UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
| ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the fiscal year ended December 31 , 2023
OR
| TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 | |||||
For the transition period from to
Commission File Number: 001-35877
HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE
INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |||||||
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |||||||
(410 ) 571-9860
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class | Trading Symbol(s) | Name of each exchange on which registered | ||||||
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:
None
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. Yes ☐ No ☒
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§ 232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☒ No ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer”, “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.
| ☒ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||||||||
| Non-accelerated filer | ☐ | Smaller reporting company | |||||||||
| Emerging growth company | |||||||||||
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal controls over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report. ☒
If securities are registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act, indicate by check mark whether the financial statements of the registrant included in the filing reflect the correction of an error to previously issued financial statements. ☐
Indicate by check mark whether any of those error corrections are restatements that required a recovery analysis of incentive-based compensation received by any of the registrant’s executive officers during the relevant recovery period pursuant to §240.10D-1(b). ☐
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). Yes ☐ No ☒
As of June 30, 2023, the aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock (includes unvested restricted stock) held by non-affiliates of the registrant was $2.6 billion based on the closing sales price of the registrant’s common stock on June 30, 2023 as reported on the New York Stock Exchange.
On February 12, 2024, the registrant had a total of 112,431,024 shares of common stock, $0.01 par value, outstanding (which includes 135,668 shares of unvested restricted common stock).
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
We make forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are subject to risks and uncertainties. For these statements, we claim the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in such Sections. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When we use the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may” or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements.
Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to, and are accompanied by, important factors included in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors (in addition to any assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with such forward-looking statements) that could have a significant impact on our operations and financial results, and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in forward-looking statements made by or on our behalf in this Form 10-K, in presentations, on our websites, in response to questions or otherwise.
Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and we undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances, including, but not limited to, unanticipated events, after the date on which such statement is made, unless otherwise required by law. New factors emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all of such factors, nor can it assess the impact of each such factor on the business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in any forward-looking statement.
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RISK FACTOR SUMMARY
An investment in our securities involves risk. You should carefully consider the risks summarized in Item 1A, “Risk Factors” included in this report. These risks include, but are not limited to, the following:
Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry
•Our business depends in part on U.S. federal, state and local government policies and a decline in the level of government support could harm our business.
•If the market for various types of climate solutions projects or the investment techniques related to such projects do not develop as we anticipate, new business generation in this target area may be adversely impacted.
•We are subject to risks related to our sustainability and governance activities and disclosures.
•We operate in a competitive market, which may impact the terms of the investments we make.
Risks Related to Our Assets and Projects in Which We Invest
•Changes in interest rates could adversely affect the value of our assets and negatively affect our profitability.
•The lack of liquidity of our assets may adversely affect our business, including our ability to value our assets.
•The preparation of our financial statements, including provision for loan losses, involves use of estimates, judgments and assumptions, and our financial statements may be materially affected if our estimates prove to be incorrect.
•We rely on our project sponsors for financial reporting related to our project companies, and our financial statements may be materially affected if the financial reporting related to our project companies proves to be incorrect.
•Our investments are subject to delinquency, foreclosure and loss, any or all of which could result in losses to us.
•Our subordinated and mezzanine debt and equity investments, many of which are illiquid with no readily available market, involve a degree of risk.
•We either do not control or jointly control the projects in which we invest, which may result in the project owner making certain business decisions or taking risks with which we disagree.
•Many of our assets depend on revenues from third-party contractual arrangements, including PPAs, that expose the projects to various risks.
•Portions of the electricity our assets generate is sold on the open market at spot-market prices. A prolonged environment of prices for natural gas, or other conventional fuel sources, below the levels at which we assumed when underwriting these investments, may have a material adverse effect on our long-term business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
•Some of the projects in which we invest may require substantial operating or capital expenditures in the future.
•We invest in projects which rely on third parties to manufacture quality products or provide reliable services in a timely manner and the failure of these third parties could cause project performance to be adversely affected.
•Our insurance and contractual protections may not always cover lost revenue, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments.
•Energy efficiency, renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure projects are subject to performance risks, including risks due to extreme weather events, that could impact the repayment of and the return on our assets.
Risks Related to Our Company
•Our management and employees depend on information systems and system failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
•Major public health issues and related disruptions in the U.S. and global economy and financial markets could adversely impact or disrupt our financial condition and results of operations.
Risks Relating to Regulation
•We cannot predict the unintended consequences and market distortions that may stem from far-ranging governmental intervention in the economic and financial system or from regulatory reform of the oversight of financial markets.
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•Loss of our 1940 Act exemptions may adversely affect us, the market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to distribute dividends.
Risks Related to our Borrowings and Hedging
•An increase in our borrowing costs relative to the interest we receive on our assets may adversely affect our profitability and our cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Our borrowings may have a shorter duration than our assets.
•While we have an established Board-approved leverage limit, our Board may change our financial leverage guidelines without stockholder consent.
Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure
•Our qualification as a REIT for this and prior taxable years depends on interpretation of highly technical and complex legal provisions, and our failure to qualify as a REIT for prior taxable years would subject us to U.S. federal income tax and potentially state and local tax.
•Our ability to utilize our NOLs and other carryforwards may be limited.
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PART I
In this Form 10-K, unless specifically stated otherwise or the context otherwise indicates, references to “we,” “our,” “us,” “HASI,” and “our company” refer to Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc., a Maryland corporation and any of our subsidiaries. Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, is a subsidiary of which we are the sole general partner and to which we refer in this Form 10-K as our “Operating Partnership.” Our business is focused on reducing the impact of greenhouse gases that have been scientifically linked to climate change. We refer to these gases, which are often for consistency expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents, as carbon emissions.
Item 1. Business
GENERAL
HASI is a climate positive investment firm that actively partners with clients to deploy real assets that facilitate the energy transition. With more than $12 billion in managed assets, our vision is that every investment improves our climate future. We invest in a variety of asset classes across our three primary climate solutions markets:
Behind the Meter | Grid-Connected | Fuels, Transport, and Nature | ||||||||||||
•Residential Solar & Storage | •Utility-scale Solar | •Renewable Natural Gas | ||||||||||||
•Community Solar and Commercial & Industrial Solar | •Onshore wind | •Fleet Decarbonization | ||||||||||||
•Energy Efficiency | •Battery Energy Storage Systems | •Ecological Restoration | ||||||||||||
We are internally managed by a management team that has extensive relevant industry knowledge and experience, and a team of over 130 climate finance professionals. We have long-standing relationships with some of the leading clean energy project developers, owners and operators, utilities, and energy service companies (“ESCOs”), that provide recurring, programmatic investment and fee-generating opportunities. We measure and report the efficiency with which all HASI investments avoid carbon emissions using CarbonCount®, producing a quantitative impact score of the avoided CO2 equivalent . Our programmatic client partnership, flexible capital and aligned goals enable repeat business and operational efficiencies. Through our specialized platform, we offer stockholders access to attractive risk adjusted returns from direct asset investing in diverse energy transition end markets.
Our investments take many forms, including equity, joint ventures, real estate, commercial and government receivables or securities, and other financing transactions. While we participate in diverse end markets, we generally intend for all our investments to share common attributes such as being climate-positive investments with top-tier clients in real assets using proven commercial technologies, and which benefit from contracted cash flows and high quality, incented offtakers.
We completed approximately $2.3 billion of transactions during 2023, compared to approximately $1.8 billion during 2022. As of December 31, 2023, we held approximately $6.2 billion of transactions on our balance sheet, which we refer to as our “Portfolio.” For those transactions that we choose not to hold on our balance sheet, we transfer all or a portion of the economics of the transaction, typically using securitization trusts, to institutional investors in exchange for cash and, in certain cases, residual interests in the trusts and ongoing fees. As of December 31, 2023, we managed approximately $6.1 billion in these trusts or vehicles that are not consolidated on our balance sheet. When we combine these assets with our Portfolio, as of December 31, 2023, we manage approximately $12.3 billion of assets, which we refer to as our “Managed Assets.”
We have a dual revenue strategy, through which generate both net investment income from our portfolio, and Gain-on-Sale and ongoing fees via off-balance sheet securitization transactions, advisory services, and asset management.
We fund our investments in climate solutions using a broad range of financing sources including corporate unsecured bonds, convertible bonds, non-recourse or recourse debt from banks and financial institutions, equity, syndications and off-balance sheet securitization structures. We manage our short-term liquidity needs through short-term commercial paper issuances and revolving credit facilities. We generally provide the associated CarbonCount metrics for our debt issuances. In addition, certain of our debt issuances meet the environmental eligibility criteria for green bonds as defined by the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles, which we believe makes our debt more attractive for many investors compared to such offerings that do not qualify under these principles. A further description of our financing activities can be found herein.
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We have a large and active pipeline of potential new opportunities that are in various stages of our underwriting process. We believe the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law on August 16, 2022, which incentivizes the construction of and investment in climate solutions will result in additional investment opportunities in the markets in which we invest over the next several years, and therefore may result in increases in our pipeline in the future. We refer to potential opportunities as being part of our pipeline if we have determined that the project fits within our investment strategy and exhibits the appropriate risk and reward characteristics through an initial credit analysis, including a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the opportunity, as well as research on the relevant market and sponsor. Our pipeline of transactions that could potentially close in the next 12 months consists of opportunities in which we will be the lead originator as well as opportunities in which we may participate with other institutional investors. As of December 31, 2023, our pipeline consisted of more than $5.0 billion in new equity, debt and real estate opportunities. There can, however, be no assurance with regard to any specific terms of such pipeline transactions or that any or all of the transactions in our pipeline will be completed.
We are committed to leadership in transparent disclosure on sustainability, impact, and governance matters. Beginning in 2013, we became one of the first capital providers to evaluate the climate impact of our Portfolio by utilizing CarbonCount. In 2017, we believe we were the first U.S-based public company to commit to the Climate Disclosure Standards Board led initiative on implementing the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) and provide the recommended disclosures in our Form 10-K. We are a member of the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (“PCAF”), a global financial industry-led partnership to implement a consistent and transparent disclosure framework to report carbon emissions and avoided emissions resulting from financed assets, and report our financed and avoided emissions under that framework. For further information on our disclosures, see the discussion in the sections titled “Investment Strategy” and “Sustainability, Impact and Corporate Governance” herein. We are committed to providing transparent disclosures on our human capital management, which can be found herein in the section titled “Human Capital Strategy.” Through the HASI Foundation, we provide monetary and non-monetary support to programs that align with our philanthropic priorities of ensuring equal access to climate solutions, empowering and creating opportunity for marginalized individuals and communities, and creating a positive local impact in the communities where our business operates.
We elected and qualified to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013 through our taxable year ended December 31, 2023. In December 2023, our board of directors approved our revocation of our REIT status effective January 1, 2024, and we will be taxed as a C Corporation beginning with tax year 2024. We operate our business in a manner that permits us to maintain our exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act.
INVESTMENT STRATEGY
With scientific consensus that global-warming trends are linked to human activities and result in various extreme weather events, we believe our firm is well-positioned to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in, and managing a portfolio of, real assets that mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. Further, with increasing weather-related disasters, we see similar investment opportunities in infrastructure assets that increase the resiliency to these weather events and other adverse impacts of climate change.
Our vision is that every investment improves our climate future and our purpose is to make climate positive investments that produce superior risk-adjusted returns. Sustainability is at the core of our business model and influences every investment decision which is why we require all HASI investments to be neutral to negative on incremental carbon emissions or have some other tangible environmental benefit such as reducing water consumption or increasing resilience to extreme events.
Our climate-positive investment thesis is based on the following theories:
•more efficient technologies are more productive and thus should lead to higher economic returns;
•lower portfolio risk is inherent in a portfolio of smaller investments, generated by trends of increasing decentralization and digitalization of energy assets;
•investing in assets aligned with scientific consensus and broadly held societal values will reduce potential regulatory and social costs through more internalization of externalities; and
•assets that reduce or avoid carbon emissions represent an embedded option that may increase in value if regulatory authorities were to set a price on carbon emissions.
We believe combining this investment thesis with our multi-decade experience in investing in our markets through multiple interest rate and business cycles, intermittent governmental support for reducing carbon emissions and several cycles of business expansions in renewable and other sustainable infrastructure markets, allows us to earn attractive risk-adjusted returns on the assets in which we invest. We also believe there is a very large potential market opportunity as the legacy technologies for generating and using energy and the systems that produce carbon emissions are retired and replaced by low-to-
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no carbon emission systems. Mitigation and resiliency investments continue to grow to address severe weather events and other climate change impacts.
Our investments in climate solutions are focused on three markets:
•Behind-the-Meter (“BTM”): distributed energy projects which reduce energy usage or cost through solar power generation, electric storage, or energy efficiency improvements such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems (HVAC), lighting, energy controls, roofs, windows, building shells, and/or combined heat and power systems;
•Grid-Connected (“GC”): renewable energy projects that deploy cleaner energy sources, such as solar, solar-plus-storage, and wind, to generate power production where the off-taker or counterparty may be part of the wholesale electric power markets; and
•Fuels, Transport, and Nature (“FTN”): a range of real assets spanning high-emitting economic sectors other than the power grid such as transportation and fuels in the United States, including renewable natural gas (RNG) plants, transportation fleet enhancements, and ecological restoration projects, among others.
Of our pipeline, 52% is related to BTM assets and 30% is related to GC assets, with the remainder related to FTN, an area of increased focus for us beginning in 2023. We prefer investments in which the assets use proven technology and have a long-term, creditworthy off-taker or counterparties. For BTM assets, the off-taker or counterparty may be the building owner or occupant, and our investment may be secured by the installed improvements or other real estate rights. For GC assets, the off-takers or counterparties may be utility or electric users who have entered into contractual commitments, such as power purchase agreements (“PPAs”), to purchase power produced by a renewable energy project at a specified price with potential price escalators for a portion of the project’s estimated life.
We make our investments utilizing a variety of structures, including:
•equity investments in either preferred or common structures in unconsolidated entities;
•commercial and government receivables or securities, and
•real estate.
Our equity investments in climate solutions projects are operated by various renewable energy companies or by joint ventures in which we participate. These transactions allow us to participate in the cash flows associated with these projects, typically on a priority basis. Our debt investments in various renewable energy or other sustainable infrastructure projects or portfolios of projects are generally secured by the installed improvements, or other real estate rights. Our energy efficiency debt investments are usually assigned the payment stream from the project savings and other contractual rights, often using our pre-existing master purchase agreements with the ESCOs. We also own, both directly and through equity investments, land that is leased under long-term agreements to renewable energy projects where our investment returns are typically senior to most project costs, debt, and equity.
We often make investments where we hold a preferred or mezzanine position in a project company where we are subordinated to project debt and/or preferred forms of equity. Investing greater than 10% of our assets in any investment requires the approval of a majority of our independent directors. We may adjust the mix and duration of our assets over time in order to allow us to manage various aspects of our Portfolio, including expected risk-adjusted returns, macroeconomic conditions, liquidity, availability of adequate financing for our assets, and our exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act.
As of December 31, 2023, our Portfolio consisted of over 520 investments, with approximately 48% of our Portfolio invested in BTM assets, approximately 37% invested in GC assets, and approximately 15% invested in FTN investments. The mix of our Portfolio is expected to vary over time, as we seek to manage the diversity of our Portfolio by, among other factors, project type, project operator, type of investment, type of technology, transaction size, geography, obligor, and maturity.
As part of our investment process, we calculate the ratio of the estimated first year of metric tons of carbon emissions avoided by our investments divided by the capital invested to quantify the carbon impact of our investments. In this calculation, which we refer to as CarbonCount, we use emissions factor data, expressed on a CO2 equivalent basis, representing the locational marginal emissions associated with a project to determine an estimate of a project’s energy production or savings to compute an estimate of metric tons of carbon emissions avoided. We estimate that our investments originated in 2023 will avoid annual carbon emissions by over 760 thousand metric tons, equating to a CarbonCount of 0.33. In addition to carbon emissions avoidance, we also consider other environmental attributes, such as water use reduction, stormwater remediation benefits and stream restoration benefits.
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We believe that our long history of climate solutions investing, the experience, expertise and relationships of our management team, the anticipated credit strength of the obligors or investees involved in our investments and the size and growth potential of our market, position us well to capitalize on our strategy.
Refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations, for additional discussion on the performance of our Portfolio.
FINANCING STRATEGY
We believe we have available a broad range of financing sources as part of our strategy to fund our investments. We may finance our investments through the use of cash on hand, debt which may be either recourse or non-recourse and either fixed-rate or floating-rate, or equity, and may also finance such transactions through the use of off-balance sheet securitizations or syndication structures. When issuing debt, we generally provide the estimated carbon emission savings using CarbonCount. In addition, certain of our debt issuances meet the environmental eligibility criteria for green bonds as defined by the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles, which we believe makes our debt more attractive for certain investors compared to such offerings that do not qualify under these principles. We may also consider the use of special purpose entities or funds in which outside investors participate to allow us to expand the investments that we make or to manage our Portfolio diversification.
The decision on how we finance our business is largely driven by our target capital structure, and by market conditions including the overall interest rate environment, prevailing credit spreads and the terms of available financing. During periods of market disruption, certain sources of financing may be less accessible than others which may impact our financing decisions. Over time, as market conditions change, we may use other forms of financial leverage in addition to these financing arrangements. Although we are not restricted by any regulatory requirements as to the type or amount of financial leverage we may use, our Board has established a target limit of our leverage ratio, defined as the ratio of debt to equity, of at or below 2.5 to 1, and a target range for our percentage of fixed rate debt to total debt of between 75% and 100%, allowing for percentages as low as 70% on a short term basis if we intend to repay or swap floating rate borrowings in the near term. See additional discussion in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” regarding our ongoing evaluation of our leverage limits and fixed-rate debt targets.
In our off-balance sheet financings, we transfer all or a portion of an investment to a securitization trust in exchange for cash and/or residual interests in the trust, and in some cases, ongoing fees. The availability of securitization counterparties has remained high throughout various market cycles due to investor demand for high credit quality, long-term climate-positive investments. We may arrange such securitizations of loans or other assets prior to originating the transaction and thus avoid exposure to credit spread, interest rate and funding risks. We also typically manage and service these assets in exchange for fees. We may also use other funds or structures where institutional investors purchase all or a portion of the economics of the transaction and where we may receive upfront or ongoing fees for managing the assets. We periodically provide other services, including arranging financings that are held on the balance sheets of other investors and advising various companies with respect to structuring investments.
Refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources, for additional discussion on our financings and our ratios and Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes 5, 7 and 8 to our financial statements for further information on the types and amounts of our financing activities.
HUMAN CAPITAL STRATEGY
An emphasis on a durable social fabric, including engaged, collaborative, and fairly compensated staff, is an important factor in our financial success. Our culture is focused on hiring and retaining highly talented employees with diverse perspectives and empowering them to create value for our stockholders, and our success is dependent on employee understanding of and investment in their role in that value creation. Our employees are responsible for upholding our vision, purpose, and values.
It is important to us that our employees are engaged in our mission of sustainability because we believe engagement improves their performance, as well as our employee recruitment and retention. Our chief executive officer periodically leads employee meetings intended to reinforce the importance of sustainability and regularly meets with small groups of employees to receive their feedback on our business. We also meet no less than quarterly as a Company to provide information to employees on our mission, strategic planning and financial results. We continuously evaluate our employees’ level of engagement through in-person or remote meetings that include asking open-ended questions and through formal surveys or similar tools administered on a periodic basis.
We adhere to a blended learning approach with the understanding that our people learn from experiences (on the job and in life), from other people (mentors or supportive managers), and from formal learning and training programs. We acknowledge that learning is highly individualized and needs to be offered in a way that is most conducive to a specific learner’s needs. We
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run a periodic education series that includes internal and external speakers presenting topics of interest that are relevant to our employees. We provide multiple learning solutions that cover a wide range of areas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion training, leadership skills, financial knowledge, technology training, and presentation skills. We also support the pursuit of advanced certifications and degrees in areas including business, science and engineering, and liberal and fine arts and employ formal and informal coaching arrangements.
We care about our employees’ employment experience and recognize them as individuals who are motivated in different ways. Managers hold performance conversations with their employees on a periodic basis to ensure they receive the performance feedback they deserve, and to allow managers to obtain insight into how to support the development of their staff, and to ensure that performance expectations are clear and aligned with the overarching objectives of the Company. We also provide continuous dialogue in between these formal touchpoints.
We believe we provide attractive benefits that promote the health of our employees and their families and design compelling job opportunities, aligned with our mission, in an energizing work environment. We also encourage our employees to continue to develop in their careers, including by obtaining advanced degrees or professional certifications. We compensate our employees according to our fair remuneration policies and believe in paying for performance. Therefore, employees typically receive a portion of their compensation in the form of annual bonuses as well as equity grants which are both tied in part to the Company’s financial performance. In addition to competitive base salaries, cash bonuses, and equity participation for most employees, we are committed to continuously evaluating and ensuring the competitiveness of our benefits offerings so that we meet the various needs of our employees and their families. Despite a healthcare environment that is facing rising costs, we continue to pay substantially all of the cost of our employees’ healthcare insurance. Further, in addition to what we believe to be market total rewards benefits, we provide additional benefits, such as on-site seasonal vaccination clinics, back-up childcare solutions, and a tuition reimbursement program.
We take a values-driven, broad view of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe that fostering an internal climate that is supportive and allows people of all backgrounds to flourish lends itself to the highest levels of company performance and facilitates the attraction and retention of best-in-class talent. We also believe it is inherently the right way to conduct business. We support an innovative, creative culture where people can bring their best and most authentic selves to work. Employees who hold divergent opinions are encouraged to voice their views. We track and report internally on key talent metrics including workforce demographics, critical role pipeline data, diversity data, and engagement and inclusion indices.
Decisions regarding staffing, selection, and promotions are made on the basis of individual qualifications related to the requirements of the position. We are committed to identifying and developing the next generation of leaders. We endeavor to select qualified individuals from a diverse pool of candidates derived from broad outreach efforts when we are recruiting. We are committed to the sourcing and/or promotion of highly-qualified women, people of color and other under-represented groups for management and Board positions. To better support our female and underrepresented employees in their onboarding, training, development and progression within the Company, we have established a mentorship program where certain members of our Board mentor female employees who are developing managers.
Our policy is “equal pay for equal work” in compliance with applicable state law. Compensation for our employees is based upon experience, seniority, educational attainment, and individual contribution and company performance against goals.
As of December 31, 2023, we employed 139 people. We intend to hire additional business professionals as needed to assist in the implementation of our business strategy. Refer to “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Results of Operations – Human Capital Metrics” for discussion of metrics related to our Human Capital Strategy.
SUSTAINABILITY, IMPACT AND CORPORATE GOVERNANCE
We own and invest in a diversified portfolio of climate solutions projects focused on reducing or mitigating the impacts of climate change. Under the direction of our chief executive officer and the Board, we are focused on achieving a high level of environmental and social responsibility and strong corporate governance. The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee of our Board is responsible for our oversight of sustainability, impact, and governance matters, including related policies and communications. Additionally, we have a committee of employees from across our organization that is focused on implementing sustainability and impact strategies and policies and reports directly to our chief executive officer. Annually we publish a report that illustrates our progress on these matters.
Environmental Responsibility. Our business and business strategy are focused on addressing climate change, in part through the reduction of carbon emissions that have been scientifically linked to climate change. As described under “Investment Strategy”, we quantify the carbon impact of each of our investments. In addition, we operate our business in a manner intended to reduce our own environmental impact, including by purchasing carbon offsets to mitigate the impact of our office operations, encouraging recycling and composting, and offering clean transportation employee incentives for electric and hybrid vehicles. We have also adopted policies focused on minimizing the environmental impact of our operations.
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Through our membership in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, we are pleased to participate in the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which brings the financial sector together to accelerate a shared commitment to decarbonizing the global economy. In 2021, we established targets for our transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 using the foundational framework developed by the Science Based Targets Initiative. We have since validated a net-zero target with the Net Zero Asset Managers Alliance, which commits us to achieving net zero carbon intensity for our financed emissions by 2050.
We are a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative focused on responsible business practices related to human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. We participate in a number of initiatives and coalitions that share our commitment to climate action, corporate sustainability, climate-risk disclosure and reporting, and the expansion of clean energy including the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, the United Nations Global Compact campaign entitled Business Ambition for 1.5°, and the reporting framework established by an international consortium of business and environmental NGOs referred to as the Climate Disclosure Standards Board.
Social Responsibility. We recognize that the effects of pollution, environmental degradation, increased climate-fueled extreme weather events, and the economic transition away from fossil fuels fall most heavily on marginalized communities in our society, especially communities of color. We know that the effects of climate change are already disproportionately impacting disadvantaged communities, and these adverse outcomes will be exacerbated if we do not eliminate harmful greenhouse gas emissions. Equally so, we acknowledge the legacy of discriminatory policies in creating and perpetuating this imbalance.
We believe in every person’s inherent worth and dignity and that we should all have access to clean water, clean air, healthy food, resilient and reliable shelter and energy, and good paying jobs. We believe these disparities must be addressed while society works to accelerate the transition to a net-zero economy, both here in the United States and across the globe.
We are determined to incorporate these ideals and actions across our entire business, including in our process for underwriting investments, our engagement with business partners, our human capital strategy, philanthropy, and policy advocacy efforts. We established the HASI Foundation to provide cash and in-kind support to programs which provide climate solutions investments and career opportunities for those from historically underrepresented communities, as well as organizations across our local region that seek to strengthen the social fabric and promote economic and climate resiliency.
Corporate Governance. We are focused on achieving best-in-class corporate governance practices to help ensure that our team will operate in a manner consistent with our organizational mission and deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns. Our corporate governance philosophy is based on maintaining a close alignment of our interests with those of our stakeholders. Notable features of our corporate governance structure include the following:
•our Corporate Governance Guidelines provide for a majority vote policy for the election of directors pursuant to which any nominee who receives a greater number of votes “withheld” from his or her election than votes “for” such election shall promptly tender his or her resignation to our Board for their consideration to accept or reject such resignation;
•our Board is not staggered, with each of our directors subject to re-election annually;
•our Board has determined that nine of our eleven directors are independent for purposes of the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) corporate governance listing standards and Rule 10A-3 under the Exchange Act;
•we have a lead independent director of the Board that convenes and chairs executive sessions of the independent directors to discuss certain matters without management or the chairman present;
•we have separated the executive chairman and chief executive officer roles as discussed in Item 9B of this Form 10-K;
•three of our directors qualify as an “audit committee financial expert” as defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”);
•four of our directors (including our lead independent director) are women and two of our directors are people of underrepresented ethnicity constituting 36% and 18% respectively, of our Board in furtherance of our board diversity policy;
•a target retirement age of 75 has been established for our directors;
•we have an active stockholder outreach program, including providing stockholders the right to vote on an advisory basis on the fairness of the remuneration of executives;
•our Board members and named executive officers are required to maintain certain levels of stock ownership in our company ranging between three and six times their base salary or retainer, depending on position;
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•we have a Clawback Policy that provides for the possible recoupment of performance or incentive-based compensation in the event of an accounting restatement due to material noncompliance by us with any financial reporting requirements under the securities laws (other than due to a change in applicable accounting methods, rules or interpretations);
•we have opted out of the control share acquisition statute in the Maryland General Corporations Law (the “MGCL”);
•stockholders have the ability to amend the Company’s bylaws by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our common stock pursuant to a binding proposal submitted by a stockholder; and
•we have exempted from the business combinations statute in the MGCL transactions that are approved by our Board (including a majority of our directors who are not affiliates or associates of the acquiring person).
In order to foster the highest standards of ethics and conduct in all business relationships, we have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy (the “Code of Conduct”). This policy covers a wide range of business practices and procedures and applies to our officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, and consultants. In addition, we have implemented whistleblowing procedures designed to facilitate the report of accounting and auditing matters as well as Code of Conduct matters (the “Whistleblower Policy”) that sets forth procedures by which any Covered Persons (as defined in the Whistleblower Policy) may report, on a confidential basis, concerns regarding, among other things, any questionable or unethical accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters with our Audit Committee as well as any potential Code of Conduct or ethics violations with our Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee or our Chief Legal Officer.
We have adopted a Statement of Corporate Policy Regarding Equity Transactions that governs the process to be followed in the purchase or sale of our securities by any of our directors, officers, employees and consultants and prohibits any such persons from buying or selling our securities on the basis of material nonpublic information, and also prohibits our directors and officers from hedging equity securities of the Company, holding such securities in a margin account or pledging such securities as collateral for a loan. We review all of these policies on a periodic basis with our employees.
Our business is managed by our leadership team, subject to the supervision and oversight of our Board. Our directors stay informed about our business by attending meetings of our Board and its committees and through supplemental reports and communications.
We believe in transparent reporting relating to sustainability and impact matters because we believe such reporting improves the understanding of our financial results. As discussed in the “Investment Strategy” section above, we quantify the environmental impact of every transaction we execute through the application of CarbonCount. Our 2023 CarbonCount and avoided emissions for investments originated in 2023 can be found in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Environmental Metrics”.
We continue to implement the TCFD recommendations, and the recommended disclosures are located in this filing as follows;
•Governance - “Environmental and Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance”,
•Strategy - “Investment Strategy”
•Risk Management - “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Factors Impacting our Operating Results — Impact of climate of climate change on our future operations (Scenario Analysis)” and “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk — Risk Management”, and
•Metrics and Targets - “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations - Environmental Metrics”.
In addition to the above environmental reporting initiatives, in 2022, we reported our corporate emissions under PCAF, a global financial industry-led partnership to implement a consistent and transparent disclosure framework to report carbon emissions and avoided emissions resulting from financed assets. We also disclose metrics related to our Human Capital Strategy. Refer to “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Human Capital Metrics”. When issuing debt, we generally provide the estimated carbon emission savings using CarbonCount, and in some instances are able to achieve better borrowing rates by achieving certain CarbonCount scores. Certain of our debt issuances have been evaluated to determine that they meet the environmental eligibility criteria for green bonds as defined by the International Capital Markets Association’s Green Bond Principles.
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COMPETITION
We compete against a number of parties, including banks, private equity, hedge or infrastructure investment funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, specialty finance companies, utilities, independent power producers, project developers, pension funds, governmental bodies, private credit platforms, green banks, and public entities established to own infrastructure assets and other entities.
We compete primarily on the basis of service, price, structure and flexibility as well as the breadth and depth of our expertise. We may at times compete and at other times partner or work as a participant with alternative financing sources. The opportunities in alternative investment and increasing investor acceptance of the climate solutions market has increased the level of competition we experience. We may also encounter competition in the form of potential customers or our origination partners electing to use their own capital rather than engaging us as an outside capital provider. In addition, we may also face competition based on technological developments that reduce demand for electricity, increase power supplies through existing infrastructure or that otherwise compete with climate solutions projects in which we have invested. We believe that a significant part of our competitive advantage is our management team’s experience and industry expertise.
For additional information concerning these competitive risks, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—We operate in a competitive market, which may impact the terms of the investments we make.”
INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EXECUTIVE OFFICERS AND OTHER LEADERSHIP TEAM PERSONNEL
Our executive officers and other leadership team personnel and their biographies are provided below.
Jeffrey A. Lipson, 56, has served as president and our chief executive officer since 2023. Prior to becoming chief executive officer, Mr. Lipson served as an executive vice president and our chief operating officer since 2021 and as our chief financial officer since 2019. Previously, Mr. Lipson was president and chief executive officer and director of Congressional Bancshares and its subsidiary Congressional Bank (now Forbright Bank). Mr. Lipson has also been a senior vice president and the treasurer of CapitalSource Inc. and its subsidiary CapitalSource Bank and a senior vice president, Corporate Treasury, at Bank of America and its predecessor FleetBoston Financial. Mr. Lipson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics from Pennsylvania State University in 1989 and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business in 1993.
Marc T. Pangburn, 38, has served as an executive vice president and our chief financial officer since 2023, and prior to that served as a co-chief investment officer from 2021 to 2023. Mr. Pangburn joined the Company in 2013 and previously served as a managing director until 2021. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Pangburn worked at MP2 Capital, a solar development and financing company, where he was responsible for structuring the firm’s transactions, and worked in the private capital group at New York Life Investments, focusing on utilities, energy and infrastructure debt and equity investments. Mr. Pangburn is a member of the President’s Council at Ceres, a non-profit sustainability advocacy organization. Mr. Pangburn received his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Drew University.
Susan D. Nickey, 63, has served as an executive vice president and our chief client officer since 2021. Ms. Nickey previously served as a managing director from 2014 to 2021. Ms. Nickey is responsible for leading business development and managing client relationships. Ms. Nickey currently serves as chair on the board of directors of the American Clean Power Association. Previously, she founded and served as CEO of Threshold Power. Ms. Nickey received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
Nathaniel J. Rose, CFA, 46, has served as executive vice president since 2015 and as a chief investment officer beginning in 2017 and also from 2013 to 2015. Previously, Mr. Rose served as our chief operating officer from 2015 to 2017 and has been with the Company and its predecessor since 2000. Mr. Rose has been involved with a vast majority of our transactions since 2000. Mr. Rose received a joint Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Richmond in 2000 and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia in 2009. Mr. Rose is a CFA charter holder and has passed the CPA examination. He holds a Series 63 and 79 securities licenses.
Richard R. Santoroski, 59, has served as executive vice president and a head of portfolio management since October 2021, previously serving as chief analytics officer since January 2021 after joining the Company in 2020 as a managing director. Mr. Santoroski is responsible for integrating analytics across portfolio, investment, and risk-related decisions. Previously, Mr. Santorski served as co-founder and managing partner of Wye Holdings from 2017 to 2020. From 2012 to 2016, he served as co-founder and managing director of American Capital Energy and Infrastructure (ACEI), an emerging markets investor in power generation projects across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Prior to ACEI, Mr. Santoroski served as executive vice president, chief risk officer, and head of corporate mergers, acquisitions & development of The AES Corporation. Prior to joining AES, he worked for several years at New York State Electric and Gas as an engineer and energy trader. Mr. Santoroski received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University as
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well as a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering and a Master of Business Administration degree from Syracuse University.
Steven L. Chuslo, 66, has served as an executive vice president and our general counsel and secretary since 2013 and our chief legal officer since 2021. Previously, Mr. Chuslo has served with the predecessor of the Company as general counsel and secretary since 2008. Mr. Chuslo is responsible for governance support to the Board and management and oversees the Company’s legal resources in its investment and portfolio management activities. Mr. Chuslo has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of securities, commercial and project finance, energy project development, and U.S. federal regulation. Mr. Chuslo received a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of Massachusetts/Amherst and a Juris Doctorate from the Georgetown University Law Center.
