More than 60% of solar originators believe securitization of pooled commercial solar assets will take place over the next 12 months. Furthermore, fifty percent of originators estimate that securitization of pooled residential solar assets will also occur over the same time period.
These are the major findings from a survey sponsored by Mercatus, an enterprise level investment analysis and decision making platform serving as the core “operating system” for solar energy investors. In addition, the Mercatus survey uncovered that 56% of solar originators cited they currently have enough operating capital, origination and diligence resources to meet their solar investment funding goals.
Mercatus polled over 5,000 originators for this survey, designed to shed light on several issues facing the solar investment community. A variety of respondents participated in the survey, including independent solar power producers, both new and experienced solar investors, institutional investors, financiers and asset owners. Other key originator survey findings include the following:
• Over 68% disagreed or remained neutral with the statement that the amount of money chasing solar projects is greater than the number of available projects to invest in.
• Over 56% disagreed or remained neutral with the statement that syndicating other parts of the capital stack is a major problem.
• Over 56% agreed or remained neutral with the statements that IT and investment in solar infrastructure will both help reduce diligence costs and increase closure rates.
“The fact that originators believe the expansion of the securitization of solar assets is imminent and that they already have adequate investment resources is a clear indicator that solar will continue to grow into a major economic force,” says Haresh Patel, CEO of Mercatus. “Securitization in particular will be a game-changer for the solar sector, as investment levels and number of projects will increase substantially as a result.”
The Mercatus originator survey findings also comes on the heels of the release of the company’s recent Year-End Solar Investment Analysis report, which showcased a more than 200% growth in the number of solar projects the company has evaluated over the last year.
Since its 2009 inception, Mercatus has assessed over 11 GW of solar projects, and currently serves 40% of the U.S. commercial and utility solar markets. Mercatus counts the industry’s top global developers, institutional investors and independent power producers as customers, and subscribers to the Mercatus platform currently represent $1.2 billion in dedicated capital deployment for commercial solar investment in 2014.
The Mercatus software enables an efficient platform for screening, standardizing, marketing and consolidating portfolios of projects between these entities. A typical investor uses Mercatus as their core operating system to facilitate sound decision making for resource allocation and budget prioritization with repeatable performance measurements. Mercatus provides fast, accurate project resolution and clarity to speed investment decisions, allowing executives to make their organizations more nimble to drive top line growth
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