Full article available on PVTech.
“Last year analysis by renewables performance aggregator and insurance provider kWh Analytics highlighted the extent of solar asset underperformance against P50 estimates in the US. Here, the company’s Sarath Srinivasan details some of the reasons behind that underperformance.”
Originally posted in Norton Rose Fulbright’s Currents Podcast.
Jason Kaminsky, CEO of kWh Analytics, joins us to discuss the company’s $20M Series B fundraise and the emergence of climate insurance. We discuss what the fundraise means for the industry as a whole, why climate insurance hasn’t emerged yet and the challenges the insurance industry faces when insuring renewables, solutions he has seen on the insurance side, the partnerships that are happening in the industry, the improvement in modeling on the underwriting side and more.
Originally posted on Business Wire. Additional coverage on Axios, PV Tech, Reinsurance News, and Coverager.
Lacuna Sustainable Investments leads Series B round to accelerate kWh Analytics’ growth and build on its leadership in developing insurance solutions that prevent climate change.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA (FEBRUARY 8, 2022) – kWh Analytics, the leader in Climate Insurance, announced today that it raised $20 million to continue the organization’s expansion.
The capital raise reflects the increasing focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues, particularly within the insurance industry. While many insurance companies are addressing ESG by divesting from fossil fuels, kWh Analytics has taken a proactive approach by developing data-driven insurance specifically for zero-carbon assets.
“The most recent 2021 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report was clear: it’s a ‘code red’ for humanity,” stated Richard Matsui, CEO of kWh Analytics. “The world needs more renewable energy to mitigate climate change, and insurance is key to ensuring these projects get built. This new category of “Climate Insurance” is a massive, once-in-a-generation market opportunity; kWh Analytics is proud to be a market leader in this space.”
Matthias Weber, the former Chief Underwriting Officer of Swiss Re, noted, “kWh Analytics has filled a critical gap in renewable energy insurance, using an innovative, data-first approach. This fundraise underscores their position as the leader in this space.”
As the custodian of the world’s largest database of renewable energy asset performance, kWh Analytics has emerged as the leading provider of Climate Insurance by leveraging its real-world data to power its underwriting. This innovative model has been widely successful: the company’s first product, the Solar Revenue Put, now protects over $3 billion of solar power plants, while delivering a best-in-class loss ratio. Now, kWh Analytics is proud to announce the launch of its highly anticipated Property Product, which provides all-risk coverage against physical damage for solar, storage, and wind projects. Learn more at https://www.kwhanalytics.com/property.
“As an investor in renewable energy power plants, we understand firsthand the challenges that investors face in procuring cost competitive insurance,” said Brad Bauer, Partner at Lacuna Sustainable Investments. “On top of that, today’s standard insurance offerings miss important nuances specific to renewable energy equipment, like the impact of microcracks and hotspots on performance. That’s what makes this fundraise and product launch so important — not only is kWh Analytics supplying more insurance, but they are innovating on the existing products by using their proprietary data.”
With the new funding, kWh Analytics plans to develop additional solutions to support solar, wind, and storage asset owners and investors. The company will also bring these solutions to new international markets. These new offerings will continue to revolutionize underwriting and pricing within the renewable energy insurance space by leveraging real-world data. Notably, this investment follows ongoing collaboration with leading global re/insurers, including Swiss Re.
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About kWh Analytics
kWh Analytics is the leading provider of Climate Insurance by using our proprietary database of renewable energy project performance of over 300,000 operating assets — the world’s largest database — to underwrite insurance policies for renewable energy, backed by the world’s most trusted insurers. To-date, we have insured over $3 billion of American solar power plants with our first insurance product, the Solar Revenue Put. kWh Analytics is funded by venture capital and the US Department of Energy. To learn more, please visit www.kwhanalytics.com, connect with us on LinkedIn, or follow @kWhAnalytics on Twitter.
SAN FRANCISCO – kWh Analytics, the Insurer for the Energy Transition, today announced that it structured the first-ever Solar Revenue Put+, which will provide 20 years of Solar Revenue Put protection, for a project located in the Southern U.S. The project is being funded through a private bond placement. SwissRe, a leading global corporate insurer, is providing insurance capacity for the Solar Revenue Put+. This deal represents the longest solar generation guarantee in the industry and the second bond deal structured with the Solar Revenue Put.
The Solar Revenue Put is a solar production and revenue insurance policy, which serves as a credit enhancement for financial investors. Using its proprietary actuarial model and risk management software (“HelioStats”), kWh Analytics developed the Solar Revenue Put to drive down investment risk and encourage development of clean, low-cost solar energy. The Solar Revenue Put+ is an innovative new offering that extends Solar Revenue Put coverage from the typical ten years to up to 30 years, or the full amortization period of a project.