Katherine McGregor Dent, 51, has served as our senior vice president and chief human resources officer since April 2020, focusing on culture, strategy, and organizational development. Previously, Ms. Dent served as vice president, deputy general counsel, and assistant secretary from 2003 to 2020, where she played a key role in structuring, developing, negotiating, and closing billions of dollars of transactions for the Company. Ms. Dent received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Niagara University and a Juris Doctor from the University at Buffalo School of Law. Ms. Dent serves on the board of directors for the YWCA of Annapolis and Anne Arundel County.
Daniel K. McMahon, CFA, 52, has served us as an executive vice president since 2015 and is the head of our syndication group. He has been with the Company and its predecessor since 2000 in a variety of roles, including as a senior vice president from 2007 to 2015. He has played a role in analyzing, negotiating, structuring, and managing several billion dollars of transactions. Mr. McMahon received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, San Diego in 1993, and is a CFA charter holder. He holds Series 24, 63 and 79 securities licenses.
Charles W. Melko, CPA, 43, has served as a senior vice president and our chief accounting officer since 2017 and as our treasurer since January 2021. He joined the Company in 2016 as a senior vice president and controller and has since been responsible for leading the Company’s accounting and financial reporting function. In his treasurer role, he is involved in the Company’s cash management and related capital markets activities. Previously, Mr. Melko served in a number of roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, including as a senior manager in the National Professional Services Group where he focused on complex financial instruments accounting issues for energy clients. Mr. Melko received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy, a Master of Business Administration degree and a Master of Science degree in Accountancy from Wheeling Jesuit University. Mr. Melko holds a CPA license in West Virginia and Maryland and is also a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP).
Amanuel Haile-Mariam, 44, has served as a managing director since joining the Company in 2021 and is responsible for the Company’s structured investments in Grid-Connected renewable energy markets. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Haile-Mariam worked at GE Energy Financial Services for 15 years, most recently as Managing Director - Head of Capital Advisory and Portolio, Americas leading the execution, asset management, capital raise and divestment of energy infrastructure projects. Prior to joining GE Energy Financial Services, Mr. Haile-Mariam worked at GE Corporate Audit Staff, conducting financial audits, leading simplification and operational excellence projects. Mr. Haile-Mariam received his Bachelor of Science degree in accounting and Master of Business Administration in finance from the University of Connecticut.
Annmarie Reynolds, 54, has served as a managing director since joining the Company in 2022 and is responsible for building and growing the Company’s investment in markets beyond current asset classes. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Reynolds worked at The AES Corporation for 22 years serving in several senior roles including chief customer officer from 2019 to 2022, chief commercial officer – US and Eurasia from 2018 to 2019, and prior to that as chief risk officer and managing director climate solutions. Prior to joining The AES Corporation, Ms. Reynolds worked several years at New York State Electric and Gas as an energy trader and engineer. Ms. Reynolds received her Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rutgers University, The State University of New Jersey.
Daniela Shapiro, 49, joined the Company as managing director in 2022 and is responsible for growing the Company’s investments in Behind-the-Meter opportunities and expanding solutions for broader onsite and as-a-service offerings. Ms. Shapiro has over 20 years of energy industry experience. Prior to joining the Company, Ms. Shapiro was the chief financial officer for Guzman Energy and held various other executive positions, including at SoCore/ ENGIE. Prior to this, Ms. Shapiro worked in the banking industry for 10 years, where she was responsible for deploying capital in energy and infrastructure assets, including tax equity investments in renewable energy projects. Ms. Shapiro received her Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from UNIFEI in Brazil, and her Master of Business Administration degree from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Viral Amin, 52, joined the Company as a senior vice president in 2023, and leads the on-balance sheet portfolio management group. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Amin served in a number of roles at DTE Energy, including its vice president of business development, strategy, and mergers and acquisitions of the unregulated portfolio company from 2018 to 2023. While at DTE, Mr. Amin held multiple commercial and strategic roles in the utility and non-utility businesses, and
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ultimately became responsible for the unregulated company’s investment activities overseeing its growth through sourcing, diligence, and execution of new projects in renewable and industrial energy. Prior to joining DTE, Mr. Amin worked for several years at Ford Motor Co. and Visteon Corporation as an engineer. Mr. Amin holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, as well as a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business.
AVAILABLE INFORMATION
We maintain a website at www.hasi.com. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K. We will make available, free of charge, on our website (a) our Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K (including any amendments thereto), proxy statements and other information (collectively, “Company Documents”) filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, as soon as reasonably practicable after such documents are so filed or furnished, (b) Corporate Governance Guidelines, (c) Director Independence Standards, (d) Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy and (e) written charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee and Finance and Risk Committee of our Board. Company Documents filed with, or furnished to, the SEC are also available for review by the public at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. We provide copies of our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy, free of charge, to stockholders who request such documents. Requests should be directed to Investor Relations, One Park Place, Suite 200, Annapolis, Maryland 21401, (410) 571-9860.
Item 1A. Risk Factors
Our business and operations are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, the occurrence of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition, consolidated results of operations and ability to make distributions to stockholders and could cause the value of our capital stock to decline. We may refer to the energy efficiency, renewable energy and the other sustainable infrastructure projects or market collectively as climate solutions projects or the industry. Please also refer to the sections entitled “Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factor Summary”.
Risks Related to Our Business and Our Industry
Our business depends in part on U.S. federal, state and local government policies, and a decline in the level of government support could harm our business.
The projects in which we invest typically depend in part on various U.S. federal, state or local governmental policies and incentives that support or enhance project economic feasibility. Such policies may include governmental initiatives, laws and regulations designed to reduce energy usage and impact the use of renewable energy or the investment in and the use of climate solutions, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
U.S. federal policies and incentives include, for example, tax credits, tax deductions, bonus depreciation, federal grants and loan guarantees and energy market regulations. State and local governments policies and incentives include, for example, renewable portfolio standards (“RPS”), feed-in tariffs, other tariffs, tax incentives and other cash and non-cash payments.
Governmental agencies, commercial entities and developers of climate solutions projects frequently depend on these policies and incentives to help defray the costs associated with, and to finance, various projects. Government regulations also impact the terms of third-party financing provided to support these projects, including through energy savings performance contracts. If any of these government policies, incentives or regulations are adversely amended, delayed, eliminated, reduced, retroactively changed or not extended beyond their current expiration dates, or there is a negative impact from the recent federal law changes or proposals, the operating results of the projects we finance and the demand for, and the returns available from, the investments we make may decline, which could harm our business.
U.S. federal, state and local government entities are major participants in, and regulators of, the energy industry, and their actions could be adverse to our project companies or our company.
The projects we invest in are subject to substantial regulation by U.S. federal, state and local governmental agencies. For example, many projects require government permits, licenses, concessions, leases or contracts. Government entities, due to the wide-ranging scope of their authority, have significant leverage in setting their contractual and regulatory relationships with third parties. In addition, government permits, licenses, concessions, leases and contracts are generally very complex, which may result in periods of non-compliance, or disputes over interpretation or enforceability. If the projects in which we invest fail to obtain or comply with applicable regulations, permits, or contractual obligations, they could be prevented from being constructed or subjected to monetary penalties or loss of operational rights, which could negatively impact project operating results and the returns on our assets. In addition, government counterparties also may have the discretion to change or increase regulation of project operations, or implement laws or regulations affecting project operations, separate from any contractual
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rights they may have. These actions could adversely impact the efficient and profitable operation of the projects in which we invest.
Contracts with government counterparties that support the projects in which we invest may be more favorable to the government counterparties compared to commercial contracts with private parties. For example, a lease, concession or general service contract may enable the government to modify or terminate the contract without requiring the payment of adequate compensation. Typically, our contracts with government counterparties contain termination provisions including prepayment amounts. In most cases, the prepayment amounts provide us with amounts sufficient to repay the financing we have provided but may be less than amounts that would be payable under “make whole” provisions customarily found in commercial lending arrangements.
Government entities may also suspend or debar contractors from doing business with the government or pursue various criminal or civil remedies under various government contract regulations. They may also issue new government contracts or fail to extend existing government contracts. Our ability to originate new assets could be adversely affected if one or more of the ESCOs or other origination sources with whom we have relationships are suspended or debarred or fail to win new, or renew existing, contracts.
If the cost of energy generated by traditional sources of energy continues to stay low or further declines from present levels, demand for the projects in which we invest may decline.
Many traditional sources of energy such as coal, petroleum-based fuels and natural gas can be influenced by the price of underlying or substitute commodities. Such prices, which have decreased and may continue to decrease, may reduce the demand for energy efficiency projects or other projects, including renewable energy facilities, that do not rely on fossil fuel energy sources. For example, low natural gas prices may reduce the demand for projects like renewable energy that can substitute for natural gas. Low natural gas prices also typically adversely affect both the price available to renewable energy projects under future power sale agreements and the price of the electricity the projects sell on either a forward or a spot-market basis. Further, as has occurred in the past, technological progress in electricity generation, storage or in the production of traditional fuels or the discovery of large new deposits of traditional fuels could reduce the cost of energy generated from those sources and consequently reduce the demand for the types of projects in which we invest, which could harm our new business origination prospects as well as the value of our existing Portfolio. In addition, volatility in commodity prices, including energy prices, may cause building owners and other parties to be reluctant to commit to projects for which repayment is based upon a fixed monetary value for energy savings that would not decline if the price of energy declines. Any resulting decline in demand for our investments or the price that industry participants receive for the sale of fossil fuel could adversely impact our operating results.
If the market for various types of climate solutions projects or the investment techniques related to such projects do not develop as we anticipate, new business generation in this target area may be adversely impacted.
The market for various types of climate solutions projects is emerging and rapidly evolving, leaving their future success uncertain. If some or all market segments or investing techniques prove unsuitable for widespread commercial deployment or if demand for such projects or techniques fail to grow sufficiently, the demand for our capital may decline or develop more slowly than we anticipate. Many factors will influence the widespread adoption and demand for such projects and investing techniques, including general and local economic conditions, commodity prices of fossil fuel energy sources, the cost and availability of energy storage, the cost-effectiveness of various projects and techniques, performance and reliability of such technologies compared to conventional power sources and technologies, and the extent of government subsidies and regulatory developments. Any changes in the markets, products, technologies, financing techniques, or the regulatory environment could adversely impact the demand or financial performance for such projects and our investments.
Some projects in which we invest rely on net metering and related policies to improve project economics which if reduced could impact repayment of our investments or the return on our assets.
There has been a nationwide increase in distributed generation which has prompted discussions among policy makers and regulators regarding ways to both better integrate distributed energy resources into the electric grid and how to compensate distributed generators. Many states have a regulatory policy known as net energy metering, or net metering. Net metering typically allows some project customers to interconnect their on-site solar or other renewable energy systems to the utility grid and offset their utility electricity purchases by receiving a bill credit at the utility’s retail rate for the amount of energy in excess of their electric usage that is generated by their renewable energy system and is exported to the grid. At the end of the billing period, the customer simply pays for the net energy used or receives a credit at the retail rate if more energy is produced than consumed. Net metering policies are under review or have been limited or amended in a number of states. The ability and willingness of customers to pay for renewable energy systems that benefit from net metering rules may be reduced if net metering rules are eliminated or their benefits reduced, which may also impact our returns on such systems.
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Existing electric utility industry regulations, and changes to regulations, may present technical, regulatory and economic barriers to the purchase and use of renewable energy and energy efficiency systems that may significantly reduce demand for systems and projects in which we invest or may adversely affect the profitability of such projects.
Federal, state and local government regulations and policies concerning the electric utility industry, and internal policies and regulations promulgated by electric utilities, heavily influence the market for electricity products and services. These regulations and policies often relate to electricity pricing and the interconnection of customer-owned electricity generation. In the United States, governments and utilities continuously modify these regulations and policies. These regulations and policies could deter customers from purchasing energy efficiency and renewable energy systems. For example, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) recently conducted its own review of grid resiliency and the functioning of electricity markets and has made, and could continue to make, changes to policies and regulations related to the function of the electricity markets and grid resiliency which may negatively impact the use of renewable energy or encourage the use of fossil fuel energy over renewable energy. This could result in a significant reduction in the potential demand for such systems. Utilities commonly charge fees to larger, industrial customers for disconnecting from the electric grid or for having the capacity to use power from the electric grid for back-up purposes. In addition, there is an increasing trend towards initiating or increasing fixed fees for users to have electricity service from a utility. These fees could increase our customers’ cost to use energy efficiency and renewable energy systems not supplied by the utility and make them less desirable, thereby harming our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any changes to government or internal utility regulations and policies that favor electric utilities could reduce competitiveness and cause a significant reduction in demand for systems in which we invest.
Further, certain climate solutions projects in which we invest may be “qualifying facilities” that are exempt from rate regulation as public utilities by FERC under the Federal Power Act, (the “FPA”). FERC regulations under the FPA confer upon these qualifying facilities key rights to interconnection with local utilities and can entitle such facilities to enter into PPAs with local utilities, from which the qualifying facilities benefit. Changes to these U.S. federal laws and regulations could increase the regulatory burdens and costs and could reduce the revenue of the project. In addition, modifications to the pricing policies of utilities could require climate solutions projects to achieve lower prices in order to compete with the price of electricity from the electric grid and may reduce the economic attractiveness of certain energy efficiency measures. To the extent that the projects in which we invest are subject to rate regulation, the project owners will be required to obtain FERC acceptance of their rate schedules for wholesale sales of energy, capacity and ancillary services. Any adverse changes in the rates project owners are permitted to charge could negatively impact the repayment of our investments, or the return on our assets.
In addition, the operation of, and electrical interconnection for, our climate solutions projects may be subject to U.S. federal, state or local interconnection and federal reliability standards, some of which are set forth in utility tariffs. These standards and tariffs specify rules, business practices and economic terms to which the projects in which we invest are subject and that may impact a project’s ability to deliver the electricity it produces or transports to its end customer. The tariffs are drafted by the utilities and approved by the utilities’ state and U.S. federal regulatory commissions. These standards and tariffs change frequently and it is possible that future changes will increase our administrative burden or adversely affect the terms and conditions under which the projects render services to their customers.
Under certain circumstances, we may also be subject to the reliability standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. If project owners fail to comply with the mandatory reliability standards, they could be subject to sanctions, including substantial monetary penalties, which could also raise credit risks for, or lower the returns available from, the project companies in which we invest.
These various regulations may also limit the transferability or sale of renewable energy projects and any such limits could negatively impact our returns from such projects.
We are subject to risks related to our sustainability and governance activities and disclosures.
Our sustainability and governance strategy and practices and the level of transparency with which we are approaching them are foundational to our business and expose us to several risks, including:
•that we may fail or be unable to fully achieve one or more of our sustainability and governance goals due to a range of factors within or beyond our control, or that we may adjust or modify our goals in light of new information, adjusted projections, or a change in business strategy, which could negatively impact our reputation and our business;
•that a failure to or perception of a failure to disclose metrics and set goals that are rigorous enough or in an acceptable format, a failure to appropriately manage selection of goals, a failure to or perception of a failure to make appropriate disclosures, stockholder perception of a failure to prioritize the “correct” sustainability and governance goals, or an unfavorable sustainability and governance-related rating by a third party, that could negatively impact our reputation and our business;
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•that certain data we utilize in our CarbonCount or similar metric calculations is prepared by third parties or receives limited assurance from and/or verification by third parties and may undergo a less rigorous review process than assurance sought in connection with more traditional audits and such review process may not identify errors and may not protect us from potential liability under the securities laws, and, if errors are identified our reputation and our business could be negatively impacted and if we were to seek more extensive assurance or attestation with respect to such sustainability and governance metrics, we may be unable to obtain such assurance or attestation or may face increased costs related to obtaining and/or maintaining such assurance or attestation;
•that the governance, social, or sustainability standards, norms, or metrics, which are constantly evolving, change in a manner that impacts us negatively or requires us to change the content or manner of our disclosures, and our stockholders or third parties view such changes negatively, we are unable to adequately explain such changes, or we are required to expend significant resources to update our disclosures, any of which could negatively impact our reputation and our business; and
•that our business could be negatively impacted if any of our disclosures, including our CarbonCount or similar metrics, reporting to third-party standards, or reporting against our goals, are inaccurate, perceived to be inaccurate, or alleged to be inaccurate.
We operate in a competitive market, which may impact the terms of our investments.
We compete against a number of parties who may provide alternatives to our investments including, among others, a wide variety of financial institutions, government entities and energy industry participants. Increasing investor acceptance of the climate solutions market increased the level of competition we experience, and we expect supportive government policies and initiatives to further increase competition in the markets in which we invest. We also encounter competition in the form of potential customers or our origination partners electing to use their own capital rather than engaging an outside provider such as us. In addition, we also face competition based on technological developments that reduce demand for electricity, increase power supplies through existing infrastructure or that otherwise compete with our climate solutions projects. Some of our competitors are significantly larger than we are, have access to greater capital and other resources than we do and may have other advantages over us. In addition, some of our competitors have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which allow those competitors to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than we can. Further, many of our competitors are not subject to the operating constraints associated with maintenance of an exemption from the 1940 Act. These characteristics could allow our competitors to consider a wider variety of opportunities, establish more relationships and offer better pricing and more flexible structuring than we can offer. We may lose business opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may not be able to achieve acceptable risk-adjusted returns on our assets or we may be forced to bear greater risks of loss. The increase in the number or the size of our competitors in this market has resulted, and could continue to result, in less attractive terms on our investments or the need to accept a higher level of risks associated with our investments. As a result, competitive pressures we face could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
A change in the fiscal health, level of appropriations or budgets of U.S. federal, state and local governments could reduce demand for our investments.
Although our energy efficiency investments do not normally require additional governmental appropriations to cover repayment due to the energy and operating savings derived from the newly installed equipment and systems, a significant decline in the fiscal health, level of appropriations or budgets of government customers may make it difficult for them to remain current on existing payment obligations or undesirable to enter into new energy efficiency improvement projects. Alternatively, some government entities may choose to provide appropriations or other credit support for climate solutions projects, which would negatively impact the use of private capital such as ours. This could have a material and adverse effect on the return of and return on our investments for existing projects and on our ability to originate new assets. Moreover, other changes in resources available to governments may also impact their willingness to undertake energy efficiency projects. For example, an increase in money set aside for government expenditures for energy efficiency projects may reduce demand for our investments.
In addition, to the extent we make investments that involve direct appropriations, we will depend on approval of the necessary spending for the projects. The repayment of the investment, or the return on our asset, could be adversely affected if appropriations for any such projects are delayed or terminated.
Risks Related to Our Assets and Projects in Which We Invest
Changes in interest rates could adversely affect the value of our assets and negatively affect our profitability.
Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors beyond our control. Many of our assets pay a fixed rate of interest or provide a fixed preferential return.
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With respect to our business operations, increases in interest rates, have caused, and in general, may in the future cause: (1) project owners to be less interested in borrowing or raising equity and thus reduce the demand for our investments; (2) the interest expense associated with our borrowings to increase; (3) the market value of our fixed rate or fixed return assets to decline; and (4) the market value of any fixed-rate interest rate swap agreements to increase. Decreases in interest rates, in general, may over time cause: (1) project owners to be more interested in borrowing or raising equity thus increase the demand for our assets; (2) prepayments on our assets, to the extent allowed, to increase; (3) the interest expense associated with our borrowings to decrease; (4) the market value of our fixed rate or fixed return assets to increase; and (5) the market value of any fixed-rate interest rate swap agreements to decrease. Adverse developments resulting from changes in interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
The lack of liquidity of our assets may adversely affect our business, including our ability to value our assets.
Volatile market conditions could significantly and negatively impact the liquidity of our assets. Illiquid assets typically experience greater price volatility, as a ready market does not exist, and can be more difficult to value. In addition, validating third-party pricing for illiquid assets may be more subjective than more liquid assets. The illiquidity of our assets may make it difficult for us to sell such assets if the need or desire arises. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our Portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have previously recorded our assets. To the extent that we utilize leverage to finance our investments that are or become illiquid, the negative impact on us related to trying to sell assets in a short period of time for cash could be greatly exacerbated. As a result, our ability to vary our Portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions may be relatively limited, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.
Some of the assets in our Portfolio may be recorded at fair value and, as a result, there could be uncertainty as to the value of these assets. Further, we may experience a decline in the fair value of our assets.
Our investments are not publicly traded. The fair value of assets that are not publicly traded may not be readily determinable. In accordance with GAAP, we record certain of our assets at fair value, which may include unobservable inputs. Because such valuations are subjective, the fair value of these assets may fluctuate over short periods of time and our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these assets existed. The value of our common stock could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these assets were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal. Additionally, our results of operations for a given period could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these assets were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal. The valuation process can be particularly challenging during periods when market events make valuations of certain assets more difficult, unpredictable and volatile.
A decline in the fair market value of any asset we carry at fair value, may require us to reduce the value of such assets under GAAP. In addition, our other financial assets are subject to an impairment assessment that could result in adjustments to their carrying values. Upon the subsequent disposition or sale of such assets, we could incur future losses or gains based on the difference between the sale price received and adjusted value of such assets as reflected on our balance sheet at the time of sale.
The preparation of our financial statements, including provision for loan losses, involves use of estimates, judgments and assumptions, and our financial statements may be materially affected if our estimates prove to be incorrect.
Financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP require the use of estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts. Different estimates, judgments and assumptions reasonably could be used that would have a material effect on the financial statements, and changes in these estimates, judgments and assumptions are likely to occur from period to period in the future. Significant areas of accounting requiring the application of management’s judgment include but are not limited to determining the fair value of our assets.
These estimates, judgments and assumptions are inherently uncertain, and, if they prove to be wrong, then we face the risk that charges to income will be required. Any charges could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities. See Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates for a discussion of the accounting estimates, judgments and assumptions that we believe are the most critical to an understanding of our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Further, our provision for loan losses is evaluated on a quarterly basis. The determination of our provision for loan losses requires us to make certain estimates and judgments, which may be difficult to determine. Our estimates and judgments are based on a number of factors and may not be correct. If our estimates or judgments are incorrect, our results of operations and financial condition could be severely impacted. See Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates for a discussion of the accounting estimates, judgments and assumptions that we believe are the most critical to our provision of loan losses.
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We rely on our project sponsors for financial reporting related to our project companies, and our financial statements may be materially affected if the financial reporting related to our project companies proves to be incorrect.
We have equity investments in climate solutions project companies that we account for under the equity method of accounting, which requires us to rely on the project sponsor for the reporting of the financial results of those project companies, including in some instances the allocation of earnings under the hypothetical liquidation at book value (“HLBV”) method. The HLBV method involves complex judgments around the interpretation of legal provisions governing liquidation of the entity in which we are invested. To the extent the reporting inclusive of these HLBV allocations we are provided is incorrect, our financial results reported using that information may be incorrect.
The majority of our investments are not rated by a rating agency, which may result in an amount of risk, volatility or potential loss of principal that is greater than that of alternative asset opportunities.
The majority of our investments are not rated by any rating agency and we expect that most of the assets we originate and acquire in the future will not be rated by any rating agency. Although we focus on climate solutions project companies with high credit quality obligors, we believe that a number of the projects or obligors in which we invest, if rated, would be rated below investment grade, due to speculative characteristics of the project or the obligor’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal or pay dividends. Some of our assets may result in an amount of risk, volatility or potential loss of principal that is greater than that of alternative asset opportunities.
Any credit ratings assigned to our assets, debt or obligors are subject to ongoing evaluations and revisions and we cannot assure you that those ratings will not be downgraded.
To the extent our assets, their underlying obligors, or our debt are rated by credit rating agencies or by our internal rating process, such assets, obligors or our debt will be subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies and our internal rating process, and those ratings may be changed or withdrawn in the future. If rating agencies assign a lower-than-expected rating or if a rating is further reduced or withdrawn by a rating agency or us, or if there are indications of a potential reduction or withdrawal of the ratings of our assets, the underlying obligors or our debt in the future, the value of these assets could significantly decline, the level of borrowings based on such asset could be reduced or we could incur higher borrowing costs or incur losses upon disposition or the failure of obligors to satisfy their obligations to us.
Our investments are subject to delinquency, foreclosure and loss, any or all of which could result in losses to us.
Our investments are subject to risks of delinquency, foreclosure and loss. In many cases, the ability of a borrower to return our invested capital and our expected return is dependent primarily upon the successful development, construction and operation of the underlying project. If the cash flow of the project is reduced, the borrower’s ability to return our capital and our expected return may be impaired. We make certain estimates regarding project cash flows or savings during the underwriting of our investment. These estimates may not prove accurate, as actual results may vary from estimates. The cash flows or cost savings of a project can be affected by, among other things: the terms of the power purchase or other use agreements used in such project; the creditworthiness of the off-taker or project user; price of power or services now and in the future; the technology deployed; unanticipated expenses in the development or operation of the project and changes in national, regional, state or local economic conditions, laws and regulations; and acts of God, terrorism, social unrest and civil disturbances.
In the event of any default or shortfall of an investment, we will bear a risk of loss of principal or equity to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral, if any, and the amount of our investment, which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow from operations and may impact the cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Many of the projects are structured as special purpose limited liability companies, which limits our ability to realize any recovery to the collateral or value of the project itself. In the event of the bankruptcy of a project owner, obligor, or other borrower, our investment or the project will be deemed to be subject to the avoidance powers of the bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession and our or the project’s contractual rights may be unenforceable under federal bankruptcy or state law. Foreclosure proceedings against a project can be an expensive and lengthy process, which could have a substantial negative effect on our anticipated return on the foreclosed investment.
Our climate solutions project companies may incur liabilities that rank equally with, or senior to, our investments in such projects.
We provide a range of investment structures, including various types of debt and equity securities, senior and subordinated loans, real property leases, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and common equity. Our projects may have, or may be permitted to incur, other liabilities or equity preferences that rank equally with, or senior to, our positions or investments in such projects or businesses, as the case may be, including with respect to grants of collateral. By their terms, such instruments may entitle the holders to receive payment of interest, principal payments or other distributions on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments with respect to the instruments in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of an entity in which we have invested, holders of instruments ranking senior to our investment in that project or business would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any
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distribution. After repaying such senior stakeholders, such project may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of securities ranking equally with instruments we hold, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other stakeholders holding such instruments in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant project.
Our subordinated and mezzanine debt and equity investments, many of which are illiquid with no readily available market, involve a degree of risk.
Subordinated and mezzanine debt and equity investments involve a number of significant risks, including:
•such investments could be subject to further dilution as a result of the issuance of additional debt or equity interests and to additional risks because subordinated and mezzanine debt are subordinate to other indebtedness and in some cases, project tax equity, and equity interests are subordinate to all indebtedness (including trade creditors) and any senior securities in the event that the issuer is unable to meet its obligations or becomes subject to a bankruptcy process;
•to the extent that a project company in which we invest requires additional capital and is unable to obtain it, we may not recover our investment; and
•in some cases, subordinated and mezzanine debt may not pay current interest or principal or equity investments may not pay current dividends, and our ability to realize a return on our investment, as well as to recover our investment, will be dependent on the success of the project company in which we invest. The project may face unanticipated costs or delays or may not generate projected cash flows, which could lead to the project generating lower than expected rates of return.
We either jointly control or do not control the projects in which we invest, which may result in the project owner making certain business decisions or taking risks with which we disagree.
Although the covenants in our financing or investment documentation generally restrict certain actions that may be taken by project owners, we generally do not control the projects in which we invest. As a result, we are subject to the risk that the project owner may make certain business decisions or take risks with which we disagree or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests.
We invest in joint ventures and other similar arrangements that subject us to additional risks.
Some of our project companies are structured as joint ventures, partnerships, securitizations, syndications and consortium arrangements. Part of our strategy is to participate with other institutional investors or the project’s sponsor on various climate solutions transactions. These arrangements are driven by the magnitude of capital required to complete acquisitions and the development of climate solutions projects and other industry-wide trends that we believe will continue. Such arrangements involve risks not present where a third party is not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or otherwise fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Additionally, partners or co-venturers might at any time have economic or other business interests or goals different from ours. These investments generally provide for a reduced level of control over an acquired project because governance rights are shared with others. Accordingly, project decisions relating to the management, operation and the timing and nature of any exit, are often made by a majority vote of the investors or by separate agreements that are reached with respect to individual decisions. In addition, project operations may be subject to the risk that the project owners may make business, financial or management choices with which we do not agree or the management of the project may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our interests. Because we may not have the ability to exercise control, we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits expected from our investment. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer as a result.
In addition, some of our joint ventures, partnerships, and equity investments subject the sale or transfer of our interests in these project companies to rights of first refusal or first offer, tag along or drag along rights and buy-sell, call-put or other restrictions. Such rights may be triggered at a time when we may not want them to be exercised and such rights may inhibit our ability to sell our interest in an entity within our desired time frame or on any other desired terms.
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Many of our assets depend on revenues from third-party contractual arrangements, including PPAs, that expose the projects to various risks.
Many of the projects in which we invest rely on revenue or repayment from contractual commitments of end-customers, including federal, state, or local governments for energy efficiency projects or utilities or other customers under PPAs. There is a risk that these customers may default under their contracts. In addition, many of these end-customers are large entities with wide ranging activities. An event in a non-related part of the business could have a material adverse impact on the financial strength of such end-customer, such as the effect of wildfires on the California utilities. Furthermore, the bankruptcy, insolvency, or other liquidity constraints of one or more customers may result in a renegotiation or rejection of the third-party contract, delay the receipt of any obligations or reduce the likelihood of collecting defaulted obligations. Some projects rely on one customer for their revenue and thus the project could be materially and adversely affected by any material change in the financial condition of that customer. While there may be alternative customers for such a project, there can be no assurance that a new contract on the same terms will be able to be negotiated for the project.
Certain of our projects with contractually committed revenues or other sources of repayment under long term contracts will be subject to re-contracting risk in the future. These projects may be unable to renegotiate these contracts once their terms expire on equally favorable terms or at all. If it is not possible to renegotiate these contracts on favorable terms, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.
Revenues at some of the projects in which we invest depend on reliable and efficient metering, or other revenue collection systems, which are often specified in the contract. If one or more of these projects are not able to operate and maintain the metering or other revenue collection systems in the manner expected, if the operation and maintenance costs, are greater than expected, or if the customer disputes the output of the revenue collection system, the ability of the project to repay our investments or provide a return to us on our asset could be materially and adversely affected.
In most instances, projects which sell power under PPAs commit to sell minimum levels of generation. If the project generates less than the committed volumes, it may be required to buy the shortfall of electricity on the open market or make payments of liquidated damages or be in default under a PPA, which could result in its termination. In the event that any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer as a result.
We are exposed to the credit risk of various project sponsors, ESCOs, and others.
We are exposed to credit risks in the commercial projects in which we invest. We are also subject to varying degrees of credit risk related to ESCOs in government energy efficiency projects in which guarantees provided by ESCOs under energy savings performance contracts are required in the event that certain energy savings are not realized by the customer.
Where we make loans to or own equity interests in special purposes entities such as those that lease solar energy systems to residential customers, those special purpose entities often enter into various contractual arrangements with, or receive performance guarantees from the affiliate project sponsor to ensure satisfactory equipment or other project performance over the term of the lease or power purchase agreement. To the extent those parties are unable to perform on their contractual obligations or performance guarantees we may see diminished equity returns or the special purpose entity may be unable to repay their loan timely or at all.
We seek to mitigate these credit risks by employing a comprehensive review and asset selection process and careful ongoing monitoring of acquired assets. Nevertheless, unanticipated credit losses could occur which could adversely impact our operating results. During periods of economic downturn in the global economy, the solvency and financial wherewithal of counterparties with whom we do business could be impacted and our exposure to credit risks from obligors increases, and our efforts to monitor and mitigate the associated risks may not be effective in reducing our credit risks. In the event a counterparty to us or one of our climate solutions projects becomes insolvent or unable to make payments, we may fail to recover the full value of our investment or realize the value from the counterparty’s contract, thus reducing our earnings and liquidity. In addition, the insolvency of one or more of our, or one of our climate solutions projects’, counterparties could reduce the amount of financing available to us, which would make it more difficult for us to leverage the value of our assets and obtain substitute financing on attractive terms or at all. A material reduction in our financing sources or an adverse change in the terms of our financings could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. Certain participants in the sustainable energy industry have experienced significant declines in the value of their equity and difficulty in raising or refinancing debt, which increases the credit risk to these companies and they may not be able to fulfill their obligations which could adversely impact our operating results.
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Some of the projects in which we invest have sold their output under PPAs that expose the projects to various risks.
Some of our projects enter into PPAs when they contract to sell all or a fixed proportion of the electricity generated by the project, sometimes bundled with renewable energy credits and capacity or other environmental attributes, to a power purchaser, often a utility, or increasingly, a corporation. PPAs are used to stabilize our revenues from that project. We are exposed to the risk that the power purchaser, who we consider an obligor, will fail to perform under a PPA or the PPA will be terminated or expire, which will lead to that project needing to sell its electricity at the then market price, which could be substantially lower than the price provided in the applicable PPA. In many instances, the project also commits to sell minimum levels of generation. If the project generates less than the committed volumes, it may be required to buy the shortfall of electricity on the open market or make payments of liquidated damages or be in default under a PPA, which could result in its termination. In the event that any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer as a result.
Portions of the electricity and environmental attributes our assets generate are sold on the open market at spot-market prices. A prolonged environment of low prices for natural gas, or other conventional fuel sources, below the levels at which we assumed when underwriting these investment could have a material adverse effect on our long-term business prospects, financial condition and results of operations.
Low prices for traditional fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, could cause demand for renewable energy to decrease and prices have, and may continue to, adversely affect both the future sale price of energy under new PPAs and the current sale price of energy sold on a spot-market basis. Low PPA and spot market power prices, if combined with other factors, can have a material adverse effect on our projects and their respective values and our expected returns, results of operations and cash available for distribution.
Some of the projects we invest in, or may plan to invest in, sell environmental attributes such as renewable energy credits or other similar credits on an uncontracted basis. To the extent merchant prices for these attributes are lower than expected, our projects revenues could be adversely impacted, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer as a result.
The ability of our assets to generate revenue from certain projects depends on having interconnection arrangements and services.
The future success of our assets will depend, in part, on their ability to maintain satisfactory interconnection agreements. If the interconnection or transmission agreement of a project is terminated for any reason, they may not be able to replace it with an interconnection and transmission arrangement on terms as favorable as the existing arrangement, or at all, or they may experience significant delays or costs in connection with securing a replacement. If a network to which one or more of the projects is connected experiences equipment or operational problems or other forms of “down time,” the affected project may lose revenue and be exposed to non-performance penalties and claims from its customers. These may include claims for damages incurred by customers, such as the additional cost of acquiring alternative electricity supply at then-current spot market rates. The owners of the network will not usually compensate electricity generators for lost income due to down time. In addition, our projects may be exposed to a locational basis risk resulting from a difference between where the power is generated and the contracted delivery point. These factors could materially affect these projects, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow.
