Renewable Energy Financing Seminar Recap

Renewable Energy Financing Seminar Recap

An event from the KPMG Global Energy Institute.

An event from the KPMG Global Energy Institute.

“There’s nothing worse than uncertainty for an investor,” according to one of our guest panelists at the 2018 KPMG Renewable Energy Financing Seminar.

With the enactment of tax reform legislation in December, that cloud of uncertainty was starting to lift for the renewables industry, as more than 100 participants gathered for our 6th annual event in New York. While the industry still faces long-standing as well as emerging challenges, investors, developers and operators alike said the outlook for the industry was positive.

Certain aspects of tax reform had less of a negative impact on the industry than anticipated, including the welcome continuation of investment and production tax credits. Further, the market to date has been able to absorb newly imposed solar panel and steel tariffs, which, when imposed in the first half of 2018, were not as far-reaching as they could have been.

There was a concern that lower corporate income tax rates together with a new Base Erosion Anti-Abuse Tax might cause tax equity investors to leave the market. So far, the tax equity market appears to have weathered these changes and very few appear to be exiting the market.

Indeed, both the solar and wind markets look healthy for the next few years, according to our guests, with plenty of interest from a wide range of investors. Meanwhile, technology advancements such as grid modernization to accommodate distributed energy and improving battery storage capabilities are supporting that growth.

More and deeper insights from our esteemed panelists can be found on the following pages, which summarize the robust conversation of the day. And, as always, you can find energy industry thought leadership, videos, events and more at the KPMG Global Energy Institute.

We look forward to speaking with you throughout the year, and revisiting the renewables industry’s progress at our 2019 seminar.

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