Dozens of U.S. states are currently suing Meta for contributing to the youth mental health crisis by inserting addictive features into their products, while the U.S. Surgeon General is touring the nation to bring awareness to the growing epidemic of loneliness and isolation. The country has endured periods of low national morale, such as in the 1970s when high inflation and the energy crisis worsened public sentiment following the Vietnam War. The current mood, however, feels different. Gallup recently reported that national mental health is at an all-time low, with few bright spots to lift spirits.
To better understand how Americans are feeling and their attitudes towards mental health in general, ThinkNow conducted a nationally representative quantitative survey of 1,500 respondents and found some interesting differences among ethnic, age and gender groups.
Technology
For example, 52% agree that technology and social media have a negative impact on mental health, but when broken out by race, 61% of Whites felt technology had a negative effect, and only 48% of Hispanics thought it did.
While technology has helped us keep in touch with friends and family in faraway places, it appears to have degraded our ability to connect in person. Staying connected online is a double-edged sword since the same news feed that brings us pictures of the grandkids and fluffy kittens also feeds us news about the wars in Israel and Ukraine, the dysfunction in Washington, the latest mass shooting and the climate crisis.
Hispanics may have a built-in defense against the isolation technology breeds, owing to their large, multigenerational households, strong social support systems, and tendency to use social media to stay connected with relatives abroad.
Age and Gender
When asked how individuals rate their mental health, men rate it higher than women by 11 percentage points, and Baby Boomers rank it highest at 83%, saying it’s good or excellent vs. 57% of Gen Z saying the same.
Gen Z spends the most amount of time on social media, so the notion that social media negatively affects mental health appears to be correlated. Unfortunately, Gen Z is also the generation that’s least comfortable discussing mental health concerns with healthcare professionals. Only 40% of them state they’re comfortable discussing their issues with a professional compared to 60% of Millennials and 65% of Boomers.
Race Affects Attitudes
As seen in previous research conducted by ThinkNow, Asian Americans lag other groups when it comes to awareness of mental health issues. Twenty-four percent of Asian Americans believe that having a mental health issue is a sign of weakness compared to the 16% average for all groups. Asians are also considerably less likely to be aware of mental health services in their communities (42% vs. 55%) and most likely to seek out information on social media (51% vs. 35%).
AI Trends in Creative Operations 2024 by Artwork Flow.pdfmarketingartwork
This article is all about what AI trends will emerge in the field of creative operations in 2024. All the marketers and brand builders should be aware of these trends for their further use and save themselves some time!
A report by thenetworkone and Kurio.
The contributing experts and agencies are (in an alphabetical order): Sylwia Rytel, Social Media Supervisor, 180heartbeats + JUNG v MATT (PL), Sharlene Jenner, Vice President - Director of Engagement Strategy, Abelson Taylor (USA), Alex Casanovas, Digital Director, Atrevia (ES), Dora Beilin, Senior Social Strategist, Barrett Hoffher (USA), Min Seo, Campaign Director, Brand New Agency (KR), Deshé M. Gully, Associate Strategist, Day One Agency (USA), Francesca Trevisan, Strategist, Different (IT), Trevor Crossman, CX and Digital Transformation Director; Olivia Hussey, Strategic Planner; Simi Srinarula, Social Media Manager, The Hallway (AUS), James Hebbert, Managing Director, Hylink (CN / UK), Mundy Álvarez, Planning Director; Pedro Rojas, Social Media Manager; Pancho González, CCO, Inbrax (CH), Oana Oprea, Head of Digital Planning, Jam Session Agency (RO), Amy Bottrill, Social Account Director, Launch (UK), Gaby Arriaga, Founder, Leonardo1452 (MX), Shantesh S Row, Creative Director, Liwa (UAE), Rajesh Mehta, Chief Strategy Officer; Dhruv Gaur, Digital Planning Lead; Leonie Mergulhao, Account Supervisor - Social Media & PR, Medulla (IN), Aurelija Plioplytė, Head of Digital & Social, Not Perfect (LI), Daiana Khaidargaliyeva, Account Manager, Osaka Labs (UK / USA), Stefanie Söhnchen, Vice President Digital, PIABO Communications (DE), Elisabeth Winiartati, Managing Consultant, Head of Global Integrated Communications; Lydia Aprina, Account Manager, Integrated Marketing and Communications; Nita Prabowo, Account Manager, Integrated Marketing and Communications; Okhi, Web Developer, PNTR Group (ID), Kei Obusan, Insights Director; Daffi Ranandi, Insights Manager, Radarr (SG), Gautam Reghunath, Co-founder & CEO, Talented (IN), Donagh Humphreys, Head of Social and Digital Innovation, THINKHOUSE (IRE), Sarah Yim, Strategy Director, Zulu Alpha Kilo (CA).