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Our projects and their obligors are exposed to an increase in climate change or other change in meteorological conditions, which could have an impact on electric generation, revenue, insurance costs or the ability of the projects or their obligors to honor their contract obligations, all of which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows.
The electricity produced and revenues generated by a renewable electric generation facility are highly dependent on suitable weather conditions, which are beyond our control. Components of renewable energy systems, such as turbines, solar panels and inverters, could be damaged by natural disasters or severe weather, including extreme temperatures, wildfires, hurricanes, hailstorms or tornadoes. Furthermore, the potential physical impacts of climate change may impact our projects, including the result of changes in weather patterns (including floods, tsunamis, drought, mudslides, and rainfall levels), wind speeds, water availability, storm patterns and intensities, and temperature levels. The projects in which we invest will be obligated to bear the expense of repairing the damaged renewable energy systems and replacing spare parts for key components and insurance may not cover the costs or the lost revenue. Natural disasters or unfavorable weather and atmospheric conditions, such as extreme cold temperatures or extreme events of rain, flooding, and mudslides, could impair the effectiveness of the renewable energy assets, reduce their output beneath their rated capacity, require shutdown of key equipment or impede operation of the renewable energy assets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows. Sustained unfavorable weather could also unexpectedly delay the installation of renewable energy systems, which could result in a delay in our investing in new projects or increase the cost of such projects. The resulting effects of climate change can also have an impact on the cost of, and the ability of a project to obtain, adequate insurance coverage to protect against related losses.
We typically base our investment decisions with respect to each renewable energy facility on the findings of studies conducted on-site prior to construction or based on historical conditions at existing facilities. However, actual climatic conditions at a facility site may not conform to the findings of these studies. Even if an operating project’s historical renewable energy resources are consistent with the long-term estimates, the unpredictable nature of weather conditions often results in daily, monthly and yearly material deviations from the average renewable resources anticipated during a particular period. Therefore, renewable energy facilities in which we invest may not meet anticipated production levels or the rated capacity of the generation assets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows.
In addition, many of the project’s end-customers are large entities with wide ranging activities. A climate related event in a non-related part of the business could have a material adverse impact on the financial strength of such end-customer and their ability to honor their contractual obligations which could negatively impact on revenue and the cash flow of the project and our business.
Operation of the projects in which we invest involves significant risks and hazards that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.
Climate projects are subject to various construction and operating delays and risks that have in the past caused them to, and may in the future cause them to, incur higher than expected costs or generate less than expected amounts of savings or outputs, such as electricity in the case of a renewable energy project.
The ongoing operation of the projects in which we invest involves risks that include construction delays, the breakdown or failure of equipment or processes or performance below expected levels of output or efficiency due to wear and tear, the impact of inflation, latent defect, design error or operator error or force majeure events, among other things. In addition to natural risks such as earthquake, flood, drought, lightning, wildfire, hurricane, ice, wind, and temperature extremes, other hazards, such as fire, explosion, structural collapse and machinery failure, acts of terrorism or related acts of war, hostile cyber intrusions, pandemics or other public health issue, or other catastrophic events are inherent risks in the construction and operation of a project. These and other hazards can cause significant personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property, plant and equipment and contamination of, or damage to, the environment and suspension of operations. Operation of a project also involves risks that the operator will be unable to transport its product to its customers in an efficient manner due to a lack of transmission capacity. Unplanned outages of projects, including extensions of scheduled outages due to mechanical failures or other problems, occur from time to time and are an inherent risk of the business. Unplanned outages typically increase operation and maintenance expenses and may reduce revenues as a result of selling less electricity or require the project to incur significant costs as a result of obtaining replacement power from third parties in the open market to satisfy forward power sales obligations. Any extended interruption in a project’s construction or operation, a project’s inability to operate its assets efficiently, manage capital expenditures and costs or generate earnings and cash flow could have a material adverse effect on the repayment of and return on our investment and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. While the projects maintain insurance, obtain warranties from vendors and obligate contractors to meet certain performance levels, the proceeds of such insurance, warranties or performance guarantees may not cover the lost revenues, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments should the project experience any equipment breakdowns, insurance claims or non-performance by contractors or vendors.
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Some of the projects in which we invest may require substantial operating or capital expenditures in the future.
Many of the projects in which we invest are capital intensive and require substantial ongoing expenditures for, among other things, additions and improvements, and maintenance and repair of plant and equipment related to project operations. In addition, there may be cash needs to settle certain contractual obligations of the projects, such as settlements or margining requirements related to hedging activities. While we do not typically bear the responsibility for these expenditures, any failure by the equity owner to make necessary operating or capital expenditures could adversely impact project performance. In addition, some of these expenditures may not be recoverable from current or future contractual arrangements.
The use of real property rights that we acquire or are used for our climate solutions projects may be adversely affected by the rights of lienholders and leaseholders that are superior to those of the grantors of those real property rights to us.
The projects in which we invest often require large areas of land for construction and operation or other easements or access to the underlying land. In addition, we may acquire rights to land or other real property. Although we believe that we, or the projects in which we invest, have valid rights to all material easements, licenses and rights of way, not all of such easements, licenses and rights of way are registered against the lands to which they relate and may not bind subsequent owners. Some of our real property rights and projects generally are, and are likely to continue to be, located on land occupied pursuant to long-term easements and leases. The ownership interests in the land subject to these easements and leases may be subject to mortgages securing loans or other liens (such as tax liens) and other easement and lease rights of third parties (such as leases of water, oil or mineral rights) that were created prior to, or are superior to, our or our projects’ easements and leases. As a result, our rights may be subject, and subordinate, to the rights of those third parties. We typically obtain representations or perform title searches or obtain title insurance to protect our real property interest and our investments in our projects against these risks. Such measures may, however, be inadequate to protect against all risk of loss of rights to use the land rights we have acquired or the land on which these projects are located, which could have a material and adverse effect on our land rights, our projects and their financial condition and operating results.
We own land or leasehold interests that are used by renewable energy projects. Negative market conditions or adverse events affecting tenants, or the industries in which they operate, could have an adverse impact on our underwritten returns. Moreover, many of our real estate assets are concentrated in similar geographic locations, which subjects us to an increased risk of significant loss if any property declines in value, incurs a natural disaster or if we are unable to lease a property.
We own land or leasehold interests used by renewable energy projects that are concentrated in a limited number of geographic locations. One consequence of this is that the aggregate returns we realize may be substantially adversely affected by the unfavorable performance of a small number of leases, a significant decline in the market value of any single property or a natural disaster in a concentrated area. Our cash flow depends in part on the ability to lease the real estate to projects or other tenants on economically favorable terms. We could be adversely affected by various facts and events over which we have limited or no control, such as:
•lack of demand in areas where our properties are located;
•inability to retain existing tenants and attract new tenants;
•oversupply of space and changes in market rental rates;
•our tenants’ creditworthiness and ability to pay rent, which may be affected by their operations, the current economic situation and competition within their industries from other operators;
•defaults by and bankruptcies of tenants, failure of tenants to pay rent on a timely basis, or failure of tenants to comply with their contractual obligations;
•economic or physical decline of the areas where the properties are located; and
•destruction from natural disasters.
At any time, any tenant may experience a downturn in its business, including increased operating costs, termination of a PPA or low spot-market prices of products, that may weaken its operating results or overall financial condition, a tenant may delay lease commencement, fail to make rental payments when due, decline to extend a lease upon its expiration, become insolvent or declare bankruptcy. Any tenant bankruptcy or insolvency, leasing delay or failure to make rental payments when due could result in the termination of the tenant’s lease and material losses to us.
If a tenant elects to terminate its lease prior to or upon its expiration or does not renew its lease as it expires, we may not be able to rent or sell the properties or realize our expected value. Furthermore, leases that are renewed and some new leases for properties that are re-leased, may have terms that are less economically favorable than expiring lease terms, or may require us to incur significant costs, such as lease transaction costs. In addition, negative market conditions or adverse events affecting tenants, or the industries in which they operate, may force us to sell vacant properties for less than their carrying value, which
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could result in impairments. Any of these events could adversely affect the value of our asset, the cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to stockholders and service indebtedness. A significant portion of the costs of owning property, such as real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance, are not necessarily reduced when circumstances cause a decrease in rental revenue from the properties. In a weakened financial condition, tenants may not be able to pay these costs of ownership and we may be unable to recover these operating expenses from them.
Further, the occurrence of a tenant bankruptcy or insolvency could diminish the income we receive from the tenant’s lease or leases. For instance, a bankruptcy court might authorize the tenant to terminate its leases with us. If that happens, our claim against the bankrupt tenant for unpaid future rent would be subject to statutory limitations that most likely would be substantially less than the remaining rent we are owed under the leases. In addition, any claim we have for unpaid past rent, if any, may not be paid in full. As a result, tenant bankruptcies may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
In addition, since renewable energy projects are often concentrated in certain states, we would also be subject to any adverse change in the political or regulatory climate in those states or specific counties where such properties are located that could adversely affect our properties and our ability to lease such properties.
Performance of projects where we invest may be harmed by future labor disruptions and economically unfavorable collective bargaining agreements.
A number of the projects where we invest could have workforces that are unionized or in the future may become unionized and, as a result, are required to negotiate the wages, benefits and other terms with many of their employees collectively. If these projects were unable to negotiate acceptable contracts with any of their unions as existing agreements expire, they could experience a significant disruption of their operations, higher ongoing labor costs and restrictions on their ability to maximize the efficiency of their operations, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, in some jurisdictions where our projects have operations, labor forces have a legal right to strike, which may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, either directly or indirectly, for example if a critical upstream or downstream counterparty was itself subject to a labor disruption that impacted the ability of our projects to operate.
We invest in projects that rely on third parties to manufacture quality products or provide reliable services in a timely manner and the failure of these third parties could cause project performance to be adversely affected.
We invest in projects that typically rely on third parties to select, manage or provide equipment or services. Third parties may be responsible for choosing vendors, including equipment suppliers and subcontractors. Project success often depends on third parties who are capable of installing and managing projects and structuring contracts that provide appropriate protection against construction and operational risks. In many cases, in addition to contractual protections and remedies, project owners may seek guaranties, warranties and construction bonding to provide additional protection.
The warranties provided by the third parties and, in some cases, their subcontractors, typically limit any direct harm that results from relying on their products and services. However, there can be no assurance that a supplier or subcontractor will be willing or able to fulfill its contractual obligations and make necessary repairs or replace equipment. In addition, these warranties generally expire within one to five years or may be of limited scope or provide limited remedies. If projects are unable to avail themselves of warranty protection or receive the expected protection under the terms of the guaranties or bonding, we may need to incur additional costs, including replacement and installation costs, which could adversely impact our investment.
In addition, renewable energy projects rely on electric and other types of transmission lines and facilities owned and operated by third parties to receive and distribute their energy. Any substantial access barriers to these lines and facilities could adversely impact the demand or financial performance for such projects and our investments.
Liability relating to environmental matters may impact the value of properties that we may acquire or the properties underlying our assets.
Under various U.S. federal, state and local laws, an owner or operator of real estate or a project may become liable for the costs of removal of certain hazardous substances released from the project or any underlying real property. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances.
The presence of hazardous substances may adversely affect our, or another owner’s, ability to sell a contaminated project or borrow using the project as collateral. To the extent that we, or another project owner, become liable for removal costs, our investment, or the ability of the owner to make payments to us, may be negatively impacted.
We acquire real property rights, make investments in projects that own real property, have collateral consisting of real property and in the course of our business, we may take title to a project or its underlying real estate assets relating to one of our debt financings. In these cases, we could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these assets. To the extent that
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we become liable for the removal costs, our results of operation and financial condition may be adversely affected. The presence of hazardous substances, if any, may adversely affect our ability to sell the affected real property or the project and we may incur substantial remediation costs, thus harming our financial condition.
Our insurance and contractual protections may not always cover lost revenue, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments.
Although our assets or projects generally have insurance, supplier warranties, subcontractors performance assurances such as bonding and other risk mitigation measures, the proceeds of such insurance, warranties, bonding or other measures may not be adequate to cover lost revenue, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments that may be required in the future.
The repayment of certain of our assets is dependent upon collection of payments from residential customers and we may be indirectly subject to consumer protection laws and regulations.
Certain obligors to which we have credit exposure are, or may be, subject to consumer protection laws, such as federal truth-in-lending, consumer leasing, and equal credit opportunity laws and regulations, as well as state and local sales and finance laws and regulations. Claims arising out of actual or alleged violations of law may be asserted against those obligors by individuals or governmental entities and may expose them to significant damages or other penalties, including fines, or could reduce the likelihood the residential customer may pay their obligation, which could limit their ability to repay borrowings or make equity distributions to us.
Risks Related to Our Company
Our management and employees depend on information systems and system failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.
Our underwriting process and our asset and financial management and reporting are dependent on our present and future communications and information systems. Any failure or interruption of these systems could cause delays or other problems in our originating, financing, investing, asset and financial management and reporting activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.
We contract with information technology service providers where, in part, we rely upon their systems and controls for the quality of the data provided. The inappropriate establishment and maintenance of these systems and controls could cause information that we use to operate our business to be unavailable or inaccurate and could negatively impact our financial results.
Our information technology architecture is partially outsourced. These systems and processes may be either internet based or through traditional outsourced functions and certain of these arrangements are new or emerging. When we contract with these service providers, we attempt to evaluate the quality of their systems and controls before we execute the arrangement and may rely on third party reviews and audits of these service providers and attempt to implement certain processes to ensure the quality of the data received from these service providers. Because of the nature and maturity of the technology such efforts may be unsuccessful or incomplete and the unavailability of these systems or the inaccurate data provided from these service providers could negatively impact our financial results.
Cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents may adversely affect our business by causing a disruption to our operations, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information, a misappropriation of funds, and/or damage to our business relationships, all of which could negatively impact our financial results.
A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. These incidents may be an intentional attack or an unintentional event and could involve gaining unauthorized access to our information systems for purposes of misappropriating assets, stealing confidential information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusions, including by computer hackers, nation-state affiliated actors, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased, and will likely continue to increase in the future. The result of these incidents could include disrupted operations, misstated or unreliable financial data, disrupted market price of our common stock, misappropriation of assets, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance cost, regulatory enforcement, litigation and damage to our relationships. These risks require continuous and likely increasing attention and other resources from us to, among other actions, identify and quantify these risks, upgrade and expand our technologies, systems and processes to adequately address them and provide periodic training for our employees to assist them in detecting phishing, malware and other schemes. Such attention diverts time and other resources from other activities and there is no assurance that our efforts will be effective. Additionally, the cost of maintaining such systems and processes, procedures and internal controls may increase from its current level. Potential sources for disruption, damage or failure of our information technology systems include, without limitation, computer viruses, security
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breaches, human error, cyber- attacks, natural disasters and defects in design. Additionally, due to the size and nature of our company, we rely on third-party service providers for many aspects of our business. The networks and systems that our third-party vendors have established or use may not be effective. As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to both our information systems and those provided by third-party service providers. Our processes, procedures and internal controls that are designed to mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber intrusions do not guarantee that a cyber incident will not occur or that our financial results, operations or confidential information will not be negatively impacted by such an incident.
Even if we are not targeted directly, cyberattacks on the U.S. and foreign governments, financial markets, financial institutions, or other businesses, including borrowers, vendors, software creators, cybersecurity service providers, and other third parties with whom we do business, may occur, and such events could disrupt our normal business operations and networks in the future.
Major public health issues and related disruptions in the U.S. and global economy and financial markets could adversely impact or disrupt our financial condition and results of operations.
In recent years, the outbreaks of a number of diseases, including COVID-19, avian influenza, H1N1, and other viruses have resulted in and increased the risk of a pandemic or major public health issues. We believe that our ability to operate, our level of business activity and the profitability of our business, as well as the values of, and the cash flows from, the assets we own could in the future be impacted by another pandemic or other major public health issue. While we have implemented risk management and contingency plans and taken preventive measures and other precautions, no predictions of specific scenarios can be made with certainty and such measures may not adequately predict the impact on our business from such events.
We may seek to expand our business internationally, which would expose us to additional risks that we do not face in the United States. A failure to manage these additional risks could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
We generate substantially all of our revenue from operations in the United States. We may seek to expand our projects outside of the United States in the future. These operations will be subject to a variety of risks that we do not face in the United States, including risk from changes in foreign country regulations, infrastructure, legal systems and markets. Other risks include possible difficulty in repatriating overseas earnings and fluctuations in foreign currencies.
Our overall success in international markets will depend, in part, on our ability to succeed in different legal, regulatory, economic, social and political conditions. We may not be successful in developing and implementing policies and strategies that will be effective in managing these risks in each country where we decide to do business. Our failure to manage these risks successfully could harm our international projects, reduce our international income or increase our costs, thus adversely affecting our business, financial condition and operating results.
Risks Relating to Regulation
We cannot predict the unintended consequences and market distortions that may stem from far-ranging governmental intervention in the economic and financial system or from regulatory reform of the oversight of financial markets.
The U.S. federal government, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the U.S. Treasury, the SEC, U.S. Congress and other governmental and regulatory bodies have taken, are taking or may in the future take, various actions to address inflation, financial crises, or other areas of regulatory concern. Such actions could have a dramatic impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and the cost of complying with any additional laws and regulations or the elimination or reduction in scope of various existing laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The far-ranging government intervention in the economic and financial system may carry unintended consequences and cause market distortions. We are unable to predict at this time the extent and nature of such unintended consequences and market distortions, if any. The inability to evaluate the potential impacts could have a material adverse effect on the operations of our business.
Loss of our 1940 Act exemptions may adversely affect us, the market price of shares of our common stock and our ability to distribute dividends.
We conduct our operations so that we are not required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. Government securities and cash items) on a non-consolidated basis, which we refer to as the 40% test. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. Government securities and securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exemption from the definition of investment company set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.
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We conduct our businesses primarily through our subsidiaries and our operations so that we comply with the 40% test. The securities issued by any wholly-owned or majority-owned subsidiaries that we hold or may form in the future that are exempted from the definition of “investment company” based on Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act, together with any other investment securities we may own, may not have a value in excess of 40% of the value of our total assets on a non-consolidated basis. Certain of our subsidiaries rely on or will rely on an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act pursuant to Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act, which is available for entities which are not primarily engaged in issuing redeemable securities, face-amount certificates of the installment type or periodic payment plan certificates and which are primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate. This exemption generally requires that at least 55% of such subsidiaries’ portfolios must be comprised of qualifying assets and at least 80% of each of their portfolios must be comprised of qualifying assets and real estate-related assets under the 1940 Act. Consistent with guidance published by the SEC staff, we intend to treat as qualifying assets for this purpose loans secured by projects for which the original principal amount of the loan did not exceed 100% of the value of the underlying real property portion of the collateral when the loan was made. We intend to treat as real estate-related assets non-controlling equity interests in joint ventures that own projects whose assets are primarily real property. In general, with regard to our subsidiaries relying on Section 3(c)(5)(C), we rely on other guidance published by the SEC or its staff or on our analyses of guidance published with respect to other types of assets to determine which assets are qualifying real estate assets and real estate-related assets.
In addition, one or more of our subsidiaries qualifies for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act pursuant to either Section 3(c)(5)(A) of the 1940 Act, which is available for entities which are not engaged in the business of issuing redeemable securities, face-amount certificates of the installment type or periodic payment plan certificates, and which are primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring notes, drafts, acceptances, open accounts receivable, and other obligations representing part or all of the sales price of merchandise, insurance, and services, or Section 3(c)(5)(B) of the 1940 Act, which is available for entities primarily engaged in the business of making loans to manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers of, and to prospective purchasers of, specified merchandise, insurance, and services. These exemptions generally require that at least 55% of such subsidiaries’ portfolios must be comprised of qualifying assets that meet the requirements of the exemption. We intend to treat energy efficiency loans where the loan proceeds are specifically provided to finance equipment, services and structural improvements to properties and other facilities and renewable energy and other climate solutions projects or improvements as qualifying assets for purposes of these exemptions. In general, we also expect, with regard to our subsidiaries relying on Section 3(c)(5)(A) or (B), to rely on guidance published by the SEC or its staff, including reliance on a no-action letter obtained in connection with Sections 3(c)(5)(A) and 3(c)(5)(B) of the 1940 Act, or on our analyses of guidance published with respect to other types of assets to determine which assets are qualifying assets under the exemptions.
Although we monitor the portfolios of our subsidiaries relying on the Section 3(c)(5)(A), (B) or (C) exemptions periodically and prior to each acquisition, there can be no assurance that such subsidiaries will be able to maintain their exemptions. Qualification for exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act will limit our ability to make certain investments. For example, these restrictions will limit the ability of these subsidiaries to make loans that are not secured by real property or that do not represent part or all of the sales price of merchandise, insurance, and services.
There can be no assurance that the laws and regulations governing the 1940 Act, including the Division of Investment Management of the SEC providing more specific or different guidance regarding these exemptions, will not change in a manner that adversely affects our operations. For example, on August 31, 2011, the SEC issued a concept release (No. IC-29778; File No. SW7-34-11, Companies Engaged in the Business of Acquiring Mortgages and Mortgage-Related Instruments) pursuant to which it is reviewing the scope of the exemption from registration under Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act. While the SEC has yet to provide additional information on its position relating to these exemptions and timing of any future changes to the exemptions remain unknown, any additional guidance from the SEC or its staff from this process or in other circumstances could provide additional flexibility to us, or it could further inhibit our ability to pursue the strategies we have chosen. If we or our subsidiaries fail to maintain an exemption from the 1940 Act, we could, among other things, be required either to (1) change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company, (2) effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so or (3) register as an investment company, any of which could negatively affect our business, our ability to make distributions, our financing strategy and the market price for shares of our common stock.
We have not requested the SEC or its staff to approve our treatment of any company as a majority-owned subsidiary and neither the SEC nor its staff has done so. If the SEC or its staff were to disagree with our treatment of one or more companies as majority-owned subsidiaries, we would need to adjust our strategy and our assets in order to continue to pass the 40% test. Any such adjustment in our strategy could have a material adverse effect on us.
Rapid changes in the values of our assets may make it more difficult for us to maintain our exemption from the 1940 Act.
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If the market value or income potential of our assets changes as a result of changes in interest rates, general market conditions, government actions or other factors, we may need to adjust the portfolio mix of our real estate assets and income or liquidate our non-qualifying assets to maintain our exemption from the 1940 Act. If changes in asset values or income occur quickly, this may be especially difficult to accomplish. This difficulty may be exacerbated by the illiquid nature of the assets we may own. We may have to make decisions that we otherwise would not make absent 1940 Act considerations.
Risks Related to our Borrowings and Hedging
We use financial leverage in executing our business strategy, which may adversely affect the returns on our assets and may reduce cash available for distribution to our stockholders, as well as increase losses when economic conditions are unfavorable.
We use debt to finance our assets, including credit facilities, recourse and non-recourse debt, securitizations, and syndications. Changes in the financial markets and the economy generally could adversely affect one or more of our lenders or potential lenders and could cause one or more of our lenders, potential lenders or institutional investors to be unwilling or unable to provide us with financing or participate in securitizations or could increase the costs of that financing or securitization. Some of our borrowings will have a remaining balance when they come due. If we are unable to repay or refinance the remaining balance of this debt, or if the terms of any available refinancing are not favorable, we may be forced to liquidate assets or incur higher costs which may significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could in turn cause the value of our common stock to decline. The return on our assets and cash available for distribution to our stockholders may be reduced to the extent that market conditions prevent us from leveraging our assets or increase the cost of our financing relative to the income that can be derived from the assets acquired. Increases in our financing costs will reduce cash available for distributions to stockholders. We may not be able to meet our financing obligations and, to the extent that we cannot, we risk the loss of some or all of our assets to liquidation or sale to satisfy the obligations.
An increase in our borrowing costs relative to the interest we receive on our assets may adversely affect our profitability and our cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Our borrowings may have a shorter duration than our assets.
As some of our borrowings will have a remaining balance at maturity, we may be required to enter into new borrowings at higher rates or to sell certain of our assets to repay the loan. Our credit facilities have rates that adjust on a frequent basis based on prevailing short-term interest rates. Increases in interest rates, or a flattening or inversion of the yield curve, reduce the spread between the returns on our assets which are typically priced using longer-term interest rates and the cost of any new borrowings or borrowings where the interest rate adjusts to market rates or is based on shorter-term rates. This change in interest rates may adversely affect our earnings and, in turn, cash available for distribution to our stockholders. In addition, as we may use short-term borrowings that are generally short-term commitments of capital, lenders may respond to market conditions making it more difficult for us to obtain continued financing. If we are not able to renew our then existing facilities or arrange for new financing on terms acceptable to us, or if we default on our covenants or are otherwise unable to access funds under any of these facilities, we may have to curtail entering into new transactions and/or dispose of assets. We will face these risks given that a number of our borrowings have a shorter duration than the assets they finance.
While we have an established Board-approved leverage limit, our Board may change our leverage limits without stockholder approval.
We are not restricted by any regulatory requirements to maintain our leverage ratio at or below any particular level. The amount of leverage we may deploy for particular assets will depend upon the availability of particular types of financing and our assessment of the credit, liquidity, price volatility and other risks of those assets and the credit quality of our financing counterparties. We have established leverage limits which are discussed in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources. However, our charter and bylaws do not limit the amount or type of indebtedness we can incur, and our Board has changed, and has the discretion to deviate from or change at any time in the future, our leverage policy, which could result in our business having a different risk profile. We utilize non-recourse facilities on certain types of assets that have significantly higher leverage. On these facilities, the lenders’ primary recourse is to the pledged assets. If the value of the pledged assets is below the value of the debt or if we default on a facility, the lender would be able to foreclose on all the pledged assets, which would result in losses and reduce our assets and the cash available for distributions to stockholders. We may apply too much leverage to our assets or may employ an inefficient financing strategy to our assets.
The use of securitizations and special purpose entities exposes us to additional risks.
We hold securitized loans and often hold the most junior certificates or the residual value associated with a securitization. We have also established funds and special purpose entities through which we hold only a partial or subordinate interest or a residual value after taking into account our non-recourse debt facilities or a right to participate in the profits of such entity once it achieves a predefined threshold. As a holder of the residual value or other such interests, we are more exposed to losses on
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the underlying collateral because the interest we retain in the securitization vehicle or other entity would be subordinate to the more senior notes or interests issued to investors and we would, therefore, absorb all of the losses, up to the value of our interests, sustained with respect to the underlying assets before the owners of the notes or other interests experience any losses. In addition, the inability to securitize our Portfolio or assets within our Portfolio could hurt our performance and our ability to grow our business.
We also use various special purpose entities to own and finance our assets. These subsidiaries incur various types of debt, that can be used to finance one or more of our assets. This debt is typically structured as non-recourse debt, which means it is repayable solely from the revenue from the investment financed by the debt and is secured by the related physical assets, major contracts, cash accounts and in some cases, a pledge of our ownership interests in the subsidiaries involved in the projects. Although this subsidiary debt is typically non-recourse to us, we make certain representations and warranties or enter into certain guaranties of our subsidiary’s obligations or covenants to the non-recourse debt holder, the breach of which may require us to make payments to the lender. We may also from time to time determine to provide financial support to the subsidiary in order to maintain rights to the project or otherwise avoid the adverse consequences of a default. In the event a subsidiary defaults on its indebtedness, its creditors may foreclose on the collateral securing the indebtedness, which may result in us losing our ownership interest in some or all of the subsidiary’s assets. The loss of our ownership interest in a subsidiary or some or all of a subsidiary’s assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.
Our existing credit facilities and debt contain, and any future financing facilities may contain, covenants that restrict our operations and may inhibit our ability to grow our business and increase revenues.
Our existing credit facilities and debt contain, and any future financing facilities may contain, various affirmative and negative covenants, including maintenance of an interest coverage ratio and limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds and stock repurchases. In addition, the terms of our non-recourse debt include restrictions and covenants, including limitations on our ability to transfer or incur liens on the assets that secure the debt. For further information see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.
The covenants and restrictions included in our existing financings do, and the covenants and restrictions to be included in any future financings may, restrict our ability to, among other things:
•incur or guarantee additional debt;
•make certain investments, originations or acquisitions;
•make distributions on or repurchase or redeem capital stock;
•engage in mergers or consolidations;
•reduce liquidity below certain levels;
•grant liens;
•have a tangible net worth below a defined threshold;
•incur operating losses for more than a specified period; and
•enter into transactions with affiliates.
Our non-recourse debt limits our ability to take action with regard to the assets pledged as security for the debt. These restrictions, as well as any other covenants contained in any future financings, may interfere with our ability to obtain financing, or to engage in other business activities, which may significantly limit or harm our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Certain financing agreements also contain cross-default provisions, so that if a default occurs under any one agreement, the lenders under our other agreements could also declare a default. A default and resulting repayment acceleration could significantly reduce our liquidity, which could require us to sell our assets to repay amounts due and outstanding. This could also significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could cause the value of our common stock to decline. A default will also significantly limit our financing alternatives such that we will be unable to pursue our leverage strategy, which could curtail the returns on our assets.
In addition, certain of our financing arrangements contain provisions that provide for a preference in cash flow allocations to the lender from our assets or an acceleration of principal payments owed when certain conditions are present related to the underlying assets that serve as collateral for the financing. These provisions may limit our ability to obtain distributions from the underlying assets and could impact our cash flow and expected returns.
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We have issued senior unsecured notes that require us to maintain a certain amount of unencumbered assets as a part of our Portfolio, as well as to maintain certain debt coverage service ratios in order to issue additional notes. These provisions may limit our ability to leverage certain assets and limit our overall debt levels.
We will have to pay off the remaining balance or refinance our borrowings when they become due. The failure to be able to pay off the remaining balance or refinance such borrowings or an increase in interest rates of such refinancing could have a material impact on our business.
Some of our borrowings will have a remaining balance when they become due. If our subsidiary is unable to repay or refinance the remaining balance of this debt, or if the terms of any available refinancing are not favorable, we may be forced to liquidate assets or incur higher costs which may significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could cause the value of our common stock to decline.
We have borrowings which bear interest at a variable rate that is based on Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) term rates (“Term SOFR”), which may have consequences for us that cannot be reasonably predicted and may adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition, and results of operations.
We have borrowings which bear interest at a rate per annum that is based upon Term SOFR. The use of SOFR based rates is relatively new, and there could be unanticipated difficulties or disruptions with the calculation and publication of SOFR based rates. In particular, if the agent under the CarbonCount-Based Revolving Credit Facility (the “unsecured revolving credit facility”) determines that SOFR based rates cannot be determined or the agent or the lenders determine that SOFR based rates do not adequately reflect the cost of funding the SOFR loans, outstanding SOFR loans will be converted into ABR Loans (as defined in the unsecured revolving credit facility). The possible volatility of SOFR and the potential conversion to ABR Loans could result in higher borrowing costs for us, which would adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition, and results of operations.
We, or the projects in which we invest, enter into hedging transactions that could expose us to contingent liabilities or additional credit risk in the future and adversely impact our financial condition.
Part of our strategy, or the strategy of the projects in which we invest, involves entering into hedging transactions that could require us to fund cash payments in certain circumstances (e.g., the early termination of the hedging instrument caused by an event of default or other early termination event, or the decision by a counterparty to request margin it is contractually owed under the terms of the hedging instrument). The amount due would be equal to the unrealized loss of the open swap positions with the respective counterparty and could also include other fees and charges. These economic losses will be reflected in our, or the project’s, financial statements, and our, or the project’s, ability to fund these obligations will depend on the liquidity of our, or the project’s, assets and access to capital at the time, and the need to fund these obligations could adversely impact our financial condition.
Even though most swaps are cleared through a central counterparty clearinghouse, certain transactions could be executed bilaterally with a counterparty. While we have the ability to require counterparties to post, to the extent we have not obtained sufficient collateral, we would remain exposed to our counterparty’s ability to perform on its obligations under each hedge and cannot look to the creditworthiness of a central counterparty for performance. As a result, if a hedging counterparty cannot perform under the terms of the hedge, we would not receive payments due under that hedge, we may lose any unrealized gain associated with the hedge and the hedged liability would cease to be hedged. While we would seek to terminate the relevant hedge transaction and may have a claim against the defaulting counterparty for any losses, including unrealized gains, there is no assurance that we would be able to recover such amounts or to replace the relevant hedge on economically viable terms or at all. In such case, we could be forced to cover our unhedged liabilities at the then current market price. We may also be at risk for any collateral we have pledged to secure our obligations under the hedge if the counterparty becomes insolvent or files for bankruptcy.
Furthermore, our interest rate swaps and other hedge transactions are subject to increasing statutory and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the identity of the counterparty, applicable international requirements. Recently, new regulations have been promulgated by U.S. and foreign regulators to strengthen the oversight of swaps, and any further actions taken by such regulators could constrain our strategy or increase our costs, either of which could materially and adversely impact our results of operations.
Moreover, the projects in which we invest, may enter into various forms of hedging including interest rate and power price hedging. To the extent they enter into such hedges, the financial results of the project will be exposed to similar risks as described above which could adversely impact our results of operations. Further, the hedges entered into by us or the projects in which we invest may not be effective which could adversely impact our economics.
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If we, or our projects, choose not to pursue, or fail to qualify for, hedge accounting treatment, our operating results under GAAP may be impacted because losses on the derivatives that we enter into may not be offset by a change in the fair value of the related hedged transaction.
We, or our projects, may choose not to pursue, or fail to qualify for, hedge accounting treatment relating to derivative and hedging transactions. We, or our projects, may fail to qualify for hedge accounting treatment for a number of reasons, including if we, or our projects, use instruments that do not meet the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815 definition of a derivative, we, or our projects, fail to satisfy ASC Topic 815 hedge documentation and hedge effectiveness assessment requirements or the hedge relationship is not highly effective. If we, or our projects, fail to qualify for, or choose not to pursue, hedge accounting treatment, our, or our projects, operating results may be impacted because losses on the derivatives that we, or our projects, enter into may not be offset by a change in the fair value of the related hedged transaction in our statement of operations presented under GAAP.
