3TIER®, a global leader in renewable energy risk analysis, today announced that it has helped utility-scale solar energy developers secure over $4.1 billion in public and private project financing and loan guarantees. Once built, the projects will account for 1,200 MW of installed capacity in the United States and India and will include many of the largest solar projects currently in development. Project developers that worked with 3TIER include: Brightsource Energy, Reliance Power, and AES Solar among others.

“Until now, the nascent utility-scale solar power market lacked a commonly accepted process to evaluate long-term project feasibility and risk from a resource perspective,” said Dr. Pascal Storck, 3TIER chief operating officer. “Over the last 18 months, we have worked closely with developers and lenders to establish a set of best practices that better expose the risk of project underperformance so it can be mitigated effectively. This establishes a working standard for the industry to facilitate sound private and public investment going forward.”
 
To arrive at long-term production estimates for each of the solar projects, 3TIER capitalized on its deep experience in wind project feasibility, whereby long-term time series generated by weather prediction models are used to provide context to short-term on-site observations. In the case of solar, 3TIER used on-site observations to statistically validate and correct time series from its proprietary global solar irradiance dataset. The dataset, which 3TIER derived through satellite image processing, provides up to a 14-year historical record of hourly solar irradiance for any location worldwide.

“3TIER provides the long-term context developers need to create pro formas with much lower uncertainty than previously possible,” said Dr. Storck. “Validation of our long-term time series demonstrates remarkable consistency with our clients’ on-site observations, and that long-term context helps reduce the uncertainty of resource availability. Ultimately, this reduces the potential project risk to investors.”

3TIER offers a full range of services that enable project developers to quantify the long-term availability and variability of solar resources with or without observational data, anywhere in the world. 3TIER has worked with developers on over 100 utility-scale projects in the United States, China, India, Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, Morocco, and South Africa among other countries around the world.
 
For more information on 3TIER, long-term solar assessment, and risk analysis, including various white papers and recorded webinars, visit www.3tier.com

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ABOUT 3TIER

3TIER helps the global energy market manage renewable energy risk. A pioneer in wind, solar, and hydro generation risk analysis, 3TIER uses weather science to frame the risk of weather-driven variability – anywhere on earth, across all time horizons. With offices serving North America, Europe, India, Latin America, and the Pacific Rim, 3TIER has global reach with products and services spanning renewable energy project feasibility, energy marketing, and asset management. For more information, visit www.3tier.com.