Trends In Paid Search: Navigating The Digital Landscape In 2024Search Engine Journal
The search marketing landscape is evolving rapidly with new technologies, and professionals, like you, rely on innovative paid search strategies to meet changing demands.
It’s important that you’re ready to implement new strategies in 2024.
Check this out and learn the top trends in paid search advertising that are expected to gain traction, so you can drive higher ROI more efficiently in 2024.
You’ll learn:
- The latest trends in AI and automation, and what this means for an evolving paid search ecosystem.
- New developments in privacy and data regulation.
- Emerging ad formats that are expected to make an impact next year.
Watch Sreekant Lanka from iQuanti and Irina Klein from OneMain Financial as they dive into the future of paid search and explore the trends, strategies, and technologies that will shape the search marketing landscape.
If you’re looking to assess your paid search strategy and design an industry-aligned plan for 2024, then this webinar is for you.
5 Public speaking tips from TED - Visualized summarySpeakerHub
From their humble beginnings in 1984, TED has grown into the world’s most powerful amplifier for speakers and thought-leaders to share their ideas. They have over 2,400 filmed talks (not including the 30,000+ TEDx videos) freely available online, and have hosted over 17,500 events around the world.
With over one billion views in a year, it’s no wonder that so many speakers are looking to TED for ideas on how to share their message more effectively.
The article “5 Public-Speaking Tips TED Gives Its Speakers”, by Carmine Gallo for Forbes, gives speakers five practical ways to connect with their audience, and effectively share their ideas on stage.
Whether you are gearing up to get on a TED stage yourself, or just want to master the skills that so many of their speakers possess, these tips and quotes from Chris Anderson, the TED Talks Curator, will encourage you to make the most impactful impression on your audience.
See the full article and more summaries like this on SpeakerHub here: https://speakerhub.com/blog/5-presentation-tips-ted-gives-its-speakers
See the original article on Forbes here:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/carminegallo/2016/05/06/5-public-speaking-tips-ted-gives-its-speakers/&refURL=&referrer=#5c07a8221d9b
ChatGPT and the Future of Work - Clark Boyd Clark Boyd
Everyone is in agreement that ChatGPT (and other generative AI tools) will shape the future of work. Yet there is little consensus on exactly how, when, and to what extent this technology will change our world.
Businesses that extract maximum value from ChatGPT will use it as a collaborative tool for everything from brainstorming to technical maintenance.
For individuals, now is the time to pinpoint the skills the future professional will need to thrive in the AI age.
Check out this presentation to understand what ChatGPT is, how it will shape the future of work, and how you can prepare to take advantage.
A brief introduction to DataScience with explaining of the concepts, algorithms, machine learning, supervised and unsupervised learning, clustering, statistics, data preprocessing, real-world applications etc.
It's part of a Data Science Corner Campaign where I will be discussing the fundamentals of DataScience, AIML, Statistics etc.
Time Management & Productivity - Best PracticesVit Horky
Here's my presentation on by proven best practices how to manage your work time effectively and how to improve your productivity. It includes practical tips and how to use tools such as Slack, Google Apps, Hubspot, Google Calendar, Gmail and others.