Risks Related to Our Common Stock
An active trading market for our common stock may not continue, which could cause our common stock to trade at a discount and make it difficult for holders of our common stock to sell their shares.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). However, an active trading market for our common stock may not continue, which could cause our common stock to trade at a discount to historical prices. Some of the factors that have or in the future could negatively affect the market price of our common stock include:
•our actual or projected operating results, financial condition, cash flows and liquidity or changes in business strategy or prospects;
•changes in the mix of our investment products and services, including the level of securitizations or fee income in any quarter;
•actual or perceived conflicts of interest with individuals, including our executives;
•our ability to arrange financing for projects;
•equity issuances by us, or share resales by our stockholders, or the perception that such issuances or resales may occur;
•seasonality in construction and demand for our investments;
•actual or anticipated accounting problems;
•publication of research reports about us or the climate solutions industry;
•changes in market valuations of similar companies;
•adverse market reaction to any increased indebtedness we may incur in the future;
•commodity price changes;
•interest rate changes;
•additions to or departures of our key personnel;
•speculation or negative publicity in the press or investment community;
•our failure to meet, or the lowering of, our earnings estimates or those of any securities analysts;
•increases in market interest rates, which may lead investors to demand a higher distribution yield for our common stock, and would result in increased interest expenses on certain of our debt;
•changes in governmental policies, regulations or laws;
•failure to maintain our exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act;
•price and volume fluctuations in the stock market generally; and
•general market and economic conditions, including the current state of the credit and capital markets.
Market factors unrelated to our performance also have, and could in the future, negatively impact the market price of our common stock. One of the factors that investors may consider in deciding whether to buy or sell our common stock is our distribution rate as a percentage of our stock price relative to market interest rates. If market interest rates increase, prospective investors may demand a higher distribution rate or seek alternative investments paying higher dividends or interest. As a result,
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interest rate fluctuations and conditions in capital markets have, or in the future could, affect the market value of our common stock.
Common stock and preferred stock eligible for future sale may have adverse effects on our share price.
Subject to applicable law, our Board, without stockholder approval, may authorize us to issue additional authorized and unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock on the terms and for the consideration it deems appropriate.
We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of our common stock or the availability of shares for future sales, on the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of common stock or the perception that such sales could occur may adversely affect the prevailing market price for our common stock.
We cannot assure you of our ability to make distributions in the future. If our portfolio of assets fails to generate sufficient income and cash flow, we could be required to sell assets, borrow funds, issue additional equity or make a portion of our distributions in the form of a taxable stock distribution or distribution of debt securities.
As a REIT, we were generally required, among other things, to distribute annually at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) each year for us to have qualified as, and to have maintained our qualification as a REIT. Effective January 1, 2024, we revoked our REIT election and starting in 2024 we will be taxed as a C corporation, and as a result, in 2024, we are no longer subject to this requirement. However, our current policy is to pay quarterly distributions. In the event that our Board authorizes distributions in excess of the income or cash flow generated from our assets, we may make such distributions from the proceeds of future offerings of equity or debt securities or other forms of debt financing or the sale of assets.
Our ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by a number of factors. Therefore, although we anticipate making quarterly distributions to our stockholders, our Board has the sole discretion to determine the timing, form and amount of any distributions to our stockholders. If our portfolio of assets fails to generate sufficient income and cash flow, we could be required to sell assets, borrow funds, raise additional equity or make a portion of our distributions in the form of a taxable stock distribution or distribution of debt securities. To the extent that we are required to sell assets in adverse market conditions or borrow funds at unfavorable rates, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. If we raise additional equity, our stock price could be materially and adversely affected. Our Board will make determinations regarding distributions based upon various factors, including our earnings, our financial condition, our liquidity, our debt covenants, applicable provisions of the MGCL and other factors as our Board may deem relevant from time to time. We believe that a change in any one of the following factors could adversely affect our results of operations and impair our ability to make distributions to our stockholders:
•our ability to make profitable investments;
•margin calls or other expenses that reduce our cash flow;
•defaults in our asset portfolio or decreases in the value of our portfolio;
•the cash flow we receive from our assets, including those subject to non-recourse debt; and
•the fact that anticipated operating expense levels may not prove accurate, as actual results may vary from estimates.
As a result, no assurance can be given that we will be able to make distributions to our stockholders at any time in the future or that the level of any distributions we do make to our stockholders will achieve a market yield or increase or even be maintained over time, any of which could materially and adversely affect us. In addition, a failure to achieve the anticipated benefits of the transition from a REIT to a taxable C corporation at all, or in a timely manner, could adversely affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders as well as our business, financial condition, results of operations, and the market price of our common stock.
Future offerings of debt or equity securities, which may rank senior to our common stock, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.
Our present debt ranks, and any future debt would rank, senior to our common stock. Such debt is, and likely will be, governed by a loan agreement, an indenture, or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, our convertible securities, and any equity securities or convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock and may result in dilution to owners of our common stock. We and, indirectly, our stockholders will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such debt or securities. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our common stock will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting the value of their stock holdings in us.
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Risks Related to Our Organization and Structure
Our business could be harmed if key personnel terminate their employment with us.
Our success depends, to a significant extent, on the continued services of our senior management team. We have entered into employment agreements with certain members of our senior management team. Notwithstanding these agreements, there can be no assurance that any or all members of our senior management team will remain employed by us. We do not maintain key person life insurance on any of our officers. The loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team could harm our business and our prospects.
Conflicts of interest could arise as a result of our structure.
Conflicts of interest could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our Operating Partnership or any partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under applicable Maryland law in connection with our management. Our duties, as the general partner, to our Operating Partnership and our partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to us.
Under Delaware law, a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership owes its limited partners the duties of good faith and fair dealing. Other duties, including fiduciary duties, may be modified or eliminated in the partnership’s partnership agreement, except that conflict of interest transactions may still run afoul of implied contractual standards under Delaware law. The partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership provides that, for so long as we own a controlling interest in our Operating Partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners will be resolved in favor of our stockholders. We have not obtained an opinion of counsel covering the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership that purport to waive or restrict our fiduciary duties that would be in effect under common law were it not for the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership.
Additionally, the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership expressly limits our liability by providing that neither we, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, nor any of our directors or officers, will be liable or accountable in damages to our Operating Partnership, its limited partners or their assignees for errors in judgment, mistakes of fact or law or for any act or omission if the general partner, director or officer, acted in good faith. In addition, our Operating Partnership is required to indemnify us, our affiliates and each of our and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities (whether joint or several), expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and other legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, that relate to the operations of the Operating Partnership, provided that our Operating Partnership will not indemnify any such person for (1) willful misconduct or a knowing violation of the law, (2) any transaction for which such person received an improper personal benefit in violation or breach of any provision of the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership, or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the person had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful.
Certain provisions of Maryland law could inhibit changes in control.
Certain provisions of the MGCL may have the effect of deterring a third party from making a proposal to acquire us or of impeding a change in control under circumstances that otherwise could provide the holders of our common stock with the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price of our common stock. We are subject to the “business combination” provisions of the MGCL that, subject to limitations, prohibit certain business combinations between us and an “interested stockholder” (defined generally as any person who beneficially owns 10% or more of our then outstanding voting stock or an affiliate or associate of ours who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of our then outstanding voting stock) or an affiliate thereof for five years after the most recent date on which the stockholder becomes an interested stockholder and, thereafter, impose fair price and/or supermajority stockholder voting requirements on these combinations.
The “control share” provisions of the MGCL provide that, subject to certain exemptions, a holder of “control shares” of a Maryland corporation (defined as shares which, when aggregated with all other shares controlled by the stockholder (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), entitle the stockholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of issued and outstanding “control shares”) has no voting rights with respect to such shares except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding votes entitled to be cast by the acquirer of control shares, our officers and our directors who are also our employees.
The “unsolicited takeover” provisions of Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permit our Board, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain takeover defenses, some of which (for example, a classified board) we do not yet have.
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As permitted by the MGCL, our Board has by resolution exempted from the “business combination” provision of the MGC business combinations (1) between us and any other person, provided, that such business combination is first approved by our Board (including a majority of our directors who are not affiliates or associates of such person), (2) the Predecessor and its affiliates and associates as part of our formation transactions and (3) persons acting in concert with any of the foregoing. Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the control share acquisition statute any and all acquisitions by any person of shares of our stock. There can be no assurance that our Board will not amend or revoke the exemption at any time.
Our authorized but unissued shares of common and preferred stock may prevent a change in our control.
Our charter permits our Board to authorize us to issue additional shares of our authorized but unissued common or preferred stock. In addition, our Board may, without common stockholder approval, amend our charter to increase the aggregate number of our shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have the authority to issue and classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common or preferred stock and set the terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our Board may establish a series of common or preferred stock that could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.
Our rights and the rights of our stockholders to take action against our directors and officers are limited, which could limit stockholder recourse in the event of actions not in our stockholders’ best interests.
Our charter eliminates the liability of our present and former directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law.
Our charter authorizes us, and our bylaws and indemnification agreements entered into with each of our directors and executive officers require us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of their ultimate entitlement to indemnification, to pay or reimburse defense costs and other expenses of each of our directors and officers in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party or witness by reason of his or her service to us. As a result, we and our stockholders have rights against our directors and officers that are more limited than might otherwise exist and, in the event that actions taken by any of our directors or officers impede the performance of our company, your and our ability to recover damages from such director or officer will be limited.
Our charter contains provisions that make removal of our directors difficult, which could make it difficult for our stockholders to effect changes to our management.
Our charter provides that, subject to the rights of holders of any series of preferred stock, a director may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least two thirds of the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors. Vacancies may be filled only by a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if less than a quorum. These requirements make it more difficult to change our management by removing and replacing directors and may prevent a change in control of our company that is in the best interests of our stockholders.
Failure to qualify as a REIT for this and prior taxable years would subject us to U.S. federal income tax and potentially state and local tax.
We elected to be taxed as a REIT commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013, but recently terminated our election, effective January 1, 2024. Prior to terminating our REIT election, our qualification as a REIT depended upon our satisfaction of certain asset, income, organizational, distribution, stockholder ownership and other requirements on a continuing basis. We structured our activities in a manner designed to satisfy all the requirements to qualify as a REIT. However, the REIT qualification requirements are extremely complex and interpretation of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing qualification as a REIT is limited. Furthermore, any opinion of our counsel, regarding qualification as a REIT is not binding on the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). Satisfying the asset tests depended on our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination. Furthermore, during the period that we elected to be taxed as a REIT, we invested in certain assets that we believed were qualifying assets for purposes of the REIT assets tests, such as mezzanine loans meeting certain requirements and commercial property assessed clean energy assets, and no assurance can be provided that the IRS would agree with such characterizations. Accordingly, if certain of our operations were to be recharacterized by the IRS, such recharacterization could jeopardize our ability to have satisfied all requirements for qualification as a REIT for prior taxable years. Furthermore, future legislative, judicial or administrative changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws could be applied retroactively, which could result in our disqualification as a REIT for prior taxable years.
We received a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), which we refer to as the Ruling, relating to our ability to treat certain of our assets as qualifying REIT assets. We were entitled to rely on this Ruling for those assets which fit within the scope of the Ruling only to the extent that we had the legal and contractual rights described in the Ruling, and we operated in accordance with the relevant facts described in the Ruling request we submitted, such facts were accurately presented and only to the extent that the Ruling was not inconsistent with the Real Property Regulations (as discussed in more
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detail below). As a result, no assurance can be given that we were able to rely on the Ruling during the period that we elected to be taxed as a REIT.
In August of 2016, the Treasury Department and the IRS published regulations which we refer to as the Real Property Regulations relating to the definition of “real property” for purposes of the REIT income and asset tests with respect to our taxable years that we elected to be taxed as a REIT beginning after December 31, 2016. Among other things, the Real Property Regulations provide that an obligation secured by a structural component of a building or other inherently permanent structure qualifies as a real estate asset for REIT qualification purposes only if such obligation is also secured by a real property interest in the inherently permanent structure served by such structural component. This aspect of the Real Property Regulations has important implications for our qualification as a REIT during the periods that we elected to so qualify, because a significant portion of our REIT qualifying assets consisted of receivables that were secured by liens on installed structural improvements designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and a significant portion of our REIT qualifying gross income was interest income earned with respect to such receivables.
The structural improvements securing the receivables held by us during the period we elected to be taxed as a REIT generally qualified as “fixtures” under local real property law, as well as under the Uniform Commercial Code, or the UCC, which governs rights and obligations of parties in secured transactions. Although not controlling for REIT purposes, the general rule in the United States is that once improvements are permanently installed in real properties, such improvements become fixtures and thus take on the character of and are considered to be real property for certain state and local law purposes. In general, in the United States, laws governing fixtures, including the UCC and real property law, afford lenders who have secured their financings with security interests in fixtures with rights that extend not just to the fixtures that secure their financings, but also to the real properties in which such fixtures have been installed. By way of example only, Section 9-604(b) of the UCC, which has been adopted in all but two states in the United States, permits a lender secured by fixtures, upon a default, to enforce its rights under the UCC or under applicable real property laws. Although there is limited authority directly on point, given the nature of, and the extent to which, the structural improvements securing the receivables held by us during the period we elected to be taxed as a REIT were integrated into and served the related buildings, we believe that the better view is that the nature and scope of our rights in such buildings that inured to us as a result of our receivables were sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Real Property Regulations described above. In addition to the limited authority directly on point, two other important caveats apply in this regard. First, the Real Property Regulations do not define what is required for an obligation secured by a lien on a structural component to also be secured by a real property interest in the building served by such structural component. However, the initial proposed version of the Real Property Regulations, which never became effective, included a requirement that the interest in the real property held by a REIT be “equivalent” to the interest in a structural component held by the REIT in order for the structural component to be treated as a real estate asset. This requirement was ultimately not included in the final Real Property Regulations, in part in response to comments that such requirement may negatively affect investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy assets. We believe the deletion of this requirement implies that under the final Real Property Regulations, our rights in the building during the period we elected to be taxed as a REIT did not need to be equivalent to our rights in the structural components serving the building. Second, real property law is typically relegated to the states and the specific rights available to any lien or mortgage holder, including our rights as a fixture lien holder described above, may vary between jurisdictions as a result of a range of factors, including the specific local real property law requirements and judicial and regulatory interpretations of such laws, and the competing rights of mortgage and other lenders. During the period we elected to be taxed as a REIT,we applied the analysis described above in a number of states that have adopted Section 9-604(b) of the UCC. In addition, in states where Section 9-604(b) of the UCC has not been adopted, we applied the analysis described above based on the application of the local real property laws of that state to the extent that we received advice from counsel in those jurisdictions that local real property law provided us with appropriate rights to the buildings in which the structural improvements securing our receivables were installed. Furthermore, we applied the analysis described above to certain receivables secured by liens on structural improvements installed in buildings located in certain U.S. installations outside of the United States, based on our view that such installations were subject to U.S. sovereignty and as a result the UCC applied in such installations. While a number of cases have addressed the rights of fixture lien holders generally, there are limited judicial interpretations in only a few jurisdictions that directly address the rights and remedies available to a fixture lien holder in the real property in which the fixtures have been installed. Such rights have been addressed in some cases that support our position and, in factual circumstances distinguishable from our own, in some cases where the courts have found these rights to be more limited. The resolution of these issues in many jurisdictions therefore has remained uncertain. As a result of the foregoing, no assurance can be given that the IRS will not challenge our position that the receivables that we held during the periods that we elected to be taxed as a REIT met the requirements of the Real Property Regulations or that, if challenged, such position would be sustained.
The preamble to the Real Property Regulations provides that, to the extent a private letter ruling issued prior to the issuance of the Real Property Regulations is inconsistent with the Real Property Regulations, the private letter ruling is revoked prospectively from the applicability date of the Real Property Regulations. We do not believe that the Ruling is inconsistent with the Real Property Regulations because we believe the analysis in the Ruling was based on similar principles as the relevant
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portions of the Real Property Regulations, and accordingly we do not believe that the Real Property Regulations impacted our ability to rely on the Ruling. However, no assurance can be given that the IRS would not successfully assert that we were not permitted to rely on the Ruling during periods that we elected to be taxed as a REIT because the Ruling had been revoked by the Real Property Regulations.
If the IRS were to assert that a significant portion of the receivables that we held during periods that we elected to be taxed as a REIT did not qualify as real estate assets and did not generate income treated as interest income from mortgages on real property, we would fail to satisfy both the gross income requirements and asset requirements applicable to REITs during the relevant periods.
During the period that we elected to be taxed as a REIT, no more than 20% of the value of our total assets were permitted to consist of stock and securities of one or more taxable REIT subsidiaries, or TRSs. In order to satisfy the TRS limitation, we made loans to our TRSs that met the requirements to be treated as qualifying investments of new capital, which are generally treated as real estate assets under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or “the Code”. Because such loans were treated as real estate assets for purposes of the REIT requirements, we did not treat these loans as TRS securities for purposes of the TRS asset limitation. However, no assurance can be provided that the IRS may not successfully assert that such loans should be treated as securities of our TRSs, which could adversely impact our qualification as a REIT during the periods that we elected to be taxed as a REIT. In addition, our TRSs had obtained financing in transactions in which we and our other subsidiaries had provided guaranties and similar credit support. Although we believe that these financings were properly treated as financings of our TRSs for U.S. federal income tax purposes, no assurance can be provided that the IRS would not assert that such financings should be treated as issued by other entities in our structure, which could impact our compliance with the TRS limitation and the other REIT requirements during the period that we elected to be taxed as a REIT.
If the IRS were to determine that we failed to qualify as a REIT for any prior taxable year ended on or before December 31, 2023, and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on our taxable income for such taxable year at the applicable corporate rate. If that were to happen, we would also be disqualified from treatment as a REIT for the four taxable years following the year in which we lost our REIT qualification. Losing our REIT qualification for any prior taxable year(s) could reduce our current and/or future net earnings available for investment or distribution to stockholders because of additional tax liability for any such year(s). If we were to lose our REIT qualification for any prior taxable year(s), we might be required to borrow funds or liquidate some investments in order to pay any applicable tax.
Our ability to utilize our NOLs and other carryforwards may be limited.
Under the Code, a corporation is generally allowed a deduction for net operating losses (“NOLs”) carried over from prior taxable years, subject to certain limitations. As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $666 million of gross federal NOLs, of which $87 million begin to expire in 2034 and $579 million of which can be carried forward indefinitely, and $31 million of tax credits available to reduce future federal tax liabilities. Our NOL carryforwards are subject to adjustment on audit by the Internal Revenue Service and the respective state taxing authorities. Additionally, certain of the NOL carryforwards may expire before we can generate sufficient taxable income to use them.
Our ability to use our NOLs and other carryforwards depends on the amount of taxable income generated in future periods. There can be no assurance that an additional valuation allowance on our net deferred tax assets will not be required should our financial performance be negatively impacted in the future. Such valuation allowance could be material. In addition, the use of NOLs and other carryforwards to offset taxable income is subject to various limitations, which could limit our ability to utilize these tax attributes to reduce our taxes even if we generate sufficient taxable income.
A corporation’s ability to deduct its federal NOL carryforwards and to utilize certain other available tax attributes can be substantially constrained under the general annual limitation rules of Section 382 of the Code (“Section 382”) if it undergoes an “ownership change” as defined in Section 382 (generally where cumulative stock ownership changes among material stockholders exceed 50% during a rolling three-year period). An ownership change may severely limit or effectively eliminate our ability to utilize our NOL carryforwards and other tax attributes. In October 2023, our Board of Directors adopted a tax benefits preservation plan (the “Tax Benefits Preservation Plan”) in order to preserve our ability to use our NOLs and certain other tax attributes to reduce potential future income tax obligations. The Tax Benefits Preservation Plan is designed to reduce the likelihood that we experience an ownership change by deterring certain acquisitions of our common stock. There is no assurance, however, that the deterrent mechanism will be effective, and such acquisitions may still occur. In addition, the Tax Benefits Preservation Plan may adversely affect the marketability of our common stock by discouraging existing or potential investors from acquiring our common stock or additional shares of our common stock, because any non-exempt third party that acquires 4.9% or more of the then-outstanding shares of our common stock would suffer substantial dilution of its ownership interest in HASI.
We may be subject to adverse legislative or regulatory tax changes that could increase our tax liability, reduce our operating flexibility, and reduce the market price of shares of our stock.
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Changes to the tax laws may occur, and any such changes could have an adverse effect on an investment in shares of our stock or on the market value or the resale potential of our assets. Our stockholders are urged to consult with an independent tax advisor with respect to the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in shares of our stock.
Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments.
None.
Item 1C. Cybersecurity.
Risk management and strategy
We have implemented and maintain various information security processes at each of our remote and office locations designed to identify, assess and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats to our critical computer networks, third-party hosted services, communications systems, hardware and software, and our critical data, including intellectual property and confidential information that is proprietary, strategic or competitive in nature (“Information Systems and Data”).
Our Chief Technology Officer (“CTO”), who also serves as our chief information security officer, and Deputy Chief Information Security Officer (“Deputy CISO”) help identify, assess and manage our cybersecurity threats and risks. Collaborating with their team, they are responsible for steering the company-wide cybersecurity strategy, policy, standards, architecture, and processes. They also identify and assess risks from cybersecurity threats by monitoring and evaluating our threat environment and our risk profile using various methods.
The Company’s information security program, led by our CTO and Deputy CISO, collaborates with various departments within the organization, such as information technology, legal, enterprise risk management, human resources, accounting, finance, and internal audit, as well as external third-party partners. This collaboration aims to identify, mitigate, and plan for potential cybersecurity threats comprehensively. Additionally, the Company consistently evaluates and enhances its processes, procedures, and management approaches in response to evolving cybersecurity landscapes.
Depending on the environment, we implement and maintain various technical, physical, and organizational measures, processes, standards and policies designed to manage and mitigate material risks from cybersecurity threats to our Information Systems and Data. These include incident management, change management, network segmentation, cyber protection and containment, detection and response, and recovery. We measure our programs against the National Institute of Standards and Technology Cyber Security Framework and regularly test our controls and incident response plans.
Our assessment and management of material risks from cybersecurity threats are integrated into our overall risk management processes. For example, (1) cybersecurity risk is addressed as a component of our enterprise risk management program; (2) the information security function works with our leadership team to prioritize our risk management processes and mitigate cybersecurity threats that are more likely to lead to a material impact to our business; (3) our CTO evaluates material risks from cybersecurity threats against our overall business objectives and reports to the Finance & Risk Committee of our board of directors (the “Finance and Risk Committee”), which evaluates our overall enterprise risk.
We use third-party service providers to assist us from time to time to identify, assess, and manage material risks from cybersecurity threats, as well as to perform a variety of other functions throughout our business. We have enlisted the services of a third-party managed detection and response firm to conduct continuous monitoring of our information systems, including intrusion detection and alerting. We also regularly engage with assessors, consultants, auditors, and other third parties to review our cybersecurity program to help identify areas for continued focus, improvement, and compliance.
For a description of the risks from cybersecurity threats that may materially affect us and how they may do so, see our risk factors under “Part 1. Item 1A. Risk Factors” in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including “Cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents may adversely affect our business by causing a disruption to our operations, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information, a misappropriation of funds, and/or damage to our business relationships, all of which could negatively impact our financial results.”
Governance
Our board of directors addresses our cybersecurity risk management as part of its general oversight function. The Finance & Risk Committee is responsible for overseeing the Company’s cybersecurity risk management processes, including oversight and mitigation of risks from cybersecurity threats. Our cybersecurity risk assessment and management processes are implemented and maintained by certain Company management, including our CTO and Deputy CISO. The CTO and Deputy CISO have a combined four decades of information technology and cybersecurity leadership experience across public and private sectors.
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Our CTO is responsible for hiring appropriate personnel, helping to integrate cybersecurity risk considerations into our overall risk management strategy, and communicating key priorities to relevant personnel. Our CTO and Deputy CISO are responsible for approving budgets, helping prepare for cybersecurity incidents, approving cybersecurity processes, and reviewing security assessments and other security-related reports.
Our cybersecurity incident response plan and vulnerability management processes are designed to escalate certain cybersecurity incidents to members of management depending on the circumstances, including our CEO, CFO, Chief Legal Officer and other members of our leadership team. Our leadership team works with our incident response team to help us mitigate and remediate cybersecurity incidents of which they are notified. In addition, our incident response plan and vulnerability management processes include reporting to our board of directors for certain cybersecurity incidents.
The Finance & Risk Committee receives periodic reports from CTO concerning our significant cybersecurity threats and risk and the processes we have implemented to address them. The Finance & Risk Committee also receives various reports, summaries or presentations related to cybersecurity threats, risk and mitigation.
Item 2. Properties
Our principal executive offices are located at One Park Place, Suite 200, Annapolis, Maryland 21401. Our telephone number is (410) 571-9860.
Item 3. Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may be involved in various claims and legal actions in the ordinary course of business. As of December 31, 2023, we are not currently subject to any legal proceedings that are likely to have a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures
Not applicable.
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PART II
Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities
Market Information
Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “HASI.”
Holders
As of February 12, 2024, we had 159 registered holders of our common stock. The 159 holders of record do not include the beneficial owners of our common stock whose shares are held by a broker or bank. Such information was obtained from The Depository Trust Company.
Dividends
We intend to make regular quarterly distributions to holders of our common stock. Any distributions we make will be at the discretion of our Board and will depend upon, among other things, our actual results of operations. These results and our ability to pay distributions will be affected by various factors, including the net interest and other income from our Portfolio, our operating expenses and any other expenditures. See Item 1A. Risk Factors, and Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, of this Form 10-K, for information regarding the sources of funds used for dividends and for a discussion of factors, if any, which may adversely affect our ability to pay dividends. See Note 11 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for details of our dividends declared in 2023 and 2022.
Additionally, as we were subject to the REIT requirements to distribute at least 90% of our REIT taxable income for tax years 2023 and prior, there was a minimum amount of distributions that we were required to make. The taxable income of the REIT can vary from our GAAP earnings due to a number of different factors, including, the book to tax timing differences of income and expense recognition from our transactions as well as the amount of taxable income of our TRSs distributed to the REIT. We are no longer subject to these requirements for taxable years 2024 and onward. See Note 10 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K regarding the amount of our distributions that are taxed as ordinary income to our stockholders.
Stockholder Return Performance
The stock performance graph and table below shall not be deemed, under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to be (i) “soliciting material” or “filed” or (ii) incorporated by reference by any general statement into any filing made by us with the SEC, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate such stock performance graph and table by reference.
The following graph is a comparison of the cumulative total stockholder return from December 31, 2018 to December 31, 2023 on shares of our common stock, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (the “S&P 500 Index”), and peer group indices, including the ALPS Clean Energy ETF, FTSE NAREIT All Equity REIT Index, and Global X Renewable Energy Producers ETF. The graph assumes that $100 was invested at closing on December 31, 2018, in our shares of common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the peer group indices and that all dividends were reinvested without the payment of any commissions. There can be no assurance that the performance of our common stock will continue in line with the same or similar trends depicted in the graph below. In this Form 10-K we have added ALPS Clean Energy ETF, which beginning with the 2024 Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 will replace the FTSE NAREIT All Equity REIT Index and Global X Renewable Energy Producers ETF as indices in this graph. As a growing, US-based, well-diversified, mid-cap investor in climate-positive real assets, we believe this index is well positioned to serve as a peer group index. ALPS Clean Energy ETF is comprised of companies who generally own or operate assets similar to our investments in renewable energy projects as well other companies positively exposed to the energy transition.
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| Company or Index | 12/31/2018 | 12/31/2019 | 12/31/2020 | 12/31/2021 | 12/31/2022 | 12/31/2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. | $ | 100.00 | $ | 177.08 | $ | 364.69 | $ | 313.37 | $ | 178.40 | $ | 181.57 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| S&P 500 Index | 100.00 | 131.47 | 155.65 | 200.29 | 163.98 | 207.04 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alps Clean Energy ETF | 100.00 | 151.67 | 364.37 | 293.55 | 210.10 | 168.00 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FTSE NAREIT All Equity REIT Index | 100.00 | 128.65 | 122.12 | 172.52 | 129.53 | 144.14 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Global X Renewable Energy Producers ETF | 100.00 | 137.05 | 173.56 | 151.36 | 128.19 | 111.76 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sources: Bloomberg L.P.
Purchases of Equity Securities by the Issuer and Affiliated Purchasers
The table below summarizes all of our repurchases of our common stock during 2023.
Date | Total number of shares purchased (1) | Average price per share | Total number of shares purchased as part of publicly announced plans or programs | Maximum number of shares that may yet be purchased under the plans or programs | |||||||||||||||||||
1/18/2023 | 6,468 | $ | 34.43 | N/A | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||
3/5/2023 | 35,104 | 31.18 | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
5/15/2023 | 4,452 | 26.10 | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
7/31/2023 | 351 | 26.11 | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
8/15/2023 | 989 | 23.56 | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
11/15/2023 | 973 | 23.22 | N/A | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||
(1) During the year ended December 31, 2023, certain of our employees surrendered shares of our common stock owned by them to satisfy their tax and other compensation related withholdings associated with the vesting of restricted stock and restricted stock units. No OP units were exchanged by non-controlling interest holders during the year ended December 31, 2023. The price paid per share is based on the closing price of our common stock as of the date of the exchange and withholding.
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Item 6. [Reserved]
None.
Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations
The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and accompanying notes included in Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Form 10-K. Refer to ‘Item 7 -- Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations’ on our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022 for a discussion of our results for the year ended December 31, 2022 and a comparison of our results of operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021.
Overview
We are a climate positive investment firm that actively partners with clients to deploy real assets that facilitate the energy transition. With more than $12 billion in managed assets, our vision is that every investment improves our climate future. Our investments take many forms, including equity, joint ventures, land ownership, lending, and other financing transactions. In addition to net investment income from our portfolio, we also generate ongoing fees through gain-on-sale securitization transactions, asset management, and other services.
We are internally managed, and our management team has extensive relevant industry knowledge and experience. We have long-standing relationships with the leading energy service companies (“ESCOs”), manufacturers, project developers, utilities, owners and operators that provide recurring, programmatic investment and fee-generating opportunities.
We completed approximately $2.3 billion of transactions during 2023, compared to approximately $1.8 billion during 2022. As of December 31, 2023, we held approximately $6.2 billion of transactions on our balance sheet, which we refer to as our “Portfolio.” For those transactions that we choose not to hold on our balance sheet, we transfer all or a portion of the economics of the transaction, typically using securitization trusts, to institutional investors in exchange for cash and/or residual interests in the assets and in some cases, ongoing fees. As of December 31, 2023, we managed approximately $6 billion in these trusts or vehicles that are not consolidated on our balance sheet. When we combine these assets with our Portfolio, as of December 31, 2023, we manage approximately $12 billion of assets, which we refer to as our “Managed Assets”.
See Item 1. Business for a further discussion of our business, investing strategy, and financing strategy.
Market Conditions
As a result of increasing global awareness of and aversion to climate change impacts, we believe the climate solutions markets in which we invest, and investment in climate solutions more broadly, will continue to grow as the impact of climate change increases. In January 2024, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) reported that globally, 2023 was the warmest year on record, with the ten warmest years since 1850 having occurred in the last decade.
In light of this trend, we expect the federal government to continue to build upon its recent efforts to support the industry for climate solutions. On August 16, 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) was signed into law, representing an unprecedented level of government support for the climate solutions industry as a whole. The IRA includes federal funding for tax credits, consumer rebates, and other incentives that put the United States on a path to achieve the U.S.’s goal of reducing emissions 50 percent below 2005 levels by the end of the decade. Specifically, production tax credits (“PTCs”) and investment tax credits (“ITCs”) for certain wind and solar investments have been extended for at least ten years, which we believe will provide developers, operators, and investors significant runway for capital deployment. Importantly, these new tax credits transition to technology-neutral credits for projects that generate electricity with zero greenhouse gas emissions placed into service after 2024 and phase down upon the later of 2032 or when annual greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. electric sector fall 75 percent from 2022 levels. The PTCs and ITCs under the IRA are transferable, and also include energy community and low-income community adders incentivizing the installation of projects in markets traditionally underserved by the renewables industry. Further, the IRA provides incentives for domestic content production, energy storage, clean fuel production, clean transportation, and other climate solutions markets that support the expansion of our total addressable market.
The IRA builds on the climate and clean energy investments provided in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”), signed into law by President Biden in November 2021. The IIJA provides billions of dollars for a variety of traditional infrastructure projects, as well as funding to invest in new emissions reduction technologies, build out a domestic network of electric vehicle chargers, and strengthen the battery supply chain. Critically, the IIJA includes approximately $65 billion for energy and electric grid development, which will prove critical to integrating the next generation of renewable energy projects. While this legislation can be expected to have lasting impacts on the markets in which we invest, effects are already being seen, with the American Clean Power Association reporting in it’s August 2023 publication Clean Energy Investing in America that $270 billion in capital investments were announced in the roughly one-year period following the signing into law of the IRA.
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Each of these actions by the federal government represent unprecedented support for the climate solutions markets that we serve. While we are not dependent on the support of the federal government to achieve our financial results, we welcome these actions to further combat the impact of climate change. States are also responding, with 29 states plus the District of Columbia having renewable portfolio standards, with 17 of those states having targets that eventually require 100% of energy to be obtained from clean or renewable sources.
These positive industry trends coupled with the increasing environmental and economic imperative to reduce carbon emissions are expected to further broaden our investment opportunities. Investments in energy efficiency as a service allow organizations to avoid the upfront costs of efficiency investments by paying for efficiency-enabled cost savings as operating rather than capital expenses. In its Annual Energy Outlook 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (“EIA”) estimates that decreasing energy intensity resulting from energy efficiency improvements will continue until at least 2050 with declines in each end-use sector.
Interest rates were volatile in 2023, and are expected to continue to be volatile into 2024. The Federal Reserve Board of Governors increased the federal funds rate (the rate at which banks lend to one another) 11 times in 2022 and 2023 for an overall increase of 5.25% to reduce inflation to stated targets. These actions, in additional to general market conditions, increased the cost of financing available to the markets that we serve in those periods. However, the Treasury yield curve as of December 31, 2023 suggests interest rates are likely to be lower in the future. See “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk-Interest Rate and Borrowing Risks” for an analysis of the impact of rates on our business. To date, inflationary pressures have not had a material impact on our business.
According to the EIA, the average annual Henry Hub natural gas price for 2023 was $2.57/MMBtu, a decrease of 62 percent over 2022. The EIA cites record natural gas production along with flat consumption and rising natural gas inventories as key contributors to the sharp decrease in price compared to 2022. The EIA’s outlook for 2024 and 2025 is for the average price of natural gas to remain below $3.00 MMBtu. While we typically invest in projects which sell power at prices which have been prenegotiated under power purchase agreements, lower natural gas prices, may negatively impact, renewable energy projects that sell wholesale power on a “merchant” basis at spot market prices, as wholesale electricity prices are closely tied to wholesale natural gas prices in many parts of the United States. For more detail on commodity price impacts, see “Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk-Commodity Price Risk”.
Notwithstanding any concerns that current market conditions have raised for our business, we believe significant opportunities exist for us to grow our business. As a long-term participant committed to providing capital for climate solutions, we plan to continue to fund projects that meet our underwriting standards and look for opportunities to expand our business.
