Emerging from 2020 & looking forward to 2021.2020 saw a high volume of activity in the renewable energy sector, as well as a meaningful uptick in the number of private placements being done.Renewables can be expected to drive the project finance market again in 2021, especially with tax credits now extended. There remains a strong interest in investing that encompasses ESG principles (Environmental, Social and Governance).
It is difficult to address the project finance sector without touching upon the real and anticipated effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.Tax equity providers may be in short supply, as those entities need to have considerable tax appetite to monetize tax credits.One interesting outcome is that the world has gotten a feel for what greenhouse gas emissions could look like in a world where the public at large is not commuting to work or traveling.
A lot of capital continues to come into the U.S. market, with a huge focus on energy and infrastructure assets.We are also seeing U.S. developers and finance companies looking across the border into Canada, and Latin America in the hunt for yield.It certainly seems that from both a lender and institutional investor perspective, there are more new names coming in than are going out. The space is demonstrably growing.