The six step guide to practical project managementMindGenius
The six step guide to practical project management
If you think managing projects is too difficult, think again.
We’ve stripped back project management processes to the
basics – to make it quicker and easier, without sacrificing
the vital ingredients for success.
“If you’re looking for some real-world guidance, then The Six Step Guide to Practical Project Management will help.”
Dr Andrew Makar, Tactical Project Management
Unlocking the Power of ChatGPT and AI in Testing - A Real-World Look, present...Applitools
During this webinar, Anand Bagmar demonstrates how AI tools such as ChatGPT can be applied to various stages of the software development life cycle (SDLC) using an eCommerce application case study. Find the on-demand recording and more info at https://applitools.info/b59
Key takeaways:
• Learn how to use ChatGPT to add AI power to your testing and test automation
• Understand the limitations of the technology and where human expertise is crucial
• Gain insight into different AI-based tools
• Adopt AI-based tools to stay relevant and optimize work for developers and testers
* ChatGPT and OpenAI belong to OpenAI, L.L.C.
Expanding the Investor Base and Lowering the Cost of Capital for Renewable Energy Through Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) [
1. Expanding the Investor Base and Lowering the Cost of Capital
for Renewable Energy through Master Limited Partnerships
by Sean Flannery and Wilson Rickerson
Meister Consultants Group, Inc.
Prepared for the Union of Concerned Scientists
April 2014
Key Findings
We believe institutional investors would be interested in investing in renewable energy
through MLPs as an attractive way to diversify portfolios while responding to “green”
priorities.
MLP asset managers would conduct due diligence on renewable energy deals and lower
the transaction costs hurdles for institutional investors to invest in renewables.
We estimate that the pool of capital interested in renewable energy MLP deals could easily
provide the projected investment of $50-$70 billion per year over the next 5-10 years to
increase non-hydro renewables to 30 percent of U.S. electricity generation by 2025.
The size of this pool would create competition to supply capital if a correspondingly large
pipeline of renewable energy deals were not identified.
We estimate that cost of capital for renewable energy in MLPs – given potential
institutional investor interest – would converge with the recent cost of capital for natural
gas pipelines in MLPs (i.e. 4.9%). This would represent a significant decrease relative to
current costs of capital under tax equity deals and is slightly lower than the current cost of
debt financing.
UCS analysis shows that reducing the cost of capital by 3 percent through MLPs could
lower the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) from a typical wind project by 17 percent and
would be worth about 40 percent of the value of the production tax credit (PTC).
Overview of Current Investment Climate for Renewable Energy
The cost of capital for renewable energy is an important factor in determining the levelized
cost of energy (LCOE) because wind and solar projects require high levels of upfront capital
investment and relatively low operating costs over the project lifespan. While U.S. policy
incentives for renewable energy have been inconsistent from year to year, available
incentives have been primarily focused on production or investment tax credits and
accelerated depreciation.
2. 2
As a result, capital formation has been largely driven by a pool of “tax equity” investors -
largely investment banks and insurance companies. The tax equity investors are typically
highly-rated and highly-levered entities with substantial and persistent taxable income. The
total pool of tax equity financing was estimated at approximately $6.5 billion in 2013, after
having fallen to about $1 billion in the aftermath of the financial crisis of 2008. Tax equity
investors generally will not invest in projects less than $25 million and typically target $75-
100 million deals. The equity investments are structured to capture the majority of cashflows
and incentives until the tax-related incentives are exhausted—generally 7-10 years—after
which the structure flips and the investor can exit the deal. These tax equity structures differ
significantly from typical equity investments and include features more consistent with debt
than with equity.