Factors Impacting our Operating Results
We expect that our results of operations will be affected by a number of factors and will primarily depend on the size and mix of our Portfolio, the income we receive from securitizations, syndications and other services, our Portfolio’s credit risk profile, changes in market interest rates, commodity prices, federal, state and/or municipal governmental policies, general market conditions in local, regional and national economies, and maintain our exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act and the impact of climate change.
Portfolio Size and Mix
The size and mix of our Portfolio will be a key driver of revenue. Generally, as the size of our Portfolio on our balance sheet grows the amount of our revenue will increase. Our Portfolio may grow at an uneven pace as opportunities to originate new assets may be irregularly timed, and the timing and extent of our success in such originations cannot be predicted. To the extent the size of our Portfolio changes due to equity method investment activity, the income or loss from such investments will not be included in revenue but are reflected as income (loss) from equity method investments in our income statement and will vary over time. In addition, we may decide for any particular asset that we should securitize or otherwise sell a portion, or all, of the asset, which would result in gain on sale of receivables and investments or fee income as described below. The level of portfolio activity will fluctuate from period to period based upon the market demand for the capital we provide, our view of economic fundamentals including interest rates, the present mix of our Portfolio, our ability to identify new opportunities that meet our investment criteria, the volume of projects that have advanced to stages where we believe a transaction is appropriate, seasonality in our activities and in the various projects where we may provide debt or equity and our ability to consummate the identified opportunities, including as a result of our available capital. The level of our new origination activity, the percentage of the originations that we choose to retain on our balance sheet and the related income, will directly impact our interest and rental revenue and income from equity method investments.
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Income from Securitization, Syndication and Other Services
We earn gain on sale of assets or fee income by securitizing or selling all or a portion of certain transactions. For transactions that we securitize via a non-consolidated trust, we recognize a gain on the securitization. The gain may be comprised of either or both cash received and a residual interest in securitized assets. We may also recognize additional income from servicing fees from these securitized assets over the life of the asset. We view the revenue from such activities as a valuable component of our earnings and an important source of franchise value.
In many cases, we arrange the securitization of the loan or other asset prior to originating the transaction and thus avoid exposure to credit spread and interest rate risks. In these cases, we avoid funding risks for these financings or other assets given that our securitization partners contractually agree to fund such assets before the origination transaction is completed.
We also generate fee income for syndications where we arrange financings that are held by other investors or if we sell existing transactions to other investors. In these transactions, unless we decide to hold a portion of the economic interest of the transaction on our balance sheet, we have no exposure to risks related to ownership of those financings. We may charge advisory, retainer or other fees, including through our broker dealer subsidiary.
The total amount of income from securitizations, syndications, and other services will vary from quarter to quarter depending on various factors, including the level of our originations, the duration, credit quality and types of assets we originate, current and anticipated future interest rates, the impact on our leverage, the mix of our Portfolio and our need to tailor our mix of assets in order to maintain our exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.
Credit Risks
We source and identify quality opportunities within our broad areas of expertise and apply our rigorous underwriting processes to our transactions, which, we believe, will generally enable us to minimize our credit losses and maintain our current level of financing costs. In the case of various renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure projects, we will be exposed to the credit risk of the obligor of the project’s PPA or other long-term contractual revenue commitments, as well as to the credit risk of certain suppliers and project operators. While we do not anticipate facing significant credit risk in our assets related to government energy efficiency projects, we are subject to varying degrees of credit risk in these projects in relation to payment guarantees provided by ESCOs that are required in the event that certain energy savings are not realized by the customer. We are also exposed to credit risk in our other projects that do not benefit from governments as the obligor such as on balance sheet financing of projects undertaken by universities, schools and hospitals, as well as privately owned commercial projects. We have extended mezzanine loans to various special purpose entities which own residential or community solar projects, and the ultimate repayment of those loans is dependent on the creditworthiness of the related residential obligors. As a result of investing in these and other mezzanine loans, we are exposed to additional credit risk. In certain instances, interest is paid on our mezzanine loans in-kind, which increases our outstanding loan balances and causes the ultimate repayment of cash to occur later. We seek to manage credit risk through thorough due diligence and underwriting processes, strong structural protections in our transaction agreements with customers and continual, active asset management and portfolio monitoring. Nevertheless, unanticipated credit losses could occur and during periods of economic downturn in the global economy, our exposure to credit risks from obligors increases, and our efforts to monitor and mitigate the associated risks may not be effective in reducing our credit losses. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Credit Risks for further information on our credit risks and see Note 6 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for additional detail of the credit risks surrounding our Portfolio.
Changes in Market Interest Rates and Liquidity
Interest rate risk is highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors beyond our control. We are subject to interest rate risk in connection with new asset originations and our borrowings, including our revolving credit facilities, and in the future, to the extent we choose to enter into any new floating rate assets, revolving credit facilities or other borrowings. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for further information on interest rates risks and liquidity.
Commodity Prices
When we make investments in a project that is exposed to commodity prices, we may also be exposed to volatility in those prices. For example, the performance of renewable energy projects that produce electricity can be impacted by volatility in the market prices of various forms of energy, including electricity, coal and natural gas. This is especially true for utility scale projects that sell power on a wholesale basis such as many of our Grid-Connected projects as opposed to Behind-the-Meter projects which compete against the retail or delivered costs of electricity which includes the cost of transmitting and distributing the electricity to the end user. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for further information on the impact of commodity prices.
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Government Policies
We make investments in renewable energy projects that typically depend in part on various federal, state or local governmental policies that support or enhance the project’s economic feasibility. Such policies may include governmental initiatives, laws and regulations designed to reduce energy usage and impact the use of renewable energy or the investment in, and the use of, climate solutions. Policies and incentives provided by the U.S. federal government may include tax credits, tax deductions, bonus depreciation, federal grants and loan guarantees, and energy market regulations. The value of tax credits, deductions and incentives and how they can be realized may be impacted by changes in tax laws, rates, or regulations.
Incentives provided by state and local governments may include an RPS or similar clean energy standard, which specify the portion of the power utilized by local utilities that must be derived from renewable or clean energy sources. Additionally, certain states have implemented feed-in or net metering tariffs, pursuant to which electricity generated from renewable energy sources is purchased at a higher rate than prevailing wholesale rates. Other incentives include tariffs, tax incentives and other cash and non-cash payments.
Governmental agencies, commercial entities and developers of climate solutions projects frequently depend on these policies and incentives to help defray the costs of various projects. Government regulations also impact the terms of third party financing provided to support these projects. If any of these government policies, incentives or regulations are adversely amended, delayed, eliminated, reduced, retroactively changed or not extended beyond their current expiration dates or there is a negative impact from the recent federal law changes or proposals, the operating results of the projects we finance and the demand for, and the returns available from our investments may decline, which could harm our business.
Impacts of climate change on our future operations
As our business is focused on reducing carbon emissions and increasing resiliency to climate change, we are impacted by the effects of climate change and various related regulatory responses. In managing our business, we consider the potential impacts to our operations that may result in certain climate-related scenarios. We have implemented the recommendations of the TCFD, which provides a framework to consider and disclose our processes for managing the risks and opportunities associated with climate change. We have disclosed the components of the TCFD framework throughout this document. The following tables highlight our evaluation of potential impacts to our business in two climate related scenarios as well as our resilience to and strategy for handling the potential impacts.
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Transition Risks and Opportunities - We believe our Portfolio will be impacted by the transition risks and opportunities contemplated by the Paris Accords and the achievement of its objectives.
Scenario 1 - Global action is taken to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact on our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| The price of Renewable Energy Credits (“RECs”) or similar structures increase as more aggressive renewable portfolio standards and corporate renewable energy targets are implemented | Increased expected cash flows and financial returns for certain of our investments to the extent the RECs are sold at higher market prices. | If the overall price level of RECs increased by 5% we would expect an approximately 1% increase in future cash flows for our existing GC and BTM equity investments. We would not expect a material impact to our, renewable energy debt, solar real estate, or energy efficiency investments. | We may identify more investment opportunities resulting from the increased REC value. In addition, to the extent that our investments become more valuable we would consider whether it would be more economical to our stockholders to either monetize the investment given the increase in value or continue to hold in our Portfolio and maximize our returns from adding additional leverage to our financing. | |||||||||||||||||
| Increased debt/lease service coverage ratio for the obligors of our renewable energy debt investments and solar real estate leases that sell RECs at higher market pricing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The resulting increase in cash flows may also allow us to apply greater financial leverage to these investments and enhance our profitability. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| If there was a material increase in value associated with RECs, it is likely that more renewable energy projects would be developed in geographic areas where the RECs were more valuable, leading to more potential investment opportunities for us. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact on our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| A carbon tax or similar carbon pricing mechanism is implemented by governmental authorities which may cause an increase to (i) power prices, (ii) operating costs for certain entities, and (iii) the competitiveness of renewable energy, energy efficiency and storage projects | Increased cash flows and financial returns from certain investments to the extent power is sold at higher market prices due to the increase in cost imposed on fossil fueled energy projects. | A portion of our Portfolio is exposed to changes in the market price of power. Whether it is due to sales of energy at the then current market price or through a re-contracting of fixed price power purchase agreements. Under a scenario where a carbon tax drives the price of power up by 10%, our existing GC equity investments may hit their preferred return targets earlier, resulting in a modest increase in our overall investment yield, compared to the current baseline scenario. Our existing BTM and GC equity investments would experience a 3% increase in expected cash flows. We would not expect a material impact to our, renewable energy debt, solar real estate, or energy efficiency investments. | In relation to new business, there is the potential that more competitors enter our markets and put pressure on our asset pricing strategies as renewable energy and energy efficiency projects become more cost competitive with fossil fuel electricity generation assets. We are constantly reviewing our pricing strategies and would continue to do so in this scenario to understand how we can continue to make investments with acceptable risk adjusted returns. In addition, to the extent that our investments become more valuable we would consider whether it would be more economical to our stockholders to either monetize the investment given the increase in value or continue to hold in our Portfolio and maximize our returns from adding additional leverage to our financing. | |||||||||||||||||
| Increases in the debt/lease service coverage ratio for the obligors of our renewable energy debt investments and solar real estate leases that sell power at higher market pricing. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| The resulting increase in cash flows may also allow us to apply greater financial leverage to these investments and enhance our profitability. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Increased energy cost savings from energy efficiency solutions. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Increased competitiveness of renewable energy projects with fossil fueled power plants, due to an increase in power prices. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| An increase in the items mentioned above may increase the volume of assets available in which we can invest. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| However, the implementation of a carbon tax may also have a negative impact on the financial health of utilities and corporate entities who also purchase power from renewable energy projects in which we have invested. The credit ratings of these entities may be downgraded due to additional operating expenses resulting from a carbon tax. A credit rating downgrade may reduce the amount of financial leverage we are able to utilize. If this were to occur, our overall profitability could decline. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact on our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| A significant increase in research and re-development investment in renewable energy, energy storage, and energy efficiency technologies by public and private entities | Continued decreases in cost could make renewable energy, energy storage, and energy efficiency technologies more cost competitive. As a result, we may experience an increase in investment opportunities available to us. | Given the nature of our business activities and focus on structuring transactions to meet the capital needs of our clients, it is difficult to reliably quantify the positive impact on our investment opportunities. However, we would expect to achieve accretive economics from this assumption. | In the development of our investment strategies we would consider investment in different technologies that we may not have historically invested based upon the additional development and maturation gained through the prospective increase in research and development. Additionally, the lower cost of projects may influence the amount of investment we would make in each opportunity. | |||||||||||||||||
| Significant growth in positive public sentiment for climate solutions investment | Increased demand for investment in climate solutions may increase the volume of transactions in which we may invest, reduce our overall cost of capital and increase our profitability. | Given the nature of our business activities and focus on structuring transactions to meet the capital needs of our clients, it is difficult to reliably quantify the positive impact on our investment opportunities. However, we would expect to achieve accretive economics from this assumption. | An increased demand for climate solutions may increase competition and influence our pricing strategy. We would continue to review our pricing strategies with these opportunities. | |||||||||||||||||
Customer preference shifting to match electricity demand with carbon-free energy generation from resources on the same regional grids | Increased demand for climate solutions investment in particular regions increase the volume of transactions in which we may invest, reduce our overall cost of capital and increase our profitability. | Given the nature of our business activities and focus on structuring transactions to meet the capital needs of our clients, it is difficult to reliably quantify the positive impact on our investment opportunities. However, we would expect to achieve accretive economics from this assumption. | Changing consumer preference can drive investments in renewable deployments in new areas to improve the localization of clean energy supplies and can drive development of multi-technology portfolios of intelligent generation and storage, both of which may increase the total investment opportunities available to us. | |||||||||||||||||
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Scenario 2 - Global temperatures increase more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact to our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| No meaningful government policy to shift the trajectory of global climate change | Given current trends, even without an increase in government support, we might expect increased demand for climate solutions due to the improving economics and cost competitiveness of these technologies. | Given the nature of our business activities and focus on structuring transactions to meet the capital needs of our clients, it is difficult to reliably quantify the impact on our investment opportunities. However, we would expect to achieve accretive economics from this assumption. | The increased demand in climate solutions may increase competition and influence our pricing strategy. | |||||||||||||||||
| Such growth in demand may increase the volume of investment opportunities available to us. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| An increase in demand for climate change resiliency solutions | Flooding and storm surges may become more frequent, resulting in an increase in demand for storm water management assets. | Given the nature of our business activities and focus on structuring transactions to meet the capital needs of our clients, it is difficult to reliably quantify the positive impact on our investment opportunities. However, we would expect to achieve accretive economics from this assumption. | The increased demand in climate solutions may increase competition and influence our pricing strategy. | |||||||||||||||||
| Greater instability in the power grid may increase the demand for on-site and distributed power generation systems and battery storage. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| If the above events occur, we may experience an increase in the volume of investment opportunities available to us. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Greater variability and instability in the commodity markets | Potential increases in the price of commodities (e.g., natural gas) due to climate change induced supply chain and transport disruptions, such as a major hurricane striking a series of gulf coast pipelines, may drive power prices higher, thus increasing financial returns from certain of our investments to the extent the power is sold at market prices rather than under fixed price contracts. | We believe any mentioned impacts that are realized, are short-term in nature and we would not expect a material impact on our investments. | We currently have risk management processes which include a recurring review of our investments through our portfolio management function to assess any increasing operational costs of our investments. For our Portfolio, we will actively manage the risk to make appropriate adjustments to budget approvals, operational approvals, and other asset management tasks. For any new investments, we make conservative assumptions to protect our investments from such types of pricing volatility and will continue to do so, including new assumptions around commodity volatility as relevant. | |||||||||||||||||
However, climate change-related impacts to the amount of potable water supplies, such as irregular rainfall and saltwater intrusion, may drive increases in the price of water. These increases in cost may increase the demand for assets that increase water use efficiency, resulting in an increase in the volume of investment opportunities available to us. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Physical Risks and Opportunities - Given the assessments of the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other leading climate research organizations regarding the probability of a 1.5 Celsius increase in global temperature and serious climatic impacts even with the most aggressive emissions reduction initiatives, we believe our Portfolio will be impacted by physical risks regardless of the actions taken as discussed above. We assume the types of risks to which our Portfolio is exposed are similar under either Scenario 1 or 2 (albeit at varying degrees of severity).
Scenario 1 - Global action is taken to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and
Scenario 2 - Global temperatures increase more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact to our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| Increased (i) flooding events due to heavier rainfalls and increased storm surge due to rising sea levels, (ii) the probability and severity of wildfires and (iii) increased frequency and severity of storms and other weather-related events | Our existing investments in low lying areas are exposed to potential flooding events and other storm damage and such events may cause construction delays, operational shutdowns, and more significant site damage. | We would not expect a material risk to the cash flows from our investments as we typically require insurance coverage for these events where the project owner bears this cost. Refer to later discussion on the impacts of the increase in insurance costs. | When underwriting our investments we negotiate structural protections to mitigate any loss we may incur from operations or inability of the projects to operate (this includes project insurance). For any new investment opportunities we would evaluate the exposure to rising sea levels and structure our investment terms such that we protect our invested capital. | |||||||||||||||||
| A portion of our investments are located in high wildfire risk regions and are exposed to catastrophic damage from wildfire events. | We would not expect a material risk to the cash flows from our investments as we typically require insurance coverage for these events where the project owner bears this cost. Refer to later discussion on the impacts of the increase in insurance costs. | When underwriting our investments we negotiate structural protections to mitigate any loss we may incur from operations or inability of the projects to operate (this includes project insurance). For any new investment opportunities we would evaluate the exposure to wildfires and structure our investment terms such that we protect our invested capital. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Solar energy assets that are not in the direct path of wildfires but are within the proximity thereof may have reduced power production due to ash soiling on the panels or reduced solar insolation due to ash clouds. | The potential impact of additional soiling of panels or ash clouds was assessed and is not expected to have a material impact on the cashflows and value of our portfolio. | To the extent this became a material issue we would seek out protections to mitigate any impact of this, such as adding panel washing requirements to contracts. | ||||||||||||||||||
| If the events above were to occur, we may experience reduced cash flows and financial returns from these investments, which may cause us to reduce the amount of financial leverage we utilize and cause a decline in our overall profitability. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact to our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| Operational performance of the projects in which we invest are impacted by the global temperature increase | A decrease in performance and power generation of the solar and wind energy assets related to our investments, as the performance of these assets vary based upon the ambient temperatures (in the case of solar) and air density (in the case of wind). Both conditions may be caused by increases in global temperatures. | Solar portfolio production can be affected by an increase in global temperature depending on the geography. High temperatures have a significant efficiency impact on wind turbines as high temperature faults create more wear and tear on equipment. If production of these GC assets decreases by 5% the cash flows from those investments would be expected to decrease by approximately 10%. We would not expect a material impact on our BTM equity investments, renewable energy debt, solar real estate and energy efficiency investments. | When underwriting our investment opportunities we make conservative assumptions regarding performance and operational expenses that protect our returns from some level of unexpected performance or operation issues in the future. We will continue to adjust our assumptions as additional risks and severity of climate risk are assessed. We actively manage our Portfolio to preemptively and proactively address any operational or maintenance issues. | |||||||||||||||||
| Increased wind variability and increased wear on wind turbine components, which may increase operating costs. | An increase in operating expenses would result and if there was 5% higher operating expenses the cash flows from our GC equity investments would be expected to decrease by 4%. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Increased operating costs and lower generation from the increase in temperatures may reduce our expected cash flows and financial returns from our investments, which may cause us to reduce the amount of financial leverage we utilize and cause a decline in our overall profitability. | If there were both a decrease in production of 5% and higher operating expenses of 5% our cash flows from our GC equity investments would be expected to decline by 12%. We would not expect a material impact on our renewable energy debt, solar real estate and energy efficiency investments. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Assumption | Qualitative impacts | Quantitative impacts | Considerations of and impact to our management strategy | |||||||||||||||||
| An increase in water scarcity potentially resulting in an increase in the price of water | Water is used to clean the panels on solar energy assets to maintain their efficiency. An increase in water prices may reduce the cash flows and financial returns from our related investments, which may cause us to reduce the amount of financial leverage we utilize and cause a decline in our overall profitability. | The impact of water scarcity and increased prices to our Portfolio is not expected to have a material impact on the cash flows of our investments. | To the extent this becomes a material matter we would seek out protections to mitigate any impact of additional water related costs. | |||||||||||||||||
Climate change related impacts to the amount of potable water supplies, such as irregular rainfall and saltwater intrusion, may drive increases in the price of water. These increases in cost may increase the demand for assets that increase water use efficiency resulting in an increase in the volume of investment opportunities available to us. | The increased demand in these projects may increase competition and influence our pricing strategy. | |||||||||||||||||||
| An increase in the cost, or a change in the availability of insurance | In anticipation of climate change related physical risks, projects related to our investments in particularly vulnerable regions, such as low-lying coastal areas, may face increases in insurance costs. An increase in insurance costs may reduce the cash flows and financial returns from these investments and may cause us to reduce the amount of financial leverage we utilize and cause a decline in our overall profitability. | Insurance policies are executed on an annual basis and in some regions the price of insurance could increase such that the cash flow and value of our projects in high risk geographic regions are affected. This increase in insurance cost would drive an increase in total operating expenses. We have estimated that an increase in operating expenses of 5% would be expected to reduce our cash flows from GC equity investments by 4%, and from BTM equity investments by 1% . We would not expect a material impact on our renewable energy debt, solar real estate and energy efficiency investments. | We require that the projects in which we invest are insured against casualty events that could impact our cash distributions. We continually evaluate whether there are superior asset or portfolio level policies that are available that optimize our insurance coverage and premium costs. | |||||||||||||||||
Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates
Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires the use of estimates and assumptions that involve the exercise of judgment and use of assumptions as to future uncertainties. The following discussion addresses the accounting policies that we use including areas that involve the use of significant estimates. Our most critical accounting policies involve decisions and assessments that could affect our reported assets and liabilities, as well as our reported revenues and expenses. We believe that all of the decisions and assessments upon which our financial statements are based are reasonable at the time made and based upon information available to us at that time. Our critical accounting policies and accounting estimates may be expanded over time. Those material accounting policies and estimates that we expect to be most critical to an investor’s understanding of our financial results and condition and require complex management judgment are discussed below. See Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for further details on our accounting policies.
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We evaluate our critical accounting estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis and update them, as necessary, based on changing conditions.
We have identified the following accounting policies as critical because they require significant judgments and assumptions about highly complex and inherently uncertain matters and the use of reasonably different estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our reported results of operations or financial condition.
Consolidation
We account for our investment in entities that are considered voting or variable interest entities under ASC 810, Consolidation. We perform an ongoing assessment and make judgments to determine the primary beneficiary of each entity as required by ASC 810, which includes an assessment of the type and degree of control we have over the entity. If we would conclude that certain of these entities should be consolidated, we would include the entities’ assets, liabilities and related activity in our financial statements, along with non-controlling interests related to the ownership of the other equity holders. Refer to discussion below relating to additional consolidation considerations related to the securitization of receivables. We further discuss our process for evaluating these judgments in Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.
Equity Method Investments
For our non-consolidated equity investments that we have concluded contain substantive profit sharing agreements, we generally determine our income allocations under the equity method of accounting based on the change in our claim on net assets of the investee entity as reported by the investee using a method commonly referred to as the hypothetical liquidation at book value method or (“HLBV”). This method uses a hypothetical liquidation scenario that may require judgment in its application and could have a material impact on our reported financial results. Any changes in this method of application or in certain assumptions could either increase or decrease our net income and the carrying value of the assets accounted for under this method. We further discuss our process for applying this method of income allocations in Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.
Impairment of our Portfolio
We evaluate the various assets in our Portfolio on at least a quarterly basis, and more frequently when economic or other conditions warrant such an evaluation, for delinquencies or other events that may indicate a potential impairment or specific consideration in the development of the allowance for credit losses. For our equity method investments and real estate, if an impairment charge is deemed appropriate it would be recorded in our income statement and reduce our net income. In addition, for our receivables, we make judgments about our expected losses related to the receivables in our Portfolio and record an allowance for credit losses on such receivables with a provision for loss on receivables in our income statement. We further discuss our process for evaluating these judgments in Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.
Securitization of Financial Assets
We have established various special purpose entities or securitization trusts for the purpose of securitizing certain receivables or other debt investments. We make judgments, based in part, on supporting legal opinions, on whether these entities should be consolidated as a variable interest entity, as defined in ASC 810, Consolidation, and whether the transfers to these entities are accounted for as a sale of a financial asset or a secured borrowing under ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing. If we would conclude that certain of these special purpose entities or securitization trusts should be consolidated, we would include the assets and liabilities of the entity and their related activity in our financial statements. If sale accounting is not met in these transactions, it would be treated as a secured borrowing rather than a sale in our financial statements, which would result in reduced revenue in the period in which an asset contributed to the trust and an increase in assets and non-recourse debt. We further discuss our process for evaluating these judgments in Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K. We also make assumptions regarding the fair value of our securitization assets in these transferred assets. If our determination of fair value is determined to be incorrect, our gain on sale of receivables and investments in our income statement and securitization assets on our balance sheet will be inaccurate. See Note 3 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for a discussion around fair value measurements.
Results of Operations
For a comparison of our results of operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2022 and December 31, 2021, see “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, filed with the SEC on February 21, 2023.
We completed approximately $2.3 billion of transactions during 2023, compared to approximately $1.8 billion during 2022. Our strategy includes holding a large portion of these transactions on our balance sheet. We refer to the transactions we hold on our balance sheet as of a given date as our “Portfolio”. Our Portfolio was approximately $6.2 billion as of December 31, 2023 and $4.3 billion December 31, 2022.
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Portfolio
Our Portfolio totaled approximately $6.2 billion as of December 31, 2023, and included approximately $3.0 billion of BTM assets, approximately $2.3 billion of GC assets, and approximately $0.9 billion of FTN assets. Approximately 45% of our Portfolio consisted of unconsolidated equity investments in renewable energy related projects. Approximately 51% consisted of commercial and government receivables on our balance sheet and approximately 4% of our Portfolio was real estate leased to renewable energy projects under long-term operating lease agreements. Our Portfolio consisted of over 520 transactions with an average size of $12 million and the weighted average remaining life of our Portfolio (excluding match-funded transactions) of approximately 17 years as of December 31, 2023.
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The table below provides details on the interest rate and maturity of our receivables and debt securities as of December 31, 2023:
| Balance | Maturity | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
Floating-rate receivable, interest rate of 10.1% | $ | 277 | 2026 to 2026 | ||||||||
| Fixed-rate receivables, interest rates less than 5.00% per annum | 102 | 2025 to 2047 | |||||||||
Fixed-rate receivables, interest rates from 5.00% to 6.49% per annum | 417 | 2024 to 2061 | |||||||||
Fixed-rate receivables, interest rates from 6.50% to 7.99% per annum | 868 | 2025 to 2069 | |||||||||
Fixed-rate receivables, interest rates from 8.00% to 9.49% per annum | 1,004 | 2027 to 2039 | |||||||||
Fixed-rate receivables, interest rates 9.50% or greater per annum | 456 | 2024 to 2047 | |||||||||
Receivables (1) | 3,124 | ||||||||||
| Less: Allowance for loss on receivables | (50) | ||||||||||
| Receivables, net of allowance | 3,074 | ||||||||||
| Fixed-rate investments, interest rates less than 5.00% per annum | 7 | 2035 to 2051 | |||||||||
| Fixed-rate investments, interest rates from 5.00% to 6.50% per annum | — | 2047 to 2050 | |||||||||
| Total receivables and investments | $ | 3,081 | |||||||||
(1)Excludes receivables held-for-sale of $35 million.
The table below presents, for the debt investments and real estate related holdings of our Portfolio and our interest-bearing liabilities inclusive of our short-term commercial paper issuances and revolving credit facilities, the average outstanding balances, income earned, the interest expense incurred, and average yield or cost. Our earnings from our equity method investments are not included in this table.
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Portfolio, excluding equity method investments | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income, receivables | $ | 203 | $ | 132 | $ | 106 | |||||||||||
| Average balance of receivables | $ | 2,424 | $ | 1,650 | $ | 1,301 | |||||||||||
| Average interest rate of receivables | 8.4 | % | 8.0 | % | 8.1 | % | |||||||||||
| Interest income, investments | $ | 1 | $ | 1 | $ | 1 | |||||||||||
| Average balance of investments | $ | 12 | $ | 13 | $ | 26 | |||||||||||
| Average interest rate of investments | 4.9 | % | 4.4 | % | 4.0 | % | |||||||||||
| Rental income | $ | 21 | $ | 26 | $ | 26 | |||||||||||
| Average balance of real estate | $ | 286 | $ | 357 | $ | 358 | |||||||||||
| Average yield on real estate | 7.4 | % | 7.3 | % | 7.2 | % | |||||||||||
| Average balance of receivables, investments, and real estate | $ | 2,722 | $ | 2,021 | $ | 1,685 | |||||||||||
| Average yield from receivables, investments, and real estate | 8.3 | % | 7.9 | % | 7.9 | % | |||||||||||
| Debt | |||||||||||||||||
Interest expense, including the impact of cash flow hedges (1) | $ | 171 | $ | 116 | $ | 106 | |||||||||||
| Average balance of debt | $ | 3,437 | $ | 2,688 | $ | 2,300 | |||||||||||
| Average cost of debt | 5.0 | % | 4.3 | % | 4.6 | % | |||||||||||
(1) Excludes loss on debt modification or extinguishment included in interest expense in our income statement.
The following table provides a summary of our anticipated principal repayments for our receivables and investments as of December 31, 2023:
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Principal payment due by Period | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1-5 years | 5-10 years | More than 10 years | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Receivables (excluding allowance) | $ | 3,124 | $ | 182 | $ | 803 | $ | 1,481 | $ | 658 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Investments | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
See Note 6 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for information on:
•the anticipated maturity dates of our receivables and investments and the weighted average yield for each range of maturities as of December 31, 2023,
•the term of our leases and a schedule of our future minimum rental income under our land lease agreements as of December 31, 2023,
•the Performance Ratings of our Portfolio, and
•the receivables on non-accrual status.
For information on our securitization assets relating to our securitization trusts, see Note 5 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K. The securitization assets do not have a contractual maturity date and the underlying securitized assets have contractual maturity dates until 2059.
Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2023 to the Year Ended December 31, 2022
| Years ended December 31, | $ Change | % Change | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 207,794 | $ | 134,656 | $ | 73,138 | 54 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Rental income | 21,251 | 26,245 | (4,994) | (19) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of receivables and investments | 68,637 | 57,187 | 11,450 | 20 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
Securitization asset income | 19,259 | 17,905 | 1,354 | 8 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Fee income | 2,930 | 3,744 | (814) | (22) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | 319,871 | 239,737 | 80,134 | 33 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | 171,008 | 115,559 | 55,449 | 48 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Provision for loss on receivables | 11,832 | 12,798 | (966) | (8) | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Compensation and benefits | 64,344 | 63,445 | 899 | 1 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | 31,283 | 29,934 | 1,349 | 5 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total expenses | 278,467 | 221,736 | 56,731 | 26 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Income before equity method investments | 41,404 | 18,001 | 23,403 | 130 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from equity method investments | 140,974 | 31,291 | 109,683 | 351 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | 182,378 | 49,292 | 133,086 | 270 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Income tax benefit (expense) | (31,621) | (7,381) | (24,240) | 328 | % | ||||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | 150,757 | $ | 41,911 | $ | 108,846 | 260 | % | |||||||||||||||
•Net income increased by approximately $109 million as a result of a $110 million increase in income from equity method investments and an $80 million increase in total revenue, partially offset by a $57 million increase in total expense and a $24 million increase in income tax expense. These results do not include the Non-GAAP earnings adjustment related to equity method investments, which is discussed in the Non-GAAP Financial Measures section.
•Interest income increased by $73 million due to a higher average rate on a larger portfolio. Rental income decreased as a result of the deconsolidation of certain special purpose entities which held such land assets as a result of amendments to terms of the non-recourse debt held by those special purpose entities. See the table above for information on our average receivables, investment, and land balance and average yield on those assets. Gain on sale
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of receivables and investments and fee income increased by $11 million primarily from a change in mix of assets being securitized. Securitization income was largely flat compared to the prior year.
•Interest expense for the year increased by approximately $55 million due to a higher average rate on a higher average debt balance. See the table above for detail on our average debt rate and average debt balance. Provision for loss on receivables decreased by $1 million compared to the prior period as a result of the release of certain loan specific reserves, offset partially by provision on new loans and loan commitments.
•Compensation and benefits increased by $1 million as a result of an increase in our employee headcount and compensation. General and administrative increased by $1 million due to additional investment in corporate infrastructure.
•Income from equity method investments increased by $110 million, due to allocations of income in the current period related to tax credits allocated to our investors related to a grid-connected utility-scale solar project, as those tax credits reduced the tax equity investors ongoing claim on the net assets of the project.
•Income tax expense increased by $24 million primarily due to recording a deferred tax liability in the current period associated with the Board’s 2023 approval of our decision to revoke our REIT status effective January 1, 2024.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures
We consider the following non-GAAP financial measures useful to investors as key supplemental measures of our performance: (1) distributable earnings, (2) distributable net investment income, and (3) managed assets. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered along with, but not as alternatives to, net income or loss as measures of our operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures, as calculated by us, may not be comparable to similarly named financial measures as reported by other companies that do not define such terms exactly as we define such terms.
Distributable Earnings
We calculate distributable earnings as GAAP net income (loss) excluding non-cash equity compensation expense, provisions for loss on receivables, amortization of intangibles, non-cash provision (benefit) for taxes, losses or (gains) from modification or extinguishment of debt facilities, any one-time acquisition related costs or non-cash tax charges and the earnings attributable to our non-controlling interest of our Operating Partnership. We also make an adjustment to our equity method investments in the renewable energy projects as described below. We will use judgment in determining when we will reflect the losses on receivables in our distributable earnings and will consider certain circumstances such as the time period in default, sufficiency of collateral as well as the outcomes of any related litigation. In the future, distributable earnings may also exclude one-time events pursuant to changes in GAAP and certain other adjustments as approved by a majority of our independent directors.
We believe a non-GAAP measure, such as distributable earnings, that adjusts for the items discussed above is and has been a meaningful indicator of our economic performance in any one period and is useful to our investors as well as management in evaluating our performance as it relates to expected dividend payments over time. Additionally, we believe that our investors also use distributable earnings, or a comparable supplemental performance measure, to evaluate and compare our performance to that of our peers, and as such, we believe that the disclosure of distributable earnings is useful to our investors.
Certain of our equity method investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects are structured using typical partnership “flip” structures where the investors with cash distribution preferences receive a pre-negotiated return consisting of priority distributions from the project cash flows, in many cases, along with tax attributes. Once this preferred return is achieved, the partnership “flips” and the common equity investor, often the operator or sponsor of the project, receives more of the cash flows through its equity interests while the previously preferred investors retain an ongoing residual interest. We have made investments in both the preferred and common equity of these structures. Regardless of the nature of our equity interest, we typically negotiate the purchase prices of our equity investments, which have a finite expected life, based on our underwritten project cash flows discounted back to the net present value, based on a target investment rate, with the cash flows to be received in the future reflecting both a return on the capital (at the investment rate) and a return of the capital we have committed to the project. We use a similar approach in the underwriting of our receivables.
