Through 2010, 30% of your energy system cost can be covered by a federal grant.
- American Recovery And Reinvestment Act
Energy Services
Financing
As the energy services industry has grown over the last decade, financing options for energy projects have greatly expanded as well. Business owners are now able to structure their energy investments in a variety of creative ways to take advantage of their individual financial situations. The most attractive financing products typically fit into one of the following three categories:
Power Purchase Agreements: Under a power purchase agreement, a business owner can enter a contract to buy electricity generated from an energy system built on their property. This allows the business owner to buy power from a new provider, lock in a long term rate plan to save money, and reduce their carbon footprint.
Lease Financing: Under a lease structure, a business owner can lock in fixed payments for an energy system for a defined term - while keeping the financing for the system off of the business's balance sheet. At the end of the lease, the business owner typically has the option to purchase the energy system for a relatively small payment - allowing the business to eliminate a large percentage of energy expenses going forward.
Asset Based Financing: With an asset based loan, a business owner can take advantage of all of the different types of incentives available for their energy project. These incentives can include accelerated depreciation, city subsidies, utility rebates, and federal tax credits or grants. Asset based loans often require no down payment, so long as the business owner can demonstrate a certain amount of collateral in the facility or other business assets.
Catalyst has direct relationships with finance companies that provide each of the products above. In situations where our clients do not want to use their existing corporate credit lines or purchase their systems for cash, we are able to help our clients analyze and originate the best financing program for their situation. Our goal is always to design systems that can be financed with little to no down payment, and enable business owners to start realizing immediate net savings.