The base of $3-6 billion per year in tax equity investors is modest relative to the investment
required to meet current and projected levels of renewable energy development in the U.S. In
2012, U.S. investment in renewable energy (primarily wind and solar) was approximately $40
billion.1 According to a 2012 study by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL),
steadily increasing renewable energy to provide 30 percent of total U.S. electricity generation
by 2025 and 80 percent by 2050 will require investing roughly $50-70 billion per year over
the next decade, increasing to $85-125 billion per year over the longer-term.2 The
combination of a small number of investors and complex, opaque and heterogeneous deals
creates barriers to entry, limits capital formation for renewables, and results in higher cost of
capital than we would expect for assets generating the duration and magnitude of cashflows
typically found in renewable energy deals.
Approaching Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) for Renewable Energy
The Master Limited Partnership Parity Act, introduced by Sen. Coons(D-Delaware) in April
2013, seeks to expand the potential pool of investors by allowing renewable energy to qualify
for master limited partnerships (MLPs). The MLP structure avoids double taxation (corporate
and shareholder) by passing through income and gains to the investor. The MLP market has
grown from $155 billion in 2007 to over $400 billion in 2013, with more than $60 billion in
annual capital raised in this segment over the past two years and exceeding tax equity by a
factor of ten or more. The main driver of growth in demand for MLPs has been new natural
gas infrastructure. Investors are attracted to the high current income, generally high asset
quality and ease of transacting these exchange-listed funds. Our analysis indicates that the
MLP market could be an important bridge to dramatically increasing renewable energy
funding and lowering the associated cost of capital.
We reviewed relevant literature and interviewed twelve investors, attorneys, analysts and
operators in the MLP and renewable energy project arenas to assess the level of potential
interest in investing in renewable energy projects though listed MLP structures. We found
that much of the existing literature provided fairly limited analysis of the potential impact of
1
Based on data from the American Wind Energy Association, Solar Energy Industry Association and Bloomberg New
Energy Finance. Investment in wind and solar was approximately $36.5 billion.
2
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) 2012. Renewable Electricity Futures study, NREL/TP-6A20-52409.
Golden, CO. Online at: http://www.nrel.gov/analysis/re_futures/.
3. 3
renewable energy MLPs (REMLPs), was lacking in theoretical grounding and cited mostly
secondary sources.
Our analytic approach was to 1) estimate the magnitude of the potential pool of investment
that might be tapped through allowing renewables to be financed through REMLPs, and 2)
evaluate the extent to which we could identify similar asset classes and their pricing to
estimate the resulting cost of capital. The cost of capital for REMLPs could then be integrated
into future UCS modeling.
Estimating the potential incremental investment through REMLPs
We identified two segments to analyze as possible investors in REMLPs: the US mutual fund
market ($15 trillion) and the US defined benefit pension market ($11 trillion). We found in
our research that in recent years a number of public pension funds have made substantial
allocations to the MLP market, despite the fact that these tax-exempt pension plans are not
able to take full advantage of the tax benefits associated with these deals. MLP managers
report a substantial increase in institutional investors in their funds. They indicate that the
institutions are drawn by the prospects of high income generation compared to very low rates
in bonds and disappointing returns in alternative asset classes.
We calculated current 5-year annual growth rates (based on growth rates for the 5 years
ending in 2013) for the defined benefit pension funds and mutual fund markets as a baseline
for estimating total available capital, and then looked for asset classes within these markets
that might be reduced (i.e. substituted) in favor of REMLP investments. We did not include
the defined contribution (401k) market to avoid double-counting in mutual funds. We
concluded that mutual fund investors would be most likely to reduce traditional bond
investments to fund REMLP allocations and pension funds would be apt to use their
alternative investment category as the source. We then calculated what percentage of assets
in each segment would have to be reallocated to REMLPs over each of the next five years,
using the 5-year historical growth rate of the MLP market, in both the $50 billion and $70
billion per year renewable investment scenarios.
Our analysis indicates that the portfolio shift to fund the $50 billion per year scenario would
require a transfer of 0.7% of portfolio assets; the $70 billion scenario would be 1% of assets at
the end of the 5 years under these assumptions. REMLPs would represent just under 20% of the
overall MLP market at the end of 2019.