Under GAAP, we account for these equity method investments utilizing the HLBV method. Under this method, we recognize income or loss based on the change in the amount each partner would receive, typically based on the negotiated profit and loss allocation, if the assets were liquidated at book value, after adjusting for any distributions or contributions made during such quarter. The HLBV allocations of income or loss may be impacted by the receipt of tax attributes, as tax equity investors are allocated losses in proportion to the tax benefits received, while the sponsors of the project are allocated gains of a similar amount. The investment tax credit available for election in solar projects is a one-time credit realized in the quarter when the project is considered operational for tax purposes and is fully allocated under HLBV in that quarter (subject to an impairment test), while the production tax credit required for wind projects and electable for solar projects is a ten-year credit and thus is
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allocated under HLBV over a ten year period. In addition, the agreed upon allocations of the project’s cash flows may differ materially from the profit and loss allocation used for the HLBV calculations in a given period. We also consider the impact of any OTTI in determining our income from equity method investments.
The cash distributions for those equity method investments where we apply HLBV are segregated into a return on and return of capital on our cash flow statement based on the cumulative income (loss) that has been allocated using the HLBV method. However, as a result of the application of the HLBV method, including the impact of tax allocations, the high levels of depreciation and other non-cash expenses that are common to renewable energy projects and the differences between the agreed upon profit and loss and the cash flow allocations, the distributions and thus the economic returns (i.e. return on capital) achieved from the investment are often significantly different from the income or loss that is allocated to us under the HLBV method in any one period. Thus, in calculating distributable earnings, for certain of these investments where there are characteristics as described above, we further adjust GAAP net income (loss) to take into account our calculation of the return on capital (based upon the underwritten investment rate), as adjusted to reflect the performance of the project and the cash distributed. We believe this equity method investment adjustment to our GAAP net income (loss) in calculating our distributable earnings measure is an important supplement to the income (loss) from equity method investments as determined under GAAP for an investor to understand the economic performance of these investments where HLBV income can differ substantially from the economic returns in any one period.
We have acquired equity investments in portfolios of projects which have the majority of the distributions payable to more senior investors in the first few years of the project. The following table provides results related to our equity method investments for the last three years:
| Years ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) under GAAP | $ | 141 | $ | 31 | $ | 126 | |||||||||||
| Collections of Distributable earnings | $ | 39 | $ | 57 | $ | 23 | |||||||||||
| Return of capital | 24 | 101 | 30 | ||||||||||||||
Cash collected (1) | $ | 63 | $ | 158 | $ | 53 | |||||||||||
(1) Cash collected during 2023 and 2022 includes $9 million and $64 million, respectively of debt issuance proceeds from certain of our equity method investees, the repayment of which we have guaranteed.
Distributable earnings does not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (determined in accordance with GAAP), or an indication of our cash flow from operating activities (determined in accordance with GAAP), or a measure of our liquidity, or an indication of funds available to fund our cash needs, including our ability to make cash distributions. In addition, our methodology for calculating distributable earnings may differ from the methodologies employed by other companies to calculate the same or similar supplemental performance measures, and accordingly, our reported distributable earnings may not be comparable to similar metrics reported by other companies.
We have calculated our distributable earnings for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021. The table below provides a reconciliation of our GAAP net income to distributable earnings:
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| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| $ | Per Share | $ | Per Share | $ | Per Share | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in thousands, except per share amounts) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net income attributable to controlling stockholders (1) | $ | 148,836 | $ | 1.42 | $ | 41,502 | $ | 0.47 | $ | 126,579 | $ | 1.51 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distributable earnings adjustments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Reverse GAAP income from equity method investments | (140,974) | (31,291) | (126,421) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Add equity method investments earnings adjustment | 156,757 | 131,762 | 103,707 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Equity-based expenses | 19,782 | 20,101 | 17,047 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-cash provision for loss on receivables (2) | 11,832 | 12,798 | 496 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on debt modification or extinguishment | — | — | 16,083 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of intangibles | 2,473 | 3,129 | 3,307 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-cash provision (benefit) for taxes | 31,621 | 7,381 | 17,158 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Current year earnings attributable to non-controlling interest | 1,921 | 409 | 767 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Distributable earnings (3) | $ | 232,248 | $ | 2.23 | $ | 185,791 | $ | 2.08 | $ | 158,723 | $ | 1.88 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)The per share data reflects the GAAP diluted earnings per share and is the most comparable GAAP measure to our distributable earnings per share.
(2)In addition to these provisions, in 2022 we wrote-off two commercial receivables with a combined total carrying value of approximately $8 million which represented assignments of land lease payments from two wind projects that we had originated in 2014 as a part of an acquisition of a large land portfolio. In 2017, the operator of the projects terminated the lease, at which time we filed a legal claim and placed these assets on non-accrual status. In 2019, we received a court decision indicating that the owners of the projects were within their rights under the contract terms to terminate the lease which impacts the land lease assignments to us, at which time we reserved the receivables for their full carrying amount. In 2022, we received a court decision indicating that our appeal was not successful, and accordingly wrote off the full amount of the receivable. We have excluded the write off from Distributable earnings for the year ended December 31, 2022, due to the infrequent occurrence of credit losses as well as the unique nature of the receivables, as the assignment of land lease payments from wind projects represent a small portion of our total portfolio.
(3)Distributable earnings per share are based on 104,319,803 shares, 89,355,907 shares and 84,268,341 shares for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021, respectively, which represent the weighted average number of fully-diluted shares outstanding including our restricted stock awards, restricted stock units, long-term incentive plan units and the non-controlling interest in our Operating Partnership. We include any issuances of our common stock related to share based compensation units in the amount we believe is reasonably certain to vest. As it relates to Convertible Notes, we will assess the market characteristics around the instrument to determine if it is more akin to debt or equity based on an expectation of the likelihood of conversion based on current conditions. If the instrument is more debt-like then we will include any related interest expense and exclude the underlying shares issuable upon conversion of the instrument. If the instrument is more equity-like and is more dilutive when treated as equity then we will exclude any related interest expense and include the weighted average shares underlying the instrument. We consider the impact of any capped calls in assessing whether an instrument is equity-like or debt-like.
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Distributable Net Investment Income
We have a portfolio of investments in climate solutions that we finance using a combination of debt and equity. We calculate distributable net investment income as shown in the table below by adjusting GAAP-based net investment income for those distributable earnings adjustments that are applicable to distributable net investment income. We believe that this measure is useful to investors as it shows the recurring income generated by our Portfolio after the associated interest cost of debt financing. Our management also uses distributable net investment income in this way. Our non-GAAP distributable net investment income measure may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. For further information on the adjustments between GAAP-based net investment income and distributable net investment income, see the discussion above related to Distributable Earnings.
The following is a reconciliation of our GAAP-based net investment income to our distributable net investment income for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021:
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | 207,794 | $ | 134,656 | $ | 106,889 | |||||||||||
| Rental income | 21,251 | 26,245 | 25,905 | ||||||||||||||
| GAAP-based investment revenue | $ | 229,045 | $ | 160,901 | $ | 132,794 | |||||||||||
| Interest expense | 171,008 | 115,559 | 121,705 | ||||||||||||||
| GAAP-based net investment income | $ | 58,037 | $ | 45,342 | $ | 11,089 | |||||||||||
| Equity method earnings adjustment | 156,757 | 131,762 | 103,707 | ||||||||||||||
| Loss (gain) on debt modification or extinguishment | — | — | 16,083 | ||||||||||||||
| Amortization of real estate intangibles | 2,473 | 3,061 | 3,089 | ||||||||||||||
| Distributable net investment income | $ | 217,267 | $ | 180,165 | $ | 133,968 | |||||||||||
Managed Assets
As we both consolidate assets on our balance sheet and securitize assets off-balance sheet, certain of our receivables and other assets are not reflected on our balance sheet where we may have a residual interest in the performance of the investment, such as servicing rights or a retained interest in cash flows. Thus, we present our investments on a non-GAAP “Managed Assets” basis, which assumes that securitized receivables are not sold. We believe that our Managed Asset information is useful to investors because it portrays the amount of both on- and off-balance sheet receivables that we manage, which enables investors to understand and evaluate the credit performance associated with our portfolio of receivables, investments and residual assets in off-balance sheet securitized receivables. Our management also uses Managed Assets in this way. Our non-GAAP Managed Assets measure may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.
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The following is a reconciliation of our GAAP-based Portfolio to our Managed Assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:
| As of December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | |||||||||||
| Equity method investments | $ | 2,966 | $ | 1,870 | |||||||
| Commercial receivables, net of allowance | 2,983 | 1,887 | |||||||||
| Government receivables | 91 | 103 | |||||||||
| Receivables held-for-sale | 35 | 85 | |||||||||
| Real estate | 111 | 353 | |||||||||
| Investments | 7 | 10 | |||||||||
| GAAP-based Portfolio | 6,193 | 4,308 | |||||||||
| Assets held in securitization trusts | 6,060 | 5,486 | |||||||||
| Managed assets | $ | 12,253 | $ | 9,794 | |||||||
Adjusted Cash from Operations Plus Other Portfolio Collections
We operate our business in a manner that considers total cash collected from our portfolio and making necessary operating and debt service payments to assess the amount of cash we have available to fund dividends and investments. We believe that the aggregate of these items, which combine as a non-GAAP financial measure titled Adjusted Cash Flow from Operations plus Other Portfolio Collections, is a useful measure of the liquidity we have available from our assets to fund both new investments and our regular quarterly dividends. This non-GAAP financial measure may not be comparable to similarly titled or other similar measures used by other companies. Although there is also not a directly comparable GAAP measure that demonstrates how we consider cash available for dividend payment, below is a reconciliation of this measure to Net cash provided by operating activities.
Also, Adjusted Cash Flow from Operations plus Other Portfolio Collections differs from Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities in that it excludes many of the uses of cash used in our investing activities such as in Equity method investments, Purchases of and investments in receivables, Purchases of real estate, Purchases of investments, Funding of escrow accounts, and excludes Withdrawal from escrow accounts, and Other. In addition, Adjusted Cash Flow from Operations plus Other Portfolio Collections is not comparable to Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities in that it excludes many of our financing activities such as proceeds from common stock issuances and borrowings and repayments of unsecured debt.
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For the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
(in thousands) | |||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | $ | 99,689 | $ | 230 | $ | 13,309 | |||||||||||
| Changes in receivables held-for-sale | (51,538) | 62,953 | 22,035 | ||||||||||||||
| Equity method investment distributions received | 30,140 | 110,064 | 21,777 | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of equity method investments | — | 1,700 | 300 | ||||||||||||||
| Principal collections from receivables | 197,784 | 125,976 | 148,769 | ||||||||||||||
Proceeds from sales of receivables | 7,634 | 5,047 | 75,582 | ||||||||||||||
Proceeds from sales of land | — | 4,550 | — | ||||||||||||||
Principal collections from investments (1) | 3,805 | 171 | 414 | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of investments and securitization assets | — | 7,020 | 15,197 | ||||||||||||||
| Principal payments on non-recourse debt | (21,606) | (30,581) | (37,974) | ||||||||||||||
Adjusted cash flow from operations and other portfolio collections | $ | 265,908 | $ | 287,130 | $ | 259,409 | |||||||||||
Less: Dividends | (159,786) | (132,198) | (113,510) | ||||||||||||||
Cash Available for Reinvestment | $ | 106,122 | $ | 154,932 | $ | 145,899 | |||||||||||
(1) Included in Other in the cash provided (used in) investing activities section of our statement of cash flows.
Other Measures and Metrics
Portfolio Yield
We calculate portfolio yield as the weighted average underwritten yield of the investments in our Portfolio as of the end of the period. Underwritten yield is the rate at which we discount the expected cash flows from the assets in our Portfolio to determine our purchase price. In calculating underwritten yield, we make certain assumptions, including the timing and amounts of cash flows generated by our investments, which may differ from actual results, and may update this yield to reflect our most current estimates of project performance. We believe that portfolio yield provides an additional metric to understand certain characteristics of our Portfolio as of a point in time. Our management uses portfolio yield this way and we believe that our investors use it in a similar fashion to evaluate certain characteristics of our Portfolio compared to our peers, and as such, we believe that the disclosure of portfolio yield is useful to our investors.
Our Portfolio totaled approximately $6.2 billion as of December 31, 2023. Unlevered portfolio yield was 7.9% as of December 31, 2023 and 7.5% as of December 31, 2022. See Note 6 to our financial statements and MD&A - Our Business in this Form 10-K for additional discussion of the characteristics of our Portfolio as of December 31, 2023.
Environmental Metrics
As discussed in Item 1. Business, as part of our investment process, we calculate the estimated metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, or carbon emissions avoided by our investments by applying emissions factor data representing the locational marginal emissions associated with a project to an estimate of a project’s energy production or savings to compute an estimate of metric tons of carbon emissions avoided. We then determine the metric tons of carbon emissions avoided per thousand dollars of investments, in a calculation we refer to as CarbonCount, which enables us to measure the impact our investments have on avoiding carbon emissions. We estimate that our investments originated in 2023 will avoid annual carbon emissions by over 760 thousand metric tons, equating to a CarbonCount of 0.33.
In assessing our performance and results of operations, we also consider the impact of our operations on the environment. We utilize the carbon emissions categorizations established by the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standards (“Standards”) to set goals and calculate our estimated emissions. The categorizations are as follows:
•Scope 1 GHG emissions - Direct emissions - Emissions from operations that are owned or controlled by the reporting company. Due to the nature of our operations, we do not have Scope 1 GHG emissions.
•Scope 2 GHG emissions - Indirect emissions - Emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired energy such as electricity, steam, heating or cooling, consumed by the reporting company. As we purchase power for our offices from renewable, zero-carbon energy sources, we do not have market-based Scope 2 emissions.
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•Scope 3 GHG emissions - Indirect emissions - All other indirect emissions that occur in the value chain of the reporting company, including both upstream and downstream emissions. This includes the estimated emissions associated with employee commuting and business travel.
The table below illustrates our goals and performance for 2023 in metric tons (“MT”).
| Category | Goal | Performance | ||||||||||||
(in thousands) | ||||||||||||||
| Scope 1 GHG emissions | 0 MT | 0 MT | ||||||||||||
| Scope 2 GHG emissions | 0 MT | 0 MT1 | ||||||||||||
| Scope 3 GHG emissions | 0 MT2 | < 200 MT2 | ||||||||||||
(1)Performance stated is market-based.
(2)Our stated actual performance and goal for Scope 3 GHG emissions does not include the carbon emissions or the emissions reductions as a result of our investments. The first year estimated carbon emissions avoided as a result of our investments originated in 2023 are 760 thousand MT.
Human Capital Metrics
As part of our broader human capital strategy, we monitor and disclose certain metrics which help us understand our workforce and our progress in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. As of December 31, 2023, we employed 137 people full-time, 2 people part-time, and 4 people as independent contractors. The average tenure of our employees as of December 31, 2023, was approximately 4.5 years, and more than 36% of our employees had been employed by us for more than 4 years. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we had a voluntary employee turnover rate of 6%. There were no retirements or resignations related to ill health.
As discussed in Item 1. Business - Human Capital and Social Strategy, we are undertaking studies and are focused on continuing to increase the diversity of our workforce at all levels of our organization and are in the process of developing goals to enhance diversity and inclusion. These metrics are and will continue to be actively managed and will be reported along with the results of the studies to our executive leadership as well as our Board.
Metrics surrounding the diversity and inclusion of our workforce are shown below:
Percentage of various levels of the workforce who identify as male or female as of December 31, 2023
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Percentage of various levels of the workforce who identify as racial- or ethnic-minorities as of December 31, 2023
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Demographic data of promoted employees during the year ended December 31, 2023
Of both our workforce and our managerial roles, 3% represent as LGBTQ. In addition to diversity of gender and ethnic background, we also value diversity of thought, with 57% of our leadership team and 72% of our Board possessing degrees outside the fields of business or economics, including in science and engineering, liberal and fine arts, and law.
Liquidity and Capital Resources
Liquidity is a measure of our ability to meet potential short term (within one year) and long term cash requirements. We carefully manage and forecast our liquidity sources and uses on a frequent basis. Our sources of liquidity typically include collections from our Portfolio, cash proceeds from asset sales and securitizations, fee revenue, proceeds from debt transactions, and proceeds from equity transactions. Our uses of liquidity typically include funding investments, operating expenses (including cash compensation), interest and principal payments on our debt, and stockholder dividends and limited partner distributions. We maintain sufficiently available liquidity in the form of unrestricted cash and immediately available capacity on our credit facilities to manage our net cash flow.
We typically pay our operating expenses, including debt service, and dividends from collections on our Portfolio and proceeds from sales of Portfolio investments. We use borrowings as part of our financing strategy to increase potential returns to our stockholders and have available to us a broad range of financing sources. We finance our investments primarily with non-recourse or recourse debt, equity and off-balance sheet securitization structures.
We have adequate liquidity as of December 31, 2023, with unrestricted cash balances of $63 million, an unsecured revolving credit facility with an unused capacity of $507 million, and $70 million of availability under our CarbonCount Green Commercial Paper Notes Program. During 2023 we issued our 2028 Exchangeable Notes with a principal amount of $403 million, with the proceeds used in part to payoff the 2023 Convertible Notes at maturity. In December of 2023, we issued a principal amount of $550 million of Green Senior Unsecured Note due 2027 (the “2027 Notes”), which we supplemented with an add-on offering of $200 million principal amount of 2027 Notes in January 2024. We increased the outstanding borrowings on our CarbonCount Term Loan Facility by $165 million, and increased the capacity under our unsecured revolving credit facility by $315 million. We issued $494 million in equity in 2023. As of December 31, 2023, we had $162 million of non-recourse borrowings, $2.3 billion of senior unsecured notes, and $603 million of convertible or exchangeable notes (the “Convertible Notes”) outstanding.
We also use off-balance sheet securitization transactions with large institutional investors such as life insurance companies, where we transfer the loans or other assets we originate to securitization trusts or other bankruptcy remote special purpose funding vehicles that are not consolidated on our balance sheet. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding principal balance of our assets financed through the use of these off-balance sheet transactions was approximately $6.1 billion.
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In addition to general operational obligations, which are typically paid as incurred, and dividends and distributions, which are declared by our Board quarterly, we will have future cash needs related to the payments due at maturity on the Senior Unsecured Notes and loans under our unsecured loan facility and the balances under our commercial paper program and revolving credit facilities. We also have maturities related to our non-recourse debt and Convertible Notes. However, as it relates to the non-recourse debt, to the extent there are not sufficient cash flows received from those investments pledged as collateral, the investor has no recourse against other corporate assets to recover any shortfalls and corporate cash contributions would not be required. As it relates to the Convertible Notes, those obligations may be settled at maturity with cash, or with the issuance of shares to the extent that the market price of our common stock exceeds the strike price on the Convertible Notes. For further information on our long-term debt, see Note 8 to our financial statements of this Form 10-K.
The maturity profile of our recourse debt obligations are shown below:
We plan to continue to issue debt which may be either recourse or non-recourse and either fixed-rate or floating-rate as a means of financing our business and may issue additional equity. We also expect to use both on-balance sheet and off-balance sheet securitizations. We may also consider the use of separately funded special purpose entities or funds to allow us to expand the investments that we make or to manage Portfolio diversification.
The decision on how we finance specific assets or groups of assets is largely driven by risk and portfolio and financial management considerations, including the potential for gain on sale or fee income, as well as the overall interest rate environment, prevailing credit spreads and the terms of available financing and market conditions. During periods of market disruptions, certain sources of financing may be more readily accessible than others which may impact our financing decisions. Over time, as market conditions change, we may use other forms of debt and equity in addition to these financing arrangements.
The amount of financial leverage we may deploy for particular assets will depend upon our target capital structure and the availability of particular types of financing and our assessment of the credit, liquidity, price volatility and other risks of those assets, and the interest rate environment. As shown in the table below, our debt to equity ratio was approximately 2.0 to 1 as of December 31, 2023, which is below our current board-approved leverage limit of up to 2.5 to 1. Our percentage of fixed rate debt was approximately 92% as of December 31, 2023, which is within our board-approved targeted fixed rate debt percentage range of 75% to 100%. Our targeted fixed rate debt range allows for percentages as low as 70% on a short term basis if we intend to repay or swap floating rate borrowings in the near term
The calculation of our fixed-rate debt and financial leverage as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 is shown in the chart below:
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| December 31, 2023 | % of Total | December 31, 2022 | % of Total | ||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | (dollars in millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
Floating-rate borrowings (1) | $ | 338 | 8 | % | $ | 431 | 14 | % | |||||||||||||||
Fixed-rate debt (2) | 3,909 | 92 | % | 2,545 | 86 | % | |||||||||||||||||
Total debt | $ | 4,247 | 100 | % | $ | 2,976 | 100 | % | |||||||||||||||
| Equity | $ | 2,142 | $ | 1,665 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Leverage | 2.0 to 1 | 1.8 to 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||
(1)Floating-rate borrowings include borrowings under our floating-rate credit facilities and commercial paper notes with less than six months original maturity, to the extent such borrowings are not hedged using interest rate swaps.
(2)Fixed-rate debt includes the impact of our interest rate swaps and collars on debt that is otherwise floating. Debt excludes securitizations that are not consolidated on our balance sheet.
We intend to use financial leverage for the primary purpose of financing our Portfolio and business activities and not for the purpose of speculating on changes in interest rates. While we may temporarily exceed the leverage limit, if our Board approves a material change to this limit, we anticipate advising our stockholders of this change through disclosure in our periodic reports and other filings under the Exchange Act.
While we generally intend to hold our target assets that we do not securitize upon acquisition as long term investments, certain of our investments may be sold in order to manage our interest rate risk and liquidity needs, to meet other operating objectives and to adapt to market conditions. The timing and impact of future sales of receivables and investments, if any, cannot be predicted with any certainty.
We believe our identified sources of liquidity will be adequate for purposes of meeting our short-term and long-term liquidity needs, which include funding future investments, debt service, operating costs and distributions to our stockholders.
Sources and Uses of Cash
We had approximately $75 million and $176 million in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
Cash Flows Relating to Operating Activities
Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $100 million for the year ended December 31, 2023, driven primarily by net income of $151 million, offset by adjustments for non-cash and other items of $51 million. The non-cash and other adjustments consisted of decreases of $108 million for equity method investments, $42 million for gain on securitizations, $44 million for change in accrued interest on receivables and investments, and $3 million of other. These were partially offset by increases of $52 million in changes in receivables held-for-sale, $48 million for changes in accounts payable and accrued expenses, $18 million for equity-based expenses, $16 million for depreciation and amortization, and $12 million for provision for loss on receivables.
Net cash provided by operating activities was less than $1 million for the year ended December 31, 2022, driven primarily by net income of $42 million, offset by adjustments for non-cash and other items of $42 million. The non-cash and other adjustments consisted of decreases of $63 million related to changes in receivables held-for sale, $29 million related to non-cash gain on securitization, and $33 million in change in accrued interest on receivables and investments and other. These were partially offset by increases of $16 million related to equity method investments, $13 million related to provision for loss on receivables, $20 million for equity based compensation, $12 million in amortization of financing costs, $4 million of depreciation and amortization, and $18 million related to changes in accounts payable and accrued expenses.
Cash Flows Relating to Investing Activities
Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $2 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023. We made investments in receivables and fixed rate debt securities of $1.3 billion, equity method investments of $869 million, and investments of $14 million, and pledged $94 million as collateral to hedge counterparties. These were offset by principal collections of $198 million from receivables, $85 million received from the return of collateral from hedge counterparties, $30 million received from equity method investments in excess of income recognized to date under GAAP, and the receipt of $11 million from the sale of financial assets and other investing inflows.
Net cash used in investing activities was approximately $592 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. We made equity method investments of $128 million, investments in receivables and fixed rate debt securities of $729 million, purchases of real estate of $5 million, funded escrow accounts of $5 million, and had other investing outflows of approximately $2 million. These were offset by collected payments of $126 million from receivables and fixed rate debt securities and the receipt of $12 million from the sale of financial assets. We also collected $112 million from equity method investments in excess of
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income recognized to date under GAAP, withdrew $23 million from escrow accounts, and received $5 million related to the sale of real estate.
Cash Flows Relating to Financing Activities
Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $1.8 billion for the year ended December 31, 2023. We received proceeds from credit facilities of $1.2 billion, proceeds from the issuance of senior unsecured notes of $550 million, net proceeds from common stock issuances of $492 million, proceeds from the issuance of a term loan of $365 million, proceeds from the issuances of convertible debt of $403 million, proceeds of $176 million from the receipt of collateral from hedge counterparties, and proceeds from the issuance of green commercial paper notes of $30 million. These were partially offset by principal payments on credit facilities $827 million, collateral provided to hedge counterparties of $167 million, principal payments on convertible notes of $144 million, the purchase of capped calls related to the issuance of convertible notes for $38 million, payment of debt issuance costs of $23 million, principal payments on non-recourse debt of $22 million, principal payments of term loan of $16 million and payments of dividends, distributions, and other financing activities of $164 million.
Net cash provided by financing activities was approximately $516 million for the year ended December 31, 2022. We received proceeds from the issuance of a term loan of $383 million, proceeds from the issuances of convertible debt of $200 million, net proceeds from common stock issuances of $188 million, and proceeds from credit facilities of $100 million, and issuance of non-recourse debt of $33 million. These were partially offset by principal payments on credit facilities and commercial paper notes of $200 million, principal payments on non-recourse debt of $31 million, payments of $3 million for withholding requirements as a result of the vesting of employee shares, payment of debt issuance costs of $12 million and payments of dividends, distributions, and other financing activities of $142 million.
Off-Balance Sheet Arrangements
We have relationships with non-consolidated entities or financial partnerships, such as entities often referred to as structured investment vehicles, or special purpose or variable interest entities, established to facilitate the sale of securitized assets. Other than our securitization assets (including any outstanding servicer advances) of approximately $231 million as of December 31, 2023, that may be at risk in the event of defaults or prepayments in our securitization trusts and as discussed below, and except as disclosed in Note 9 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K, we have not guaranteed any obligations of non-consolidated entities or entered into any commitment or intent to provide additional funding to any such entities. A more detailed description of our relations with non-consolidated entities can be found in Note 2 of our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.
In connection with some of our transactions, we have provided certain limited guarantees to other transaction participants covering the accuracy of certain limited representations, warranties or covenants and provided an indemnity against certain losses from “bad acts” including fraud, failure to disclose a material fact, theft, misappropriation, voluntary bankruptcy or unauthorized transfers. In some transactions, we have also guaranteed our compliance with certain tax matters, such as negatively impacting the investment tax credit and certain other obligations in the event of a change in ownership or our exercising certain protective rights.
Dividends
Any distributions we make will be at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon, among other things, our actual results of operations. These results and our ability to pay distributions will be affected by various factors, including the net interest and other income from our assets, our operating expenses and any other expenditures. In the event that our Board determines to make distributions in excess of the income or cash flow generated from our assets, we may make such distributions from the proceeds of future offerings of equity or debt securities or other forms of debt financing or the sale of assets.
Our board of directors had approved of our revocation of our REIT status effective for tax year 2024. We elected to be taxed as a REIT during tax years 2023 and previous. U.S. federal income tax law generally requires that a REIT distribute annually at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains, and that it pays tax at regular corporate rates to the extent that it annually distributes less than 100% of its REIT taxable income. As a REIT, we paid quarterly distributions, which on an annual basis equaled or exceeded substantially all of our REIT taxable income. The taxable income of the REIT would vary from our GAAP earnings due to a number of different factors including the book to tax timing differences of income and expense recognition from our transactions as well as the amount of taxable income of our TRS distributed to the REIT. See Note 10 to our financial statements in this Form 10-K regarding the amount of our distributions that are treated as ordinary taxable income to our stockholders.
The dividends declared in 2023 and 2022 are described in Note 11 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.
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Book Value Considerations
As of December 31, 2023, we carried only our investments, residual assets in securitized financial assets, and our interest rate swaps and collar at fair value on our balance sheet. As a result, in reviewing our book value, there are a number of important factors and limitations to consider. Other than our investments, the residual assets in securitized financial assets, and interest rate swaps and collar that are carried on our balance sheet at fair value as of December 31, 2023, the carrying value of our remaining assets and liabilities are calculated as of a particular point in time, which is largely determined at the time such assets and liabilities were added to our balance sheet using a cost basis in accordance with GAAP, adjusted for income or loss recognized on such assets. Other than the allowance for current expected credit losses applied to our commercial and government receivables, our remaining assets and liabilities do not incorporate other factors that may have a significant impact on their value, most notably any impact of business activities, changes in estimates, or changes in general economic conditions, interest rates or commodity prices since the dates the assets or liabilities were initially recorded. Accordingly, our book value does not necessarily represent an estimate of our net realizable value, liquidation value or our fair market value.
Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk
We anticipate that our primary market risks will be related to the credit quality of our counterparties and project companies, market interest rates, the liquidity of our assets, commodity prices and environmental factors. We will seek to manage these risks while, at the same time, seeking to provide an opportunity to stockholders to realize attractive returns through ownership of our common stock.
Credit Risks
We source and identify quality opportunities within our broad areas of expertise and apply our rigorous underwriting processes to our transactions, which, we believe, will generally enable us to minimize our credit losses and maintain access to attractive financing. Through our investments in various projects, we will be exposed to the credit risk of the obligor of the project’s PPA or other long-term contractual revenue commitments, as well as to the credit risk of certain suppliers and project operators. While we do not anticipate facing significant credit risk in our assets related to government energy efficiency projects, we are subject to varying degrees of credit risk in these projects in relation to guarantees provided by ESCOs where payments under energy savings performance contracts are contingent upon achieving pre-determined levels of energy savings. We are exposed to credit risk in our other projects that do not benefit from governments as the obligor such as on balance sheet financing of projects undertaken by universities, schools and hospitals, as well as privately owned commercial projects. We have invested in mezzanine loans and, as a result, we are exposed to additional credit risk. We seek to manage credit risk through thorough due diligence and underwriting processes, strong structural protections in our transaction agreements with customers and continual, active asset management and portfolio monitoring. Nevertheless, unanticipated credit losses could occur and during periods of economic downturn in the global economy, our exposure to credit risks from obligors increases, and our efforts to monitor and mitigate the associated risks may not be effective in reducing our credit risks.
We use a risk rating system to evaluate projects that we target. We first evaluate the credit rating of the obligors involved in the project using an average of the external credit ratings for an obligor, if available, or an estimated internal rating based on a third-party credit scoring system. We then estimate the probability of default and estimated recovery rate based on the obligors’ credit ratings and the terms of the contract. We also review the performance of each investment, including through, as appropriate, a review of project performance, monthly payment activity and active compliance monitoring, regular communications with project management and, as applicable, its obligors, sponsors and owners, monitoring the financial performance of the collateral, periodic property visits and monitoring cash management and reserve accounts. The results of our reviews are used to update the project’s risk rating as necessary. Additional detail of the credit risks surrounding our Portfolio can be found in Note 6 to our financial statements in this Form 10-K.
Interest Rate and Borrowing Risks
Interest rate risk is highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors beyond our control.
We are subject to interest rate risk in connection with new asset originations and our floating-rate borrowings, and in the future, any new floating rate assets, credit facilities or other borrowings. Because short-term borrowings are generally short-term commitments of capital, lenders may respond to market conditions, making it more difficult for us to secure continued financing. If we are not able to renew our then existing borrowings or arrange for new financing on terms acceptable to us, or if we default on our covenants or are otherwise unable to access funds under any of these borrowings, we may have to curtail our origination of new assets and/or dispose of assets. We face particular risk in this regard given that we expect many of our borrowings will have a shorter duration than the assets they finance. Increasing interest rates may reduce the demand for our investments while declining interest rates may increase the demand. Both our current and future revolving credit facilities and other borrowings may be of limited duration and are periodically refinanced at then current market rates. We attempt to reduce
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interest rate risks and to minimize exposure to interest rate fluctuations through the use of fixed rate financing structures, when appropriate, whereby we seek to (1) match the maturities of our debt obligations with the maturities of our assets, (2) borrow at fixed rates for a period of time or (3) match the interest rates on our assets with like-kind debt (i.e., we may finance floating rate assets with floating rate debt and fixed-rate assets with fixed-rate debt), directly or through the use of interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap agreements or other financial instruments, or through a combination of these strategies. We expect these instruments will allow us to minimize, but not eliminate, the risk that we must refinance our liabilities before the maturities of our assets and to reduce the impact of changing interest rates on our earnings. In addition to the use of traditional derivative instruments, we also seek to mitigate interest rate risk by using securitizations, syndications and other techniques to construct a portfolio with a staggered maturity profile. We monitor the impact of interest rate changes on the market for new originations and often have the flexibility to negotiate the term of our investments to offset interest rate increases.
Typically, our long-term debt, or that of the projects in which we invest if applicable, is at fixed rates or may at times be fixed using interest rate hedges that convert most of the floating rate debt to fixed rate debt. If interest rates rise, and our fixed rate debt balance remains constant, we expect the fair value of our fixed rate debt to decrease and the value of any hedges on floating rate debt to increase. See Note 3 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for the estimated fair value of our fixed rate long-term debt, which is based on having the same debt service requirements that could have been borrowed at the date presented, at prevailing current market interest rates.
Our unsecured term loan is a variable rate loan with an outstanding balance of $535 million, and our revolving credit facilities are variable rate lines of credit with approximately $401 million outstanding as of December 31, 2023. We also have short-term green commercial paper borrowings outstanding of $30 million, which we may refinance through the issuance of additional paper at the then prevailing short-term rate. Increases in interest rates would result in higher interest expense while decreases in interest rates would result in lower interest expense. As described above, we may use various financing techniques including interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap agreements or other financial instruments, or a combination of these strategies to mitigate the variable interest nature of these facilities, and have hedged $820 million of these floating-rate borrowings. A 50 basis point increase in benchmark interest rates would increase the quarterly interest expense related to the $338 million in unhedged variable rate borrowings by $423 thousand. Such hypothetical impact of interest rates on our variable rate borrowings does not consider the effect of any change in overall economic activity that could occur in a rising interest rate environment. Further, in the event of such a change in interest rates, we may take actions to further mitigate our exposure to such a change. However, due to the uncertainty of the specific actions that would be taken and their possible effects, the analysis assumes no changes in our financial structure.
We record certain of our assets at fair value in our financial statements and any changes in the discount rate would impact the value of these assets. See Note 3 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.
Liquidity and Concentration Risk
The assets that comprise our Portfolio are not and are not expected to be publicly traded. A portion of these assets may be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly-traded securities. The illiquidity of our assets may make it difficult for us to sell such assets if the need or desire arises, including in response to changes in economic and other conditions. Certain of the projects in which we invest have one obligor and thus we are subject to concentration risk for these investments and could incur significant losses if any of these projects perform poorly or if we are required to write down the value of any of these projects. Many of our assets, or the collateral supporting those assets, are concentrated in certain geographic areas, which may make those assets or the related collateral more susceptible to natural disasters or other regional events. See also “Credit Risks” discussed above.
