[P2P-F] Fwd: The Bankruptcy Felt Around the Clean Energy World

[Michel Bauwens]

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From: Other News <news at other-net.info>
Date: Mon, Jan 21, 2019 at 2:25 PM
Subject: The Bankruptcy Felt Around the Clean Energy World
To: <michel at p2pfoundation.net>



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Clean economy weekly
*The Bankruptcy Felt Around the Clean Energy World*

*By Dan Gearino*

January 21, 2019 - PG&E said on Monday that it will file for bankruptcy
because it is unable to cover its potential liability for wildfires that
were started when trees came into contact with the company’s power lines.
The announcement shows the costs of being unprepared for the disasters tied
to a warming world.
San Francisco-based PG&E is a key player as California moves toward its
goal of getting 100 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by
2045.
Now, the company’s financial decisions will be subject to approval by a
bankruptcy court for a period that could last for years.
But that’s not the part that scares developers. Their big concern is that
the court could force changes to the company’s renewable-energy power
purchase agreements.
A power purchase agreement, or PPA, is a contract between the owner of a
power plant and an entity that wants to buy the power. It is the most
common financial instrument for buying and selling renewable energy. And,
having a PPA in place is often essential for developers to obtain financing
to begin construction.
The company has billions of dollars of renewable energy PPAs on the books,
some of which extend to the 2040s.
Most of the company’s PPAs are for solar power, including some from years
ago when solar equipment was much more expensive. The power prices don’t
look good today, and a bankruptcy court could force PG&E to renegotiate
those deals.
Here’s where this becomes a national problem:
Many other utilities face climate risks that could lead to bankruptcy.
Renewable energy developers could be looking at a ledger full of PPAs whose
prices are not nearly as firm as once thought, said Ben Serrurier of
Cypress Creek Renewables, one of the country’s largest renewable energy
developers
“If PPAs—even with a major utility—are subject to change, it could raise
borrowing costs and hamper new development,” he told me.
While his company doesn’t have any PPAs directly affected by PG&E’s
bankruptcy, just about every developer stands to lose from the potential
erosion of confidence in PPAs.
This type of risk is not new and should not be a surprise, said Ron Lehr, a
former Colorado utility regulator who is now a consultant for Energy
Innovation, a clean energy think tank.
“Bankruptcy risk existed all along,” he said. In other words, that risk
should have been priced into existing contracts. If it wasn’t, then it
should be going forward—especially as climate change worsens and poses such
wide-ranging risks.
While the bankruptcy process unfolds, PG&E says it will have enough money
to pay for ongoing operations. So the lights will remain on, but not much
is certain beyond that.
“Our goal will be to work collaboratively to fairly balance the interests
of our many constituents—including wildfire victims, customers, employees,
creditors, shareholders, the financial community and business
partners—while creating a sustainable foundation for the delivery of safe
service to our customers in the years ahead,” Richard C. Kelly, chair of
the board of directors, said in a statement.



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