SolarTech Aims To Simplify Solar Financing

Draft 1: February 20, 2004

The consortium unveiled what is says is the first ever contract template for Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) solar financing.

SolarTech said that PPA deals – while huge drivers of solar installation -- can take several weeks of legal review and contract negotiations. Using its new standard PPA templates can substantially reduce the legal review time, minimizing associated legal costs and shortening the negotiation timeline.

“The use of an industry accepted form should reduce negotiating time by 50-75%” said Ed Feo, Senior Partner, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy LLP. “We see a lot of PPA deals come through our office. Many of the terms are similar and yet are still negotiated in every transaction. It is far more cost effective for solar integrators to focus on 20% of the terms that differ from deal to deal, than to rewrite standard material,” said Feo.

The effort was led by SolarTech’s finance committee, comprised of SolarTech members from solar financing, project developers and legal firms. The committee enjoyed extensive legal support donated by two legal firms: Milbank, Tweed, Hadley and McCloy LLP and Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP.

The effort was funded in part by a grant from the California Energy Commission.

The PPA and Site Lease agreement contract templates are available for download from SolarTech’s web site.