Commodity and Environmental Attribute Price Risk
When we make equity or debt investments for a renewable energy project that acts as a substitute for an underlying commodity, we may be exposed to volatility in prices for that commodity. The performance of renewable energy projects that produce electricity can be impacted by volatility in the market prices of various forms of energy, including electricity, coal and natural gas. This is especially true for GC utility scale projects that sell power on a wholesale basis as opposed to BTM projects which compete against the retail or delivered costs of electricity which includes the cost of transmitting and distributing the electricity to the end user. Projects in which we invest, or in which we may plan to invest, may also be exposed to volatility in the prices of environmental attributes, such as renewable energy credits or other similar credits which the project may produce.
Although we generally focus on renewable energy projects that have the majority of their operating cash flow supported by long-term PPAs or leases, many of our projects have shorter term contracts (which may have the potential of producing higher current returns) or sell their power or environmental attributes in the open market on a merchant basis. The cash flows of certain projects, and thus the repayment of, or the returns available for, our assets, are subject to risk if energy or environmental attribute prices change. We also attempt to mitigate our exposure through structural protections. These structural protections, which are typically in the form of a preferred return mechanism, are designed to allow recovery of our capital and an acceptable return over time. When structuring and underwriting these transactions, we evaluate these transactions using a variety of
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scenarios, including natural gas prices remaining low for an extended period of time. Despite these protections, as natural gas or renewable fuel credit price volatility continues or PPAs expire, the cash flows from certain of our projects are exposed to these market conditions and we work with the projects sponsors to minimize any impact as part of our on-going active asset management and portfolio monitoring. We often invest in utility scale solar projects by owning the land under the project where our rent is paid out of project operational costs before the debt or equity in the project receives any payments. Certain of the projects in which we invest may also be obligated to physically deliver energy under PPAs or related agreements, and to the extent they are unable to do so may be negatively impacted. Certain PPAs or related agreements may also price power at a different location than the location where power is delivered to the grid, and the projects may be negatively impacted to the extent to which these prices differ. To the extent transmission and distribution infrastructure in geographies in which we invest is not able to accommodate additional power, additional renewable penetration from other new projects in certain geographic areas could decrease the revenues of our projects.
We seek to structure our energy efficiency investments so that we typically avoid exposure to commodity price risk. However, volatility in energy prices may cause building owners and other parties to be reluctant to commit to projects for which repayment is based upon a fixed monetary value for energy savings that would not decline if the price of energy declines.
Environmental Risks
Our business is impacted by the effects of climate change and various related regulatory responses. We discuss the risks and opportunities associated with the impacts of climate change in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Impact of climate change on our future operations. This discussion outlines potential qualitative impacts to our business, quantitative illustrations of sensitivity as well as our strategy and resilience to these risks and opportunities.
Risk Management
Our ongoing active asset management and portfolio monitoring processes provide investment oversight and valuable insight into our origination, underwriting and structuring processes. These processes create value through active monitoring of the state of our markets, enforcement of existing contracts and asset management. As described above, we engage in a variety of interest rate management techniques that seek to mitigate the economic effect of interest rate changes on the values of, and returns on, some of our assets. We seek to manage credit risk using thorough due diligence and underwriting processes, strong structural protections in our agreements with customers and continual, active asset management and portfolio monitoring. Additionally, we have a Finance and Risk Committee of our Board which discusses and reviews policies and guidelines with respect to our risk assessment and risk management for various risks, including, but not limited to, our interest rate, counter party, credit, capital availability, refinancing risks, and cybersecurity. As it relates to environmental risks, when we underwrite and structure our investments the environmental risks and opportunities are an integral consideration to our investment parameters. While we cannot fully protect our investments, we seek to mitigate these risks by using third party experts to conduct engineering and weather analysis and insurance reviews as appropriate. Weather related risks are at times managed in cooperation with our clients where they buy offsetting power positions to mitigate power market disruptions or operational impacts. Once a transaction has closed we continue to monitor the environmental risks to the Portfolio. We further discuss our strategy to managing these risks in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Impact of climate change on our future operations.
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Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc., Consolidated Financial Statements, For the Years Ended December 31, 2023, 2022 and 2021 | |||||
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.
Opinion on the Financial Statements
We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheets of Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (the Company) as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2) (collectively referred to as the “consolidated financial statements”). In our opinion, the consolidated financial statements present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company at December 31, 2023 and 2022, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the Company's internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control-Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework), and our report dated February 16, 2024 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Critical Audit Matter
The critical audit matter communicated below is a matter arising from the current period audit of the financial statements that was communicated or required to be communicated to the audit committee and that: (1) relates to accounts or disclosures that are material to the financial statements and (2) involved our especially challenging, subjective or complex judgments. The communication of the critical audit matter does not alter in any way our opinion on the consolidated financial statements, taken as a whole, and we are not, by communicating the critical audit matter below, providing a separate opinion on the critical audit matter or on the account or disclosure to which it relates.
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| Accounting for Equity Investments in Climate Solutions Projects | |||||
| Description of the Matter | As discussed in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, the Company makes investments in climate solutions projects that are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. As of December 31, 2023, the Company held $2.97 billion of equity investments in climate solutions projects as of December 31, 2023. The Company’s determination that it does not have the power to direct the significant activities impacting each of the investees’ economic performance (“power”) is critical to its determination that it is not the primary beneficiary of the investee. Also, as described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements, for equity method investments that contain preferences with regard to cash flows from operations, capital events and liquidation in their respective limited liability company agreements (“LLC Agreements”), the Company applies the Hypothetical Liquidation at Book Value (“HLBV”) method to record its share of profits and losses on these investments, which is recorded one quarter in arrears to allow for receipt of financial information from its investees. Also, as described in Note 2, the Company evaluates their equity method investments quarterly for other than temporary impairment (“OTTI”). This requires evaluating available qualitative and quantitative evidence to determine whether there may be indicators of a loss in investment value below carrying value. Auditing the Company’s determination of whether it has power over an investee was complex and required significant judgment to determine both the activities of the investee that most significantly impact the investee’s economics, and the distribution of power among the members of the investee that ultimately determine the outcome of such activities. In addition, auditing the Company’s application of the HLBV method was challenging and inherently complex, because the application is based on its interpretations of the liquidation provisions outlined within investees’ LLC Agreements. Lastly, evaluating available qualitative and quantitative evidence was subjective and required judgment as to whether there were indicators of a loss in investment value below carrying value. | ||||
How We Addressed the Matter in Our Audit | We tested the Company’s controls that address the risks of material misstatement relating to: i) the determination of whether the Company has the power to direct the significant activities of the investees, ii) the recognition of its share of investees’ profits and losses through use of the HLBV method based on financial information reported to the Company from its investees, and iii) the review of available qualitative and quantitative evidence in determining whether there may be indicators of a loss in investment value below carrying value. For example, we tested the Company’s controls over management’s review of the variable interest model and determination of whether the Company has power. We also tested controls over management’s review of the HLBV method, including the application of any liquidation provisions and the financial information reported from their investees. Lastly, we tested controls over management’s review of available quantitative and qualitative evidence and whether there were indicators of a loss in investment value below carrying value. To evaluate whether the Company has power over each investee, our audit procedures included, on a sample basis, reading LLC Agreements and evaluating management’s analysis of the significant activities of the investee and which parties can direct those significant activities. For example, as part of our evaluation, we considered the purpose and design of each investee and the legal rights of each of the involved parties, including the significance of the decisions that each party makes. We also tested the rights of each party included in management’s analysis by comparing such rights to the LLC Agreements. We tested the Company’s application of the HLBV method for a sample of both new and existing investments. Our audit procedures included, among others, involving tax professionals to assist in evaluating the Company’s application of the liquidation provisions within the LLC Agreements. Specifically, we assessed the Company’s HLBV calculations by agreeing provisions of the calculations, such as the application of stated preferred returns and allocation of tax attributes, to the terms of the LLC Agreements for each of these investments. We also performed additional procedures on the Company’s HLBV calculations that included, but were not limited to, recalculating the stated preferred returns, recalculating allocations of tax attributes, comparing inputs included within the calculations to the information reported to the Company by its investee, and recalculating the Company’s share of profits and losses of the investee. We reviewed the Company’s evaluation of available qualitative and quantitative evidence and whether there may be indicators of a loss in investment value below carrying value for a sample of investments. This included, among others, evaluating management’s identification of indicators that the Company’s investments may have experienced a loss of value below carrying value, agreeing certain qualitative and quantitative information used in the assessment to source documents, testing clerical accuracy of the analysis as applicable, and assessing any contradictory evidence that arose during our audit. | ||||
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/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
We have served as the Company’s auditor since 1983.
February 16, 2024
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Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and the Board of Directors of
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.
Opinion on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
We have audited Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc.’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (2013 framework) (the COSO criteria). In our opinion, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (the Company) maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023, based on the COSO criteria.
We also have audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (PCAOB), the consolidated balance sheets of the Company as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the related consolidated statements of operations, comprehensive income, stockholders’ equity and cash flows for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2023, and the related notes and financial statement schedule listed in the Index at Item 15(a)(2) and our report dated February 16, 2024 expressed an unqualified opinion thereon.
Basis for Opinion
The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting included in the accompanying Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit. We are a public accounting firm registered with the PCAOB and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.
We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects.
Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.
Definition and Limitations of Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
Tysons, Virginia
February 16, 2024
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HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)
| December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||
| Cash and cash equivalents | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Equity method investments | |||||||||||
Commercial receivables, net of allowance of $ | |||||||||||
| Government receivables | |||||||||||
Receivables held-for-sale | |||||||||||
| Real estate | |||||||||||
| Investments | |||||||||||
Securitization assets, net of allowance of $ | |||||||||||
| Other assets | |||||||||||
| Total Assets | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | |||||||||||
| Liabilities: | |||||||||||
| Accounts payable, accrued expenses and other | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Credit facilities | |||||||||||
| Commercial paper notes | |||||||||||
| Term loans payable | |||||||||||
Non-recourse debt (secured by assets of $ | |||||||||||
| Senior unsecured notes | |||||||||||
| Convertible notes | |||||||||||
| Total Liabilities | |||||||||||
| Stockholders’ Equity: | |||||||||||
Preferred stock, par value $ | |||||||||||
Common stock, par value $ | |||||||||||
| Additional paid-in capital | |||||||||||
| Accumulated deficit | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) | ( | ||||||||||
Non-controlling interest | |||||||||||
| Total Stockholders’ Equity | |||||||||||
| Total Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity | $ | $ | |||||||||
See accompanying notes.
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HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS, EXCEPT PER SHARE DATA)
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest income | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Rental income | |||||||||||||||||
| Gain on sale of assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Securitization asset income | |||||||||||||||||
| Other income | |||||||||||||||||
| Total revenue | |||||||||||||||||
| Expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Interest expense | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for loss on receivables and securitization assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Compensation and benefits | |||||||||||||||||
| General and administrative | |||||||||||||||||
| Total expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Income before equity method investments | |||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from equity method investments | |||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) before income taxes | |||||||||||||||||
| Income tax benefit (expense) | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | |||||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest holders | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to controlling stockholders | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Basic earnings (loss) per common share | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted earnings (loss) per common share | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Weighted average common shares outstanding—basic | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average common shares outstanding—diluted | |||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes.
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HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME
(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, net of tax (provision) benefit of $ | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps, net of tax (provision) benefit of $( | |||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) | |||||||||||||||||
Less: Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interest holders | |||||||||||||||||
| Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to controlling stockholders | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes.
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HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
(AMOUNTS IN THOUSANDS)
| Common Stock | Additional Paid-in Capital | Accumulated Deficit | Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (Loss) | Non-controlling Interest | Total | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Shares | Amount | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2020 | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issued shares of common stock | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Equity-based compensation | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Issuance (repurchase) of vested equity-based compensation shares | ( | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dividends and distributions | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities | — | — | — | — | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issued shares of common stock | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance (repurchase) of vested equity-based compensation shares | ( | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends and distributions | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | ( | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities | — | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unrealized gain (loss) on interest rate swaps | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issued shares of common stock | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Issuance (repurchase) of vested equity-based compensation shares | ( | — | — | — | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Conversion of convertible notes | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Purchase of capped calls | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dividends and distributions | — | — | — | ( | — | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Balance at December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | $ | ( | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes.
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HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(DOLLARS IN THOUSANDS)
| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Cash flows from operating activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Provision for loss on receivables | |||||||||||||||||
| Depreciation and amortization | |||||||||||||||||
| Amortization of financing costs | |||||||||||||||||
| Equity-based compensation | |||||||||||||||||
| Equity method investments | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Non-cash gain on securitization | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
(Gain) loss on sale of assets | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Changes in receivables held-for-sale | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Loss on debt extinguishment | |||||||||||||||||
| Changes in accounts payable and accrued expenses | |||||||||||||||||
| Change in accrued interest on receivables and investments | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Other | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by operating activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Cash flows from investing activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Equity method investments | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Equity method investment distributions received | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of equity method investments | |||||||||||||||||
| Purchases of and investments in receivables | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Principal collections from receivables | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of receivables | |||||||||||||||||
| Purchases of real estate | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Sales of real estate | |||||||||||||||||
| Purchases of investments | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from sales of investments and securitization assets | |||||||||||||||||
Collateral provided to hedge counterparties | ( | ||||||||||||||||
Collateral received from hedge counterparties | |||||||||||||||||
| Funding of escrow accounts | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Withdrawal from escrow accounts | |||||||||||||||||
| Other | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) investing activities | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
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| Years Ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Cash flows from financing activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from credit facilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Principal payments on credit facilities | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of commercial paper notes | |||||||||||||||||
| Principal payments on commercial paper notes | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of non-recourse debt | |||||||||||||||||
| Principal payments on non-recourse debt | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of term loan | |||||||||||||||||
Principal payments on term loan | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of senior unsecured notes | |||||||||||||||||
| Redemption of senior unsecured notes | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from issuance of convertible notes | |||||||||||||||||
| Principal payments on convertible notes | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Purchase of capped calls related to the issuance of convertible notes | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Net proceeds of common stock issuances | |||||||||||||||||
| Payments of dividends and distributions | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Withholdings on employee share vesting | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Redemption premium paid | ( | ||||||||||||||||
| Payment of debt issuance costs | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
Collateral provided to hedge counterparties | ( | ||||||||||||||||
Collateral received from hedge counterparties | |||||||||||||||||
| Other | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | |||||||||||||||||
| Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at beginning of period | |||||||||||||||||
| Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at end of period | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Interest paid | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Supplemental disclosure of non-cash activity | |||||||||||||||||
| Residual assets retained from securitization transactions | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Equity method investments received upon deconsolidation of a special purpose entity | |||||||||||||||||
| Right-of-use asset obtained in exchange for lease liability | |||||||||||||||||
| Issuance of common stock from conversion of convertible notes | |||||||||||||||||
| Deconsolidation of non-recourse debt and other liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Deconsolidation of assets pledged for non-recourse debt | |||||||||||||||||
See accompanying notes.
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HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
December 31, 2023
1. The Company
Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital, Inc. (the “Company”) actively partners with clients to deploy real assets that facilitate the energy transition. Our investments take various forms, including equity, joint ventures, real estate ownership, lending and other financing transactions. We generate net investment income from our portfolio, and fees through gain-on sale securitization transactions, asset management and servicing, broker/dealer and other services. We also generate recurring income through our residual ownership in securitization and syndication structures.
The Company and its subsidiaries are hereafter referred to as “we,” “us” or “our.” We refer to the income producing assets that we hold on our balance sheet as our “Portfolio.” Our Portfolio includes:
•equity investments in either preferred or common structures in unconsolidated entities;
•commercial and government receivables;
•real estate; and
•investments in debt securities.
We finance our business through cash on hand, non-recourse debt, recourse debt, convertible securities, or equity issuances and may also decide to finance such transactions through the use of off-balance sheet securitization structures.
Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “HASI.” We intend to continue to operate our business in a manner that will maintain our exemption from registration as an investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”), as amended. We operate our business through, and serve as the sole general partner of, our operating partnership subsidiary, Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure, L.P., (the “Operating Partnership”), which was formed to acquire and directly or indirectly own our assets.
Transition to Taxable C Corporation
As a result of expanding opportunities in non-qualifying assets, effective January 1, 2024, we have elected to revoke our real estate investment trust (“REIT”) election, and will be taxed as a C Corporation beginning in tax year 2024. Commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2024, all of the Company’s taxable income is subject to U.S. federal and state income tax at the applicable corporate tax rate. Dividends paid to stockholders are no longer tax deductible to us. The Company is also no longer subject to the REIT requirement for distributions to stockholders when the Company has taxable income.
The Company anticipates that operating as a taxable C Corporation will provide the Company with flexibility to execute various strategic initiatives without the constraints of complying with REIT requirements, including investing in power generating, transportation, and alternative fuel assets which are not REIT qualifying assets. The Company’s transition to a taxable C Corporation is not expected to result in significant incremental current income tax expense in the near term due to the availability of net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards and tax credits typically offered by the assets in which we often invest. See Note 10 for additional information.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from these estimates and such differences could be material. In the opinion of management, all adjustments necessary to present fairly our financial position, results of operations and cash flows have been included. Certain amounts in the prior years have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation.
The consolidated financial statements include our accounts and controlled subsidiaries, including the Operating Partnership. All material intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation.
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Consolidation
We account for our investments in entities that are considered voting interest entities or variable interest entities (“VIEs”) under ASC 810 and assess on an ongoing basis whether we should consolidate these entities. We have established various special purpose entities or securitization trusts for the purpose of securitizing certain assets that are not consolidated in our financial statements as described below in Securitization of Financial Assets.
Since we have assessed that we have power over and receive the benefits from those special purpose entities that are formed for the purpose of holding our assets on our balance sheet, we have concluded we are the primary beneficiary and should consolidate these entities under the provisions of ASC 810. We also have certain subsidiaries we deem to be voting interest entities that we control through our ownership of voting interests and accordingly consolidate.
Certain of our equity method investments were determined to be interests in VIEs in which we are not the primary beneficiary, as we do not direct the significant activities of these entities, and thus we account for those investments as Equity Method Investments as discussed below. Our maximum exposure to loss through these investments is typically limited to their recorded values. However, we may provide financial commitments to these VIEs or guarantee certain of their obligations. Certain other entities in which we have equity investments have been assessed to be voting interest entities and as we exert significant influence rather than control through our ownership of voting interests, we do not consolidate them and thus account for them as equity method investments described below.
Equity Method Investments
We have made equity investments, typically in structures where we have a preferred return position. These investments are typically owned in holding companies (using limited liability companies (“LLCs”) taxed as partnerships) where we partner with either the operator of the project or other institutional investors. We share in the cash flows, income, and tax attributes according to a negotiated schedule which typically does not correspond with our ownership percentages. Investors, if any, in a preferred return position typically receive a priority distribution of all or a portion of the project’s cash flows, and in some cases, tax attributes. Once the preferred return, if applicable, is achieved, the partnership “flips” and common equity investors, often the operator of the project, receive a larger portion of the cash flows, with the previously preferred investors retaining an on-going residual interest.
Our equity investments in climate solutions projects are accounted for under the equity method of accounting. Under the equity method of accounting, the carrying value of these equity method investments is determined based on amounts we invested, adjusted for the equity in earnings or losses of the investee allocated based on the LLC agreement, less distributions received. For the LLC agreements that contain preferences with regard to cash flows from operations, capital events and liquidation, we reflect our share of profits and losses by determining the difference between our claim on the investee’s reported book value at the beginning and the end of the period, which is adjusted for distributions received and contributions made. This claim is calculated as the amount we would receive if the investee were to liquidate all of its assets at the recorded amounts determined in accordance with GAAP and distribute the resulting cash to creditors and investors in accordance with their respective priorities. This method is referred to as the hypothetical liquidation at book value method (“HLBV”). Our exposure to loss in these investments is limited to the amount of our equity investment, as well as receivables from or guarantees made to the same investee.
Any difference between the amount of our investment and the amount of underlying equity in net assets at the time of our investment is generally amortized over the life of the assets and liabilities to which the difference relates. Cash distributions received from each equity method investment are classified as operating activities to the extent of cumulative earnings for each investment in our consolidated statements of cash flows. Our initial investment and additional cash distributions beyond the amounts that are classified as operating activities are classified as investing activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows. We typically recognize earnings one quarter in arrears for certain of these investments to allow for the receipt of financial information.
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Commercial and Government Receivables
Commercial and government receivables (“receivables”) include project loans and receivables. These receivables are separately presented in our balance sheet to illustrate the differing nature of the credit risk related to these assets. Unless otherwise noted, we generally have the ability and intent to hold our receivables for the foreseeable future and accordingly we classify them as held for investment. Our ability and intent to hold certain receivables may change from time to time depending on a number of factors including economic, liquidity and capital market conditions. At inception of the arrangement, the carrying value of receivables held for investment represents the present value of the note, lease or other payments, net of any unearned fee income, which is recognized as income over the term of the note or lease using the effective interest method. Receivables that are held for investment are carried at amortized cost, net of any unamortized acquisition premiums or discounts and include origination and acquisition costs, as applicable. Our initial investment and principal repayments of these receivables are classified as investing activities and the interest collected is classified as operating activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows. Receivables that we intend to sell in the short-term are classified as held-for-sale and are carried at the lower of amortized cost or fair value on our balance sheet, which is assessed on an individual asset basis. The purchases and proceeds from receivables that we intend to sell at origination are classified as operating activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows. Interest collected is classified as an operating activity in our consolidated statements of cash flows. Receivables from certain projects are subordinate to preferred investors in a project who are allocated the majority of such project’s cash in the early years of the investment. Accordingly, such receivables may include the ability to defer scheduled interest payments in exchange for increasing our receivable balance. We generally accrue this paid-in-kind (“PIK”) interest when collection is expected and cease accruing PIK interest if there is insufficient value to support the accrual or we expect that any portion of the principal or interest due is not collectible. The change in PIK in any period is included in Change in accrued interest on receivables and investments in the operating section of our statement of cash flows.
We evaluate our receivables for an allowance as determined under ASC Topic 326 Financial Instruments- Credit Losses (“Topic 326”) and for our internally derived asset performance categories included in Note 6 to our financial statements on at least a quarterly basis and more frequently when economic or other conditions warrant such an evaluation. When a receivable becomes 90 days or more past due, and if we otherwise do not expect the debtor to be able to service all of its debt or other obligations, we will generally consider the receivable delinquent or impaired and place the receivable on non-accrual status and cease recognizing income from that receivable until the borrower has demonstrated the ability and intent to pay contractual amounts due. If a receivable’s status significantly improves regarding the debtor’s ability to service the debt or other obligations, we will remove it from non-accrual status.
Real Estate
Real estate consists of land or other real property and its related lease intangibles, net of any amortization. Our real estate is generally leased to tenants on a triple net lease basis, whereby the tenant is responsible for all operating expenses relating to the property, generally including property taxes, insurance, maintenance, repairs and capital expenditures. Certain real estate transactions may be characterized as “failed sale-leaseback” transactions as defined under ASC Topic 842, Leases, and thus are
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accounted for as financing transactions similarly to our commercial receivables as described above in Government and Commercial Receivables.
For our real estate lease transactions that are classified as operating leases, the scheduled rental revenue typically varies during the lease term and thus rental income is recognized on a straight-line basis, unless there is considerable risk as to collectability, so as to produce a constant periodic rent over the term of the lease. Accrued rental income is the aggregate difference between the scheduled rents that vary during the lease term and the income recognized on a straight-line basis and is recorded in other assets. Expenses, if any, related to the ongoing operation of leases where we are the lessor are charged to operations as incurred. Our initial investment is classified as investing activities and income collected for rental income is classified as operating activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.
When our real estate transactions are treated as an asset acquisition with an operating lease, we typically record our real estate purchases at cost, including acquisition and closing costs, which is allocated to each tangible and intangible asset acquired on a relative fair value basis.
The fair value of the tangible assets of an acquired leased property is determined by valuing the property as if it were vacant, and the “as-if-vacant” value is then allocated to land, building and tenant improvements, if any, based on the determination of the fair values of these assets. The as-if-vacant fair value of a property is typically determined by management based on appraisals by a qualified appraiser. In determining the fair value of the identified intangibles of an acquired property, above-market and below-market in-place lease values are valued based on the present value (using an interest rate that reflects the risks associated with the leases acquired) of the difference between (i) the contractual amounts to be paid pursuant to the in-place leases, and (ii) management’s estimate of fair market lease rates for the corresponding in-place leases, measured over a period equal to the remaining term of the lease, including renewal periods reasonably certain of being exercised by the lessee.
The capitalized off-market lease values are amortized as an adjustment of rental income over the term used to value the intangible. We also record, as appropriate, an intangible asset for in-place leases. The value of the leases in place at the time of the transaction is equal to the potential income lost if the leases were not in place. The amortization of this intangible occurs over the initial term unless management believes that it is reasonably certain that the tenant would exercise the renewal option, in which case the amortization would extend through the renewal period. If a lease were to be terminated, all unamortized amounts relating to that lease would be written off.
Investments
Investments are debt securities that meet the criteria of ASC 320, Investments-Debt and Equity Securities. We have designated our debt securities as available-for-sale and carry these securities at fair value on our balance sheet. Unrealized gains and losses, to the extent not considered to be credit related, on available-for-sale debt securities are recorded as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”) in equity on our balance sheet. When a security is sold, we reclassify the AOCI to earnings based on specific identification. Our initial investment and principal repayments of these investments are classified as investing activities and the interest collected is classified as operating activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.
We evaluate our investments for impairment on at least a quarterly basis, and more frequently when economic or market conditions warrant such an evaluation. Our impairment assessment is a subjective process requiring the use of judgments and assumptions. Accordingly, we regularly evaluate the extent and impact of any credit deterioration associated with the financial and operating performance and value of the underlying project. We consider several qualitative and quantitative factors in our assessment. The primary factor in our assessment is the current fair value of the security, while other factors include changes in the credit rating, performance of the underlying project, key terms of the transaction, the value of any collateral and any support provided by the sponsor or guarantor.
To the extent that we have identified an impairment for a security, intend to hold the investment to maturity, and do not expect that we will be required to sell the security prior to recovery of the amortized cost basis, we will recognize only the credit component of the unrealized loss in earnings by recording an allowance against the amortized cost of the asset as required by Topic 326. We determine the credit component using the difference between the security’s amortized cost basis and the present value of its expected future cash flows, discounted using the effective interest method or its estimated collateral value. Any remaining unrealized loss due to factors other than credit is recorded in AOCI.
To the extent we hold investments with a fair value less than the amortized cost and we have made the decision to sell the security or it is more likely than not that we will be required to sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, we recognize the entire portion of the impairment in earnings.
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Securitization of Assets
We have established various special purpose entities or securitization trusts for the purpose of securitizing certain financial assets. We determined that the trusts used in securitizations are VIEs, as defined in ASC 810. When we conclude that we are not the primary beneficiary of certain trusts because we do not have power over those trusts’ significant activities, we do not consolidate the trust. We typically serve as primary or master servicer of these trusts; however, as the servicer, we do not have the power to make significant decisions impacting the performance of the trusts.
We account for transfers of financial assets to these securitization trusts as sales pursuant to ASC 860, Transfers and Servicing (“ASC 860”), when we have concluded the transferred assets have been isolated from the transferor (i.e., put presumptively beyond the reach of the transferor and its creditors, even in bankruptcy or other receivership) and we have surrendered control over the transferred assets. When we are unable to conclude that we have been sufficiently isolated from the securitized financial assets, we treat such trusts as secured borrowings, retaining the assets on our balance sheet and recording the amounts due to the trust investor as non-recourse debt. Transfers of non-financial assets are accounted for under ASC 610-20, Gains and Losses from the Derecognition of Non-financial Assets, and those transfers are accounted for as sales when we have concluded that we have transferred control of the non-financial asset.
For transfers treated as sales under ASC 860, we have received true-sale-at-law and non-consolidation legal opinions for all of our securitization trust structures to support our conclusion regarding the transferred financial assets. When we sell financial assets in securitizations, we generally retain interests in the form of servicing rights and residual assets, which we refer to as securitization assets.
Gain or loss on the sale of assets is calculated based on the excess of the proceeds received from the securitization (less any transaction costs) plus any retained interests obtained over the cost basis of the assets sold. For retained interests, we generally estimate fair value based on the present value of future expected cash flows using our best estimates of the key assumptions of anticipated losses, prepayment rates, and current market discount rates commensurate with the risks involved. Cash flows related to our securitizations at origination are classified as operating activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.
We initially account for all separately recognized servicing assets and servicing liabilities at fair value and subsequently measure such servicing assets and liabilities using the amortization method. Servicing assets and liabilities are amortized in proportion to, and over the period of, estimated net servicing income with servicing income recognized as earned. We assess servicing assets for impairment at each reporting date. If the amortized cost of servicing assets is greater than the estimated fair value, we will recognize an impairment in net income.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include short-term government securities, certificates of deposit and money market funds, all of which had an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase. These securities are carried at their purchase price, which approximates fair value.
Restricted Cash
Restricted cash includes cash and cash equivalents set aside with certain lenders primarily to support obligations outstanding as of the balance sheet dates. Restricted cash is reported as part of other assets in our consolidated balance sheets. Refer to Note 3 to our financial statements in this Form 10-K for disclosure of the balances of restricted cash included in other assets.
Convertible Notes
We have issued convertible and exchangeable senior unsecured notes (together, “Convertible Notes”) that are accounted for in accordance with ASC 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options, and ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). Under ASC 815, issuers of certain convertible or exchangeable debt instruments are generally required to separately account for the conversion or exchange option of the debt instrument as either a derivative or equity, unless it meets the scope exemption for contracts indexed to, and settled in, an issuer’s own equity. Since our conversion or exchange options are both
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Derivative Financial Instruments
We use derivative financial instruments, including interest rate swaps and collars, to manage, or hedge, our interest rate risk exposures associated with new debt issuances and anticipated refinancings of existing debt, to manage our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates on floating-rate debt, and to optimize the mix of our fixed and floating-rate debt. Our objective is to reduce the impact of changes in interest rates on our results of operations and cash flows. The fair values of our interest rate derivatives designated and qualifying as effective cash flow hedges are reflected in our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other assets (if in an unrealized asset position) or accounts payable, accrued expenses and other (if in an unrealized liability position) and in net unrealized gains and losses in AOCI as described below. The cash settlements of our interest rate swaps, if any, are classified as operating activities in our consolidated statements of cash flows.
The interest rate derivatives we use are intended to be designated as cash flow hedges and are considered highly effective in reducing our exposure to the interest rate risk that they are designated to hedge. This effectiveness is required in order to qualify for hedge accounting. Instruments that meet the required hedging criteria are formally designated as hedging instruments at the inception of the derivative contract. Derivatives are recorded at fair value. If a derivative is designated as a cash flow hedge and meets the highly effective threshold, the change in the fair value of the derivative is recorded in AOCI, net of associated deferred income tax effects and is recognized in earnings at the same time as the hedged item. For any derivative instruments not designated as hedging instruments, changes in fair value would be recognized in earnings in the period that the change occurs. We assess, both at the inception of the hedge and on an ongoing basis, whether the derivatives designated as cash flow hedges are highly effective in offsetting the changes in cash flows of the hedged items. We do not hold derivatives for trading purposes. Any collateral posted or received as credit support against derivative positions are netted against those derivatives in our balance sheets. When our collateral account with any particular counterparty is in a liability position, we include inflows and outflows related to those collateral postings within financing activities in our statement of cash flows. When our collateral account with any particular counterparty is in an asset position, we include inflows and outflows related to those collateral postings within investing activities in our statement of cash flows.
Interest rate derivative contracts contain a credit risk that counterparties may be unable to fulfill the terms of the agreement. We attempt to minimize that risk by evaluating the creditworthiness of our counterparties, who are limited to major banks and financial institutions, and do not anticipate nonperformance by the counterparties due to their requirement to post collateral.
Income Taxes
We elected and qualified to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013 through our taxable year ended December 31, 2023. We have revoked our REIT status effective January 1, 2024, and beginning in taxable year 2024 will be taxed as a C Corporation. For tax years 2023 and prior, we had taxable REIT subsidiaries (“TRS”) that were taxed separately, and that were generally be subject to U.S. federal, state, and local income taxes as well as taxes of foreign jurisdictions, if any. To qualify as a REIT, we were required to meet on an ongoing basis several organizational and operational requirements, including a requirement that we distribute at least 90% of our REIT’s net taxable income before dividends paid, excluding capital gains, to our stockholders each year. As a REIT, for tax years ended December 31, 2023 and earlier, we were not subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on that portion of net income that was distributed to our owners in accordance with the REIT rules. Subsequent to our REIT status revocation, all of our net taxable income is subject to U.S. federal and state income tax at the applicable corporate tax rate, and dividends paid to stockholders are no longer tax deductible.
We account for income taxes under ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”) for tax years 2024 and later, and for our TRS for tax years 2023 and earlier, using the asset and liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to the differences between the consolidated financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities from a change in tax rates is recognized in earnings in the period when the new rate is enacted. We
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evaluate any deferred tax assets for valuation allowances based on an assessment of available evidence including sources of taxable income, prior years taxable income, any existing taxable temporary differences and our future investment and business plans that may give rise to taxable income. We treat any tax credits we receive from our equity investments in renewable energy projects as reductions of federal income taxes of the year in which the credit arises. Any deferred tax impacts resulting from transfers of assets to or from our TRS were recorded as an adjustment to additional paid-in capital, as it is a transfer amongst entities under common control.
We apply ASC 740 with respect to how uncertain tax positions should be recognized, measured, presented, and disclosed in the financial statements. This guidance requires the accounting and disclosure of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing our tax returns to determine whether the tax positions are “more likely than not” to be sustained by the applicable tax authority. We are required to analyze all open tax years, as defined by the statute of limitations, for all major jurisdictions, which includes U.S. federal and certain states.
Equity-Based Compensation
We have adopted equity incentive plans which provide for grants of stock options, stock appreciation rights, restricted stock units, shares of restricted common stock, phantom shares, dividend equivalent rights, long-term incentive-plan units (“LTIP Units”) and other restricted limited partnership units issued by our Operating Partnership and other equity-based awards. From time to time, we may grant equity or equity-based awards as compensation to our independent directors, employees, advisors, consultants and other personnel. Certain awards earned under each plan are based on achieving various performance targets, which are generally earned between 0 % and 200 % of the initial target, depending on the extent to which the performance target is met. In addition to performance targets, income or gain must be allocated by our Operating Partnership to certain LTIP Units issued by our Operating Partnership so that the capital accounts of such units are equalized with the capital accounts of other holders of OP units before parity is reached and LTIP Units can be converted to limited partnership units.