“The Solar Revenue Put+ allows asset owners to achieve the benefits of the Solar Revenue Put across a project’s entire life,” said Richard Matsui, Chief Executive Officer at kWh Analytics. “This means it’s easier than ever to achieve a lower cost of capital and reduce downside risk, even for uncontracted portions of the lifecycle.”
A recent survey of the solar industry’s most active lenders indicates that a majority of active lenders value the Solar Revenue Put as a credit enhancement. Solar portfolios ranging from thousands of residential rooftops to utility-scale plants have utilized financing structures supported by the Solar Revenue Put. Portfolios supported by the Solar Revenue Put are securing debt sizing increases of 10% on average, while mitigating downside risk. The Solar Revenue Put+ offering extends these debt sizing and risk mitigation benefits by an additional 5 to 20 years, across the project’s full lifecycle.
For more information about this product, please contact Sarath Srinivasan, Head of Risk Transfer Products at kWh Analytics.
About kWh Analytics
kWh Analytics is Insuring the Energy Transition by leveraging the most comprehensive performance database of renewable energy projects in the United States (300,000+ operating assets) and the strength of the global insurance markets. Through the industry-leading Solar Revenue Put, asset owners and lenders are able to minimize risk and increase equity returns of their projects or portfolios. kWh Analytics also provides HelioStats risk management software to leading project finance investors in the solar market. kWh Analytics is backed by private venture capital and the US Department of Energy.
Learn More: www.kwhanalytics.com & https://www.kwhanalytics.com/solarrevenueput
Follow Us on Twitter: @kwhanalytics
Connect with Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/kwh-analytics/mycompany/
kWh Analytics achieved another Solar Revenue Put milestone with a recent claim paid to a leading solar asset owner for a utility-scale project in Texas. This represents the sixth claim; all have been paid in full and within 30 days for the over $3 billion in solar assets insured with the Solar Revenue Put. Notably, the Solar Revenue Put typically insures projects for ten years with an annual settlement, meaning the product has paid out a significant portion of claims in its 34 total completed operating years.
“Our claims track record demonstrates that the Solar Revenue Put works as advertised: it ensures that asset owners can recoup any losses insured by the Put through a quick and easy claims process, insulating their projects from negative financial impacts,” said CEO, Richard Matsui.
This particular asset owner structured the Solar Revenue Put on the project in 2018 to guarantee production for ten years. In Q1 of 2021, the project underperformed its production estimates due to a combination of overly aggressive production estimates and the impacts of Storm Uri. kWh Analytics’ quick claims process allowed the asset owner to issue their quarterly debt service payment. This claim illustrates the Solar Revenue Put’s ability to protect against all risks, including extreme weather, such as wildfires and severe storms.
For additional details on this claim, please contact Sarath Srinivasan, Head of Risk Transfer Products. For more information about our claim track record, download our claims case study here.
SAN FRANCISCO – kWh Analytics has expanded its team to establish an innovative property insurance product for renewable energy assets with the addition of two experienced insurance professionals. Issac McLean joins as the Head of Property and Darryl Harding joins as Senior Underwriter.
“As documented in our 2021 Solar Risk Assessment report, the renewable energy property insurance industry has significant room for growth in understanding and underwriting risks for this asset class. Our new team will allow kWh Analytics to offer a new, data-driven Property & Casualty (P&C) insurance line that underwrites risk using real data from over 30% of the US operating fleet, the world’s largest database of operating assets.” said Richard Matsui, Chief Executive Officer. “Isaac and Darryl will expand our capabilities to meet the needs of the solar community, while cementing kWh Analytics’ ability to achieve its goal of Insuring the Energy Transition”
Isaac McLean joined kWh Analytics from ICAT Managers, where he served as a Senior Product Manager. In this role, he led the development and launch of several successful insurance products and teams, including multiple P&C programs. Previous to ICAT Managers, Isaac worked at Safeco as a claims examiner and product analyst. Isaac brings over 18 years of experience in insurance, underwriting, sales, marketing, and product development.
Darryl Harding joined kWh Analytics from Hartford Steam Boiler, a Munich Re company, where he served as a Senior Production Underwriter and supported the development of their Solar Property and Shortfall product lines. Prior to his role at Hartford Steam Boiler, he served as an underwriter for commercial lines at The Hartford. Darryl has over 10 years of experience underwriting insurance products and collaborating with brokers to find innovative solutions for insureds.
For more information on the kWh Analytics team, visit https://www.kwhanalytics.com/.