The plausibility of such a shift was enhanced by a number of additional factors, including
evidence of rapid adaption of the MLP market in recent years to fund the massive increases in
natural gas-related funding, changes in fund legal structures to accommodate needs and
preferences of different investor segments, and evidence of growing investment in the MLP
markets by institutional investors.
Estimating the cost of capital for incremental investment through REMLPs
Tax equity investors currently target a return of, on average, 11% for renewable energy deals,
with the understanding that targets may be higher or lower depending on the individual
merits of the investment. For MLP pricing, other studies tend to cite generic figures from
4. 4
sources such as the National Association of Publicly Traded Partnerships.3 We identified
three asset types with similar characteristics and varying credit quality, and found that the
best proxy for REMLPs would be lower quality investment grade (BBB-) natural gas pipeline
deals, which currently trade at about 4.9%. Our analysis indicates that REMLPs may
reasonably be expected to converge from the current level of 11% equity, or 8% weighted
average cost of capital based on a mix of equity and debt financing to something approaching
4.9% over 5 years. This would represent a significant drop in cost of capital compared to
current tax equity financing and slightly lower than the current cost of debt.
Estimating the impact of REMLPs on the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE)
UCS used this information to estimate the impact of MLPs on the LCOE of wind projects using
NREL’s Cost of Renewable Energy Spreadsheet Tool (CREST).4 Assuming MLPs would lower
the cost of capital by 3 percent, UCS found that MLPs could lower the LCOE for a typical wind
project by 17 percent (1.2 cents/kilowatt-hour) compared to a traditional financing structure
without the PTC. This finding is consistent with a 2012 NREL analysis of MLPs and other
alternative renewable energy financing structures.5 UCS also found that this level of cost
reduction due to MLPs was worth just over 40 percent of the value of the PTC.
Potential Impact of MLPs on Wind Power Costs
20 Year Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE)
Key Assumptions
Wind cost and performance: $1,900/kW capital cost, $50/kW-year fixed O&M, 40% capacity factor.
PTC: 2.3 c/kWh for 10 years (after-tax value).
Traditional Financing: 60% equity @ 11% after-tax return, 40% debt @ 5.5% interest and 15 year term, resulting in a
weighted average cost of capital of 7.9%, and 2% lenders fee, (DSCR). For PTC scenario, debt/equity ratio changed to
35/65 to achieve 1.45 debt service coverage ratio (DSCR).
MLP financing: 100% equity @ 5% and 6.5%, 1% general partners fee.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) analysis using NREL's CREST model.
3 See, for example, Mendelsohn, M. & Feldman, D. (2013). Financing U.S. renewable energy projects through public
capital vehicles: Qualitative and quantitative benefits. Golden, CO. National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
4
NREL’s CREST model is available online at: https://financere.nrel.gov/finance/content/crest-cost-energy-models.
5
Mendelsohn and Feldman, 2013.
7.25
4.35
6.75
6.05
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Traditional Financing
without PTC
Traditional Financing
with PTC
MLP without PTC
(with 6.5% return)
MLP without PTC
(with 5% return)
cents/kwh
5. 5
Conclusion
Renewable energy finance is hindered by unstable incentive policy and a narrow investor
base. Current renewable energy financing deals are complex to evaluate and require a
substantial and persistent need to shelter income in order to take full advantage of the
current tax incentives, which creates a barrier to potential capital flows to the sector. The
standing prohibition of renewable energy assets in MLP structures, in which most energy
structures are financed, further impedes capital formation for the sector.
The nature of renewable energy projects, however, is inherently attractive to investors
whether individual (mutual funds) or institutional (pensions) since they produce long term,
high quality income streams that are substantially higher than those that can be found in
traditional bond markets. Opening the MLP market to renewables could mobilize required
additional investment in renewable energy, lower the cost of capital and lower the levelized
cost of energy.