We record compensation expense for grants made in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. We record compensation expense for unvested grants that vest solely based on service conditions on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the entire award based upon the fair market value of the grant on the date of grant. Fair market value for restricted common stock is based on our share price on the date of grant. For awards where the vesting is contingent upon achievement of certain performance targets, compensation expense is measured based on the fair market value on the grant date and is recorded over the requisite service period (which includes the performance period). Actual performance results at the end of the performance period determines the number of shares that will ultimately be awarded. We have also issued awards where the vesting is contingent upon service being provided for a defined period and certain market conditions being met. The fair value of these awards, as measured at the grant date, is recognized over the requisite service period, even if the market conditions are not met. The grant date fair value of these awards was developed by an independent appraiser using a Monte Carlo simulation. Forfeitures of unvested awards are recognized as they occur.
We have a retirement policy that provides for full vesting at retirement of any time-based awards that were granted prior to the date of retirement and permits the vesting of performance-based awards that were granted prior to the date of retirement according to the original vesting schedule of the award, subject to the achievement of the applicable performance measures and without the requirement for continued employment. Employees are eligible for the retirement policy upon meeting age and years of service criteria. We record compensation expense for unvested grants through the date in which an employee meets the retirement criteria.
Earnings Per Share
We compute earnings per share of common stock in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income attributable to controlling stockholders (after consideration of the earnings allocated to unvested grants, if applicable) by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period excluding the weighted average number of unvested grants, if applicable (“participating securities” as defined in Note 12 to our financial statements in this Form 10-K). Diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing net income attributable to controlling stockholders (after consideration of the earnings allocated to unvested grants, if applicable) by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period plus other potential common stock instruments if they are dilutive. Other potentially dilutive common stock instruments include our unvested restricted stock, other equity-based awards, and Convertible Notes. The restricted stock and other equity-based awards are included if they are dilutive using the treasury stock method. The treasury stock method assumes that theoretical proceeds received for future service provided is used to purchase shares of treasury stock at the average market price per share of common stock, which is deducted from the total shares of potential common stock included in the calculation. When unvested grants are dilutive, the earnings allocated to these dilutive unvested grants are not deducted from the net income attributable to controlling stockholders when calculating diluted earnings per share. The Convertible Notes are included if they are dilutive using the if-converted method, which removes interest expense related to the Convertible Notes from the net income attributable to controlling stockholders and includes the
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Segment Reporting
We manage our business as a single portfolio and report all of our activities as one business segment.
Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements
In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures. ASU No. 2023-07 amended the existing segment reporting requirements by requiring disclosure of the significant segment expenses based on how management internally views segment information and by allowing the disclosure of more than one measure of segment profit or loss, as well as by expanding the interim period segment requirements. The ASU also requires single-reportable segment entities to report the disclosures required under ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting. ASU No. 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. Upon adoption of ASU No. 2023-07, we will provide the disclosures required by ASC Topic 280, Segment Reporting.
3. Fair Value Measurements
Fair value is defined as the price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The fair value accounting guidance provides a three-level hierarchy for classifying financial instruments. The levels of inputs used to determine the fair value of our financial assets and liabilities carried on the balance sheet at fair value and for those which only disclosure of fair value is required are characterized in accordance with the fair value hierarchy established by ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements. Where inputs for a financial asset or liability fall in more than one level in the fair value hierarchy, the financial asset or liability is classified in its entirety based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement of that financial asset or liability. We use our judgment and consider factors specific to the financial assets and liabilities in determining the significance of an input to the fair value measurements. As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, only our residual assets related to our securitization trusts, our derivatives, and our investments were carried at fair value on the consolidated balance sheets on a recurring basis. The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:
•Level 1—Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date.
•Level 2—Observable prices that are based on inputs not quoted on active markets, but corroborated by market data.
•Level 3—Unobservable inputs are used when little or no market data is available.
The tables below illustrate the estimated fair value of our financial instruments on our balance sheet. Unless otherwise discussed below, fair value for our Level 2 and Level 3 measurements is measured using a discounted cash flow model, contractual terms and inputs which consist of base interest rates and spreads over base rates which are based upon market observation and recent comparable transactions. An increase in these inputs would result in a lower fair value and a decline would result in a higher fair value. Our Senior Unsecured Notes (as defined below) and Convertible Notes are valued using a market based approach and observable prices. The receivables held-for-sale, if any, are carried at the lower of cost or fair value, as determined on an individual asset basis.
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| As of December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Fair Value | Carrying Value | Level | |||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Commercial receivables | $ | $ | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Government receivables | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Receivables held-for-sale | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Investments (1) | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Securitization residual assets (2) | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Derivative assets | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Liabilities (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| Credit facilities | $ | $ | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper notes | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Term loan facilities | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-recourse debt | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior unsecured notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Convertible notes | |||||||||||||||||
2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Convertible Notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
Derivative liabilities | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
(1)The amortized cost of our investments as of December 31, 2023, was $8 million.
(2)Included in securitization assets on the consolidated balance sheet. The amortized cost of our securitization residual assets as of December 31, 2023, was $258 million.
(3)Fair value and carrying value exclude unamortized financing costs.
| As of December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Fair Value | Carrying Value | Level | |||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Commercial receivables | $ | $ | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Government receivables | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Receivables held-for-sale | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Investments (1) | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Securitization residual assets (2) | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
Liabilities (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| Credit facilities | $ | $ | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||
| Commercial paper notes | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Term loan facilities | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Non-recourse debt | Level 3 | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior unsecured notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Convertible notes: | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 Convertible Senior Notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2025 Convertible Senior Notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Convertible Notes | Level 2 | ||||||||||||||||
(1)The amortized cost of our investments as of December 31, 2022, was $12 million.
(2)Included in securitization assets on the consolidated balance sheet. The amortized cost of our securitization residual assets as of December 31, 2022, was $224 million.
(3)Fair value and carrying value exclude unamortized financing costs.
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Securitization residual assets
The following table reconciles the beginning and ending balances for our Level 3 securitization residual assets that are carried at fair value on a recurring basis, with changes in fair value recorded through AOCI:
| For the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Balance, beginning of period | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accretion of securitization residual assets | |||||||||||
| Additions to securitization residual assets | |||||||||||
| Collections of securitization residual assets | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Sales of securitization residual assets | |||||||||||
| Unrealized gains (losses) on securitization residual assets recorded in OCI | ( | ||||||||||
| Provision for loss on securitization residual assets | ( | ||||||||||
| Balance, end of period | $ | $ | |||||||||
The following table illustrates our securitization residual assets in an unrealized loss position:
| Estimated Fair Value | Unrealized Losses (1) | Count of Assets | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assets with a loss shorter than 12 months | Assets with a loss longer than 12 months | Assets with a loss shorter than 12 months | Assets with a loss longer than 12 months | Assets with a loss shorter than 12 months | Assets with a loss longer than 12 months | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) Other than as discussed in Note 5, loss positions are due to interest rates movements and is not indicative of credit deterioration. We have the intent and ability to hold these investments until a recovery of fair value.
In determining the fair value of our securitization residual assets, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, we used a market-based risk-free rate and added a range of interest rate spreads based upon recent transactions of approximately 1 6 6.6 % and 6.8 %, respectively.
Non-recurring Fair Value Measurements
Our financial statements may include non-recurring fair value measurements related to acquisitions and non-monetary transactions, if any. Assets acquired in a business combination, if any, are recorded at their fair value. We may use third party valuation firms to assist us with developing our estimates of fair value. In 2023, we deconsolidated a special purpose entity and its associated assets and non-recourse debt, and retained a residual interest in the special purpose entity in the form of an equity method investment. We describe how we determined the fair value of our retained investment in Note 5.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Commercial and government receivables, real estate leases, and debt investments consist primarily of receivables from various projects, U.S. federal government-backed receivables, and investment grade state and local government receivables and do not, in our view, represent a significant concentration of credit risk given the large number of diverse offtakers and other obligors of the projects. Additionally, certain of our investments are collateralized by projects concentrated in certain geographic regions throughout the United States. These investments typically have structural credit protections to mitigate our risk exposure and, in most cases, the projects are insured for estimated physical loss which helps to mitigate the possible risk from these concentrations.
We had cash deposits that are subject to credit risk as shown below:
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| December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Cash deposits | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Restricted cash deposits (included in other assets) | |||||||||||
| Total cash deposits | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Amount of cash deposits in excess of amounts federally insured | $ | $ | |||||||||
4. Non-Controlling Interest
Units of limited partnership interests in the Operating Partnership (“OP units”) that are owned by limited partners other than us are included in non-controlling interest on our consolidated balance sheets. The non-controlling interest holders are generally allocated their pro rata share of income, other comprehensive income and equity transactions.
The outstanding OP units not held by us represent approximately 1 % of our outstanding OP units and are redeemable by the limited partners for cash, or at our option, for a like number of shares of our common stock. No OP units were exchanged by non-controlling interest holders during the years ended December 31, 2023, and 2,777 OP units were exchanged for the same number of shares in December 31, 2022.
We have also granted to members of our leadership team and directors LTIP Units pursuant to our equity incentive plans. The LTIP Units issued to employees are held by HASI Management HoldCo LLC. The LTIP Units are designed to qualify as profits interests in the Operating Partnership and initially will have a capital account balance of zero and, therefore, will not have full parity with OP units with respect to liquidating distributions or other rights. However, the amended and restated agreement of limited partnership of the Operating Partnership (the “OP Agreement”) provides that “book gains,” or economic appreciation, in the Operating Partnership will be allocated first to the LTIP Units until the capital account per LTIP Units is equal to the capital account per-unit of the OP units. Under the terms of the OP Agreement, the Operating Partnership will revalue its assets upon the occurrence of certain specified events, and any increase in valuation from the time of grant until such event will be allocated first to the holders of LTIP Units to equalize the capital accounts of such holders with the capital accounts of OP unit holders. Once this has occurred, the LTIP Units will achieve full parity with the OP units for all purposes, including with respect to liquidating distributions and redemption rights. In addition to these attributes, there are vesting and settlement conditions similar to our other equity-based awards as discussed in Notes 2 and 11 to our financial statements in this Form 10-K.
5. Securitization of Financial Assets
The following summarizes certain transactions with securitization trusts:
| As of and for the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Gains on securitizations | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Cost of financial assets securitized | |||||||||||||||||
| Proceeds from securitizations | |||||||||||||||||
| Residual and servicing assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Cash received from residual and servicing assets | |||||||||||||||||
In connection with securitization transactions, we typically retain servicing responsibilities and residual assets. We generally receive annual servicing fees that are typically up to 0.25 % of the outstanding balance. We may periodically make servicer advances, that are subject to credit risk. Included in securitization assets in our consolidated balance sheets are our servicing assets at amortized cost and our residual assets at fair value. Our residual assets are subordinate to investors’ interests, and their values are subject to credit, prepayment and interest rate risks on the transferred financial assets. Other than our securitization assets representing these residual interests in the trusts’ assets, the investors and the securitization trusts have no recourse to our other assets for failure of debtors to pay when due. In computing gains and losses on securitizations, we use discount rates based on a review of comparable market transactions including Level 3 unobservable inputs which consist of base interest rates and spreads over these base rates. Depending on the nature of the transaction risks, the discount rate ranged from 5.6 % to 9.5 % during the year ended December 31, 2023.
As of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, our managed assets totaled $12.3 billion and $9.8 billion, respectively, of which $6.1 billion and $5.5 billion, respectively, were securitized assets held in unconsolidated securitization trusts. As of
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December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, these trusts held $5.6 billion and $5.3 billion, respectively, of notes due to investors. There were no
Receivables from contracts for the installation of energy efficiency and other technologies are the source of cash flows for $108 million of our securitization residual assets. These technologies are installed in facilities owned by, or operated for or by, federal, state or local government entities where the ultimate obligor for the receivable is a governmental entity. The contracts may have guarantees of energy savings from third-party service providers, which typically are entities rated investment grade by an independent rating agency. The remainder of our securitization residual assets are related to contracts where the underlying cash flows are secured by an interest in real estate which are typically senior in terms of repayment to other financings.
In 2023, we recorded an allowance for losses on securitization residual assets related to prepayable assets secured by real estate. While there is no change in the underlying credit quality of the securitized assets, we have revised our estimates of cash flows due to prepayments on certain of these assets. The following table reconciles our beginning and ending allowance for loss on securitization residual assets:
| Commercial | Government | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Beginning balance - December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Provision for loss on securitization asset | |||||||||||
| Provision recorded on purchase of a credit deteriorated asset | |||||||||||
| Write-off of allowance | |||||||||||
| Recovery of allowance | |||||||||||
| Ending balance - December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Provision for loss on securitization asset | |||||||||||
| Provision recorded on purchase of a credit deteriorated asset | |||||||||||
| Write-off of allowance | |||||||||||
| Recovery of allowance | |||||||||||
| Ending balance - December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | |||||||||
6. Our Portfolio
As of December 31, 2023, our Portfolio included approximately $6.2 billion of equity method investments, receivables, real estate and investments on our balance sheet. The equity method investments represent our non-controlling equity investments in climate solutions. The receivables and investments are typically collateralized by contractually committed debt obligations of government entities or private high credit quality obligors and are often supported by additional forms of credit enhancement, including security interests and supplier guaranties. The real estate is typically land and related lease intangibles for long-term leases to wind and solar projects.
In developing and evaluating performance against our credit criteria, we consider a number of qualitative and quantitative criteria which may include a project’s operating results, loan-to-value ratio, any cash reserves, the ability of expected cash from operations to cover the cash flow requirements currently and into the future, key terms of the transaction, the ability of the borrower to refinance the transaction, the financial and operating capability of the borrower, its sponsors or the obligor as well as any guarantors and the project’s collateral value. In addition, we consider the overall economic environment, the climate solutions sector, the effect of local, industry and broader economic factors, the impact of any variation in weather and the historical and anticipated trends in interest rates, defaults and loss severities for similar transactions.
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The following is an analysis of the Performance Ratings of our Portfolio as of December 31, 2023, which is assessed quarterly:
Portfolio Performance | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commercial | Government | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1 (1) | 2 (2) | 3 (3) | 1 (1) | Total | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
Receivable vintage (4) | (dollars in millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2022 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2020 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Prior to 2019 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total receivables held-for-investment | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Less: Allowance for loss on receivables | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Net receivables held-for-investment (5) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Receivables held-for-sale | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Investments | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Real estate | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Equity method investments (6) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Percent of Portfolio | % | % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)This category includes our assets where based on our credit criteria and performance to date we believe that our risk of not receiving our invested capital remains low.
(2)This category includes our assets where based on our credit criteria and performance to date we believe there is a moderate level of risk to not receiving some or all of our invested capital.
(3)This category includes our assets where based on our credit criteria and performance to date, we believe there is substantial doubt regarding our ability to recover some or all of our invested capital. Loans in this category are placed on non-accrual status.
(4)Receivable vintage refers to the period in which the relevant loan agreement is signed, and a given vintage may contain loan advances made in periods subsequent to the period in which the loan agreement was signed.
(5)Total reconciles to the total of the government receivables and commercial receivables lines of the consolidated balance sheets
Receivables
As of December 31, 2023 our allowance for loan losses was $50 million based on our expectation for credit losses over the lives of the receivables in our Portfolio. During 2023, we recorded a provision for loss on receivables of $9 million primarily due to new loans and loan commitments. During 2023, we entered into a variable rate revolving credit facility with an energy services company secured by projects in development, with a maximum principal amount of $300 million and that matures in 2026. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding balance of the facility was $277 million and the facility bore interest at a rate of 10.1 %.
Below is a summary of the carrying value, expected loan funding commitments, and allowance by type of receivable or “Portfolio Segment,” as defined by Topic 326, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:
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| December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gross Carrying Value | Loan Funding Commitments | Allowance | Gross Carrying Value | Loan Funding Commitments | Allowance | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Commercial (1) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Government (2) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)As of December 31, 2023, this category of assets include $1.5 billion of mezzanine loans made on a non-recourse basis to special purpose subsidiaries of residential solar companies which hold residential solar assets where we rely on certain limited indemnities, warranties, and other obligations of the residential solar companies or their other subsidiaries.
Risk characteristics of our commercial receivables include a project’s operating risks, which include the impact of the overall economic environment, the climate solutions sector, the effect of local, industry, and broader economic factors, the impact of any variation in weather and trends in interest rates. We use assumptions related to these risks to estimate an allowance using a discounted cash flow analysis or the PD/LGD method as discussed in Note 2. All of our commercial receivables are included in Performance Rating 1 in the Portfolio Performance table above. For those assets in Performance Rating 1, the credit worthiness of the obligor combined with the various structural protections of our assets cause us to believe we have a low risk we will not receive our invested capital, however we recorded a $50 million allowance on these $3.0 billion in assets as a result of lower probability assumptions utilized in our allowance methodology.
(2)As of December 31, 2023, our government receivables include $10 million of U.S. federal government transactions and $81 million of transactions where the ultimate obligors are state or local governments.
Risk characteristics of our government receivables include the energy savings or the power output of the projects and the ability of the government obligor to generate revenue for debt service, via taxation or other means. Transactions may have guarantees of energy savings or other performance support from third-party service providers, which typically are entities, directly or whose ultimate parent entity is, rated investment grade by an independent rating agency. All of our government receivables are included in Performance Rating 1 in the Portfolio Performance table above. Our allowance for government receivables is primarily calculated by using PD/LGD methods as discussed in Note 2. Our expectation of credit losses for these receivables is immaterial given the high credit-quality of the obligors.
The following table reconciles our beginning and ending allowance for loss on receivables by Portfolio Segment for the year ended December 31, 2023:
| Commercial | Government | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
Beginning balance - December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Provision for loss on receivables | |||||||||||
| Write-off of allowance | ( | ||||||||||
Ending balance - December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||
| Provision for loss on receivables | |||||||||||
| Write-off of allowance | |||||||||||
Ending balance - December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | |||||||||
We have no receivables which are on non-accrual status.
The following table provides a summary of our anticipated maturity dates of our receivables and the weighted average yield for each range of maturities as of December 31, 2023:
| Total | Less than 1 year | 1-5 years | 5-10 years | More than 10 years | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Maturities by period (excluding allowance) | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weighted average yield by period | % | % | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Real Estate
Our real estate is leased to renewable energy projects, typically under long-term triple net leases with expiration dates that range between the years 2033 and 2052 under the initial terms and 2047 and 2080 if all renewals are exercised. In 2023, a majority of our land and related intangibles were deconsolidated, and we retain a residual interest in those assets in the form of equity method investments as discussed in Other Equity Method Investments below. The components of our real estate portfolio as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, were as follows:
| December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Real estate | |||||||||||
| Land | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Lease intangibles | |||||||||||
| Accumulated amortization of lease intangibles | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Real estate | $ | $ | |||||||||
As of December 31, 2023, the future amortization expense of the intangible assets and the future minimum rental income payments under our land lease agreements are as follows:
| Year Ending December 31, | Future Amortization Expense | Minimum Rental Payments | ||||||||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||||||||
| 2028 | ||||||||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||||||||
| Total | $ | $ | ||||||||||||
Equity Method Investments
We have made non-controlling equity investments in a number of climate solutions projects that we account for as equity method investments. As of December 31, 2023, we held the following equity method investments:
| Investee | Carrying Value | |||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||
| Jupiter Equity Holdings, LLC | $ | |||||||
Lighthouse Partnerships (1) | ||||||||
Other equity method investments | ||||||||
| Total equity method investments | $ | |||||||
(1)Represents the total of five equity investments in a portfolio of a renewable energy projects discussed below.
Jupiter Equity Holdings, LLC
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We have a preferred equity interest in Jupiter Equity Holdings, LLC (“Jupiter”) that owns nine operating onshore wind projects and four operating utility-scale solar projects with an aggregate capacity of approximately 2.3 gigawatts. Through December 31, 2023, we have made capital contributions to Jupiter of approximately $562 million related to these projects, reflecting final funding true-ups after all projects reached substantial completion. Alongside the project sponsor and under terms outlined in the partnership agreement, we have made $10 million in loans to Jupiter for contract restructuring expenses and payments related to winter storm Uri. In 2023, in order to increase both the near-term cash flows and expected lifetime return, we made an additional $58 million loan to the project to allow for the restructuring of certain power purchase agreements and tax equity arrangements, and also guaranteed, alongside the project sponsor, to fund the working capital needs of two of the underlying portfolio companies. We anticipate the incremental investment to be accretive to our earnings per share. Those loans are included in our Related Party Transactions disclosures below. At agreement inception, the projects feature cash flows from fixed-price power purchase agreements and financial hedges with a weighted average contract life of 13 years, contracted with highly creditworthy off-takers and counterparties.
Jupiter is governed by an amended and restated limited liability company agreement, dated July 1, 2020, by and among Jupiter, one of our subsidiaries and a subsidiary of the project sponsor, which contains customary terms and conditions. We own 100 % of the Class A Units in Jupiter corresponding to 49 % of the distributions from Jupiter subject to the preferences discussed below. Most major decisions that may impact Jupiter, its subsidiaries or its assets, require the majority vote of a four person committee in which we and the project sponsor each have two 33 % to us and approximately 67 % to the sponsor. As of July 1, 2023, we and the sponsor each have a right of first offer if the other party desires to transfer any of its equity ownership to a third party. We use the equity method of accounting to account for our preferred equity interest in Jupiter, and have elected to recognize earnings from this investment one quarter in arrears to allow for the receipt of financial information.
Lighthouse Renewables Portfolio
We have entered into certain agreements relating to the acquisition, ownership and management of preferred cash equity investments in five partnerships that expect to own cash equity interests in an approximately 1.6 gigawatt portfolio of onshore wind, utility-scale solar and solar-plus-storage projects (the “Renewables Portfolio”) developed and managed by the project sponsor. We have made investments in the preferred cash equity interests of the Lighthouse Partnerships of approximately $800 million through December 31, 2023, and additional investments are expected to be made as the projects become commercially operational. We expect to make additional capital contributions of $85 million related to the acquisition of new assets, with the final contribution being made in 2024. Alongside the project sponsor and under terms outlined in the partnership agreement, we have made $17 million in working capital loans to the Lighthouse Partnerships primarily for payments related to winter storm Uri. Those working capital loans are included in our Related Party Transactions disclosures below. At agreement inception, the Renewables Portfolio had contracted cash flows with a combined weighted average contract life of greater than 15 years with a diversified group of predominately investment grade corporate, utility, university, and municipal offtakers.
Each of the Lighthouse Partnerships are or will be governed by a limited liability company agreement between us and the sponsor serving as managing member and contain customary terms and conditions. Most major decisions that may impact each of the Lighthouse Partnerships, its subsidiaries or its assets, require a unanimous vote of the representatives present at a meeting of a review committee in which a quorum is present. The review committee is a four person committee, which includes two Company representatives and two sponsor representatives. Through each Lighthouse Partnership, commencing on a certain date following the effective date of the applicable limited liability company agreement, we will be entitled to preferred distributions until certain return targets of the Renewables Portfolio are achieved. Subject to customary exceptions, no member of a Lighthouse Partnership can transfer any of its equity ownership in any Lighthouse Partnership to a third party without approval of the review committee of that Lighthouse Partnership. We use the equity method of accounting to account for our preferred equity interest in each Lighthouse Partnership, and have elected to recognize earnings from this investment one quarter in arrears to allow for the receipt of financial information.
Other Equity Method Investments
In the third quarter of 2023, we entered into an agreement with an existing securitization partner to amend the contractual terms of certain non-recourse debt agreements, which caused us to deconsolidate the entities holding such debt and its pledged collateral. Our retained interest in those entities are equity method investments, which hold land and associated operating leases as well as financial assets where the ultimate obligors are grid-connected solar projects. The carrying value of these equity method investments as of December 31, 2023 was $155 million. Our retained interest is in the form of an equity method investment, instead of a Securitization Asset, due to the nature of the underlying assets being predominantly real property.
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Related party transactions
As of December 31, 2023, of our commercial receivables, approximately $995 million are loans made to entities in which we also have non-controlling equity investments of approximately $824 million. Typically, these equity method investments are LLCs taxed as partnerships that we have entered into with various renewable energy project sponsors, such as the SunPower Corporation. We negotiate the commercial terms of these loans with the other partner, and the assets against which the project sponsors are borrowing are contributed into the LLCs upon the execution of the loans. Our equity investments allow us to participate in the residual economics of those contributed assets alongside the other partner, and our rights under the project operating agreements do not allow us to make any significant unilateral decisions regarding the terms of the arrangement. These assets are bankruptcy remote from the project sponsor, and typically contain back-up servicer provisions to allow for continuity of operations in the event the project sponsor is unable to fulfill its duties in that capacity. We are not obligated to contribute capital to support these entities, beyond agreements to make contributions to allow for the entities to purchase additional renewable energy assets. Because the loans made to these entities are typically subordinate to senior debt and tax equity investors in the projects, these loans, which have maturities of over ten years , may accrue PIK interest in the early years of the project until sufficient cash flow is available for our interest payments. Any change in PIK interest is included in Change in accrued interest on receivables and investments in the operating section of our statement of cash flows. On a quarterly basis, we assess these loans for any impairment inclusive of any PIK interest accrued under CECL as discussed above under Receivables.
The following table provides additional detail on these related party transactions:
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest income from related party loans | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
Additional investments made in related party loans | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Principal collected from related party loans | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest collected from related party loans | ||||||||||||||||||||
7. Credit facilities and commercial paper notes
Secured credit facilities
We previously had a secured revolving credit facility in the form of an approval-based loan agreement with various lenders with a maximum outstanding principal amount of $200 million. In 2023, we amended the secured revolving credit facility to a secured term loan. See Note 8 to our financial statements for discussion of the current terms of that secured term loan. Also in 2023, we terminated a previously existing representation-based secured revolving limited-recourse credit facility which had a maximum outstanding principal amount of $100 million.
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Unsecured revolving credit facilities
In February 2022, we entered into a $600 million CarbonCount®-Based Revolving Credit Facility (the “unsecured revolving credit facility”) pursuant to a revolving credit agreement with a syndicate of lenders which matures in February 2025, replacing our then-existing $400 million unsecured revolving credit facility entered into in February 2021. In 2023, we increased the maximum outstanding borrowing amount of the facility from $600 million to $915 million. As of December 31, 2023, the outstanding balance on the unsecured revolving credit facility was $401 million, which bears interest at 7.28 %. As of December 31, 2023, we had less than $2 million of remaining unamortized financing costs associated with the unsecured revolving credit facility that have been capitalized and included in other assets on our balance sheet and are being amortized on a straight-line basis over the term of the unsecured revolving credit facility.
The unsecured revolving credit facility has a commitment fee based on our current credit rating and bears interest at a rate of the SOFR or prime rate plus applicable margins based on our current credit rating, which may be adjusted downward up to 0.10 % to the extent our Portfolio achieves certain targeted levels of carbon emissions avoidance as measured by our CarbonCount metric. The current applicable margins are 1.875 % for Term SOFR Rate-based loans and 0.875 % for prime rate-based loans, plus an additional 0.10 %. The unsecured revolving credit facility contains terms, conditions, covenants, and representations and warranties that are customary and typical for transactions of this nature, including various affirmative and negative covenants, and limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds, stock repurchases, and dividends we can declare. The unsecured revolving credit facility also includes customary events of default and remedies. At our option, upon maturity of the unsecured revolving credit facility, we have the ability to convert amounts borrowed into term loans for a fee equal to 1.875 % of the term loan amounts.
CarbonCount Green Commercial Paper Note Program
We have a CarbonCount Green Commercial Paper Note Program (the “commercial paper program”) that allows us to issue commercial paper notes, in amounts up to $100 million outstanding at any time. We obtained an irrevocable direct-pay letter of credit in an amount not to exceed $100 million from Bank of America, N.A, to support these obligations which expires in June 2024. Bank of America provides a direct-pay letter of credit to the noteholders in the same amount of each commercial paper note. The letter of credit is automatically drawn upon at maturity of a commercial paper note and the noteholders are repaid in full. We have a five business-day grace period during which we repay Bank of America for the amount drawn or issue a new commercial paper note. Following the five business-day grace period, any amount then-outstanding is converted into a loan from Bank of America.
Commercial paper notes will not be redeemable, will not be subject to voluntary prepayment and are not to exceed 397 days. The proceeds from our commercial paper notes are used to acquire or refinance, in whole or in part, eligible green projects, including assets that are neutral to negative on incremental carbon emissions. As of December 31, 2023, we had $30 million outstanding under our commercial paper program, which bore interest at a rate of 6.80 %.
Commercial paper notes will be issued at a discount based on market pricing, subject to broker fees of 0.10 %. For issuance of the letter of credit, we will pay 1.40 % on any drawn letter of credit amounts to Bank of America, N.A., and 0.40 % on any unused letter of credit capacity. Any loans converted from drawn letter of credit amounts bear interest at a rate of Term SOFR plus 2.125 %, plus an additional 0.10 %. Fees paid on the drawn letters of credit may be reduced by up to 0.10 % to the extent our Portfolio achieves certain targeted levels of carbon emissions avoidance as measured by our CarbonCount metric. As of December 31, 2023, we have no remaining unamortized financing costs associated with the commercial paper program and associated letter of credit. The associated letter of credit contains terms, conditions, covenants, and representations and warranties that are customary and typical for a transaction of this nature, including various affirmative and negative covenants, and limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds, stock repurchases and dividends we declare. The letter of credit also includes customary events of default and remedies.
8. Long-term Debt
Non-recourse debt
We have outstanding the following asset-backed non-recourse debt and bank loans:
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| Outstanding Balance as of December 31, | Interest Rate | Maturity Date | Anticipated Balance at Maturity | Carrying Value of Assets Pledged as of December 31, | Description of Assets Pledged | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HASI Sustainable Yield Bond 2015-1A | $ | $ | % | October 2034 | $ | $ | $ | Receivables, real estate, real estate intangibles, and restricted cash | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HASI SYB Trust 2016-2 | % | April 2037 | Receivables and restricted cash | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HASI SYB Trust 2017-1 | (1) | % | March 2042 | Receivables, real estate, real estate intangibles, and restricted cash | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lannie Mae Series 2019-1 | (1) | % | January 2047 | Receivables, real estate, real estate intangibles, and restricted cash | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Other non-recourse debt (2) | 2024 to 2032 | Receivables | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Unamortized financing costs | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Non-recourse debt (3) | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)In 2023, contractual terms of these non-recourse debt agreements were modified, which caused us to deconsolidate the entities holding such debt and its related pledged collateral.
(2)Other non-recourse debt consists of various debt agreements used to finance certain of our receivables. Scheduled debt service payment requirements are equal to or less than the cash flows received from the underlying receivables.
(3)The total collateral pledged against our non-recourse debt was $239 million and $632 million as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively, which includes $11 million and $20 million of restricted cash that was pledged for debt service as of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, respectively.
We have pledged the financed assets, and typically our interests in one or more parents or subsidiaries of the borrower that are legally separate bankruptcy remote special purpose entities as security for the non-recourse debt. There is no recourse for repayment of these obligations other than to the applicable borrower and any collateral pledged as security for the obligations. Generally, the assets and credit of these entities are not available to satisfy any of our other debts and obligations. The creditors can only look to the borrower, the cash flows of the pledged assets and any other collateral pledged, to satisfy the debt and we are not otherwise liable for nonpayment of such cash flows. The debt agreements contain terms, conditions, covenants, and representations and warranties that are customary and typical for transactions of this nature, including limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds and stock repurchases. The agreements also include customary events of default, the occurrence of which may result in termination of the agreements, acceleration of amounts due, and accrual of default interest. We typically act as servicer for the debt transactions. We were in compliance with all covenants as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.
We have guaranteed the accuracy of certain of the representations and warranties and other obligations of certain of our subsidiaries under certain of the debt agreements and provided an indemnity against certain losses from “bad acts” of such subsidiaries including fraud, failure to disclose a material fact, theft, misappropriation, voluntary bankruptcy or unauthorized transfers.
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The stated minimum maturities of non-recourse debt as of December 31, 2023, were as follows:
| Year Ending December 31, | Future minimum maturities | |||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||
| 2024 | $ | |||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||
| 2028 | ||||||||
| Thereafter | ||||||||
| Total minimum maturities | ||||||||
| Unamortized financing costs | ( | |||||||
| Total non-recourse debt | $ | |||||||
The stated minimum maturities of non-recourse debt above include only the mandatory minimum principal payments. To the extent there are additional cash flows received from our investments serving as collateral for certain of our non-recourse debt facilities, these additional cash flows may be required to be used to make additional principal payments against the respective debt. Any additional principal payments made due to these provisions may impact the anticipated balance at maturity of these financings. To the extent there are not sufficient cash flows received from those investments pledged as collateral, the investor has no recourse against other corporate assets to recover any shortfalls.
Subsequent to December 31, 2023, we issued $94 million of non-recourse debt, secured by equity method investments with a carrying value of $247 million. This non-recourse debt has a tenor of approximately 20 years, and bears interest at a rate of 6.78 %. The terms of this debt are consistent with those described above for our existing non-recourse debt agreements.
Senior Unsecured Notes
We have outstanding senior unsecured notes issued jointly by certain of our TRS and are guaranteed by the Company and certain other subsidiaries (the “Senior Unsecured Notes”). The Senior Unsecured Notes are subject to covenants that limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness and require us to maintain unencumbered assets of not less than 120 % of our unsecured debt. These covenants will terminate on any date at which the Senior Unsecured Notes have been rated investment grade by two of the three major credit rating agencies and no event of default has occurred. We are in compliance with all of our covenants as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. The Senior Unsecured Notes impose certain requirements in the event that we merge with or sell substantially all of our assets to another entity. We allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds of our Senior Unsecured Notes to the acquisition or refinance of, in whole or in part, eligible green projects, including assets that are neutral to negative on incremental carbon emissions.
The following are summarized terms of the Senior Unsecured Notes:
| Outstanding Principal Amount | Maturity Date | Stated Interest Rate | Interest Payment Dates | Redemption Terms Modification Date | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 Notes | April 15, 2025 | % | April 15 and October 15 | N/A | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2026 Notes | June 15, 2026 | % | June 15 and December 15 | March 15, 2026 (1) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
2027 Notes | (3) | June 15, 2027 | % | June 15 and December 15 | March 15, 2027 (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2030 Notes | (4) | September 15, 2030 | % | February 15 and August 15 | N/A | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)Prior to this date, we may redeem, at our option, some or all of the 2026 Notes for the outstanding principal amount plus the applicable “make-whole” premium as defined in the indenture governing the 2026 Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest through the redemption date. In addition, prior to this date, we may redeem up to 40 % of the Senior Unsecured Notes using the proceeds of certain equity offerings at a price equal to par plus the coupon percentage of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued but unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date. On, or subsequent to, this date we may redeem the 2026 Notes in whole or in part at redemption prices defined in the indenture governing the 2026 Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest though the redemption date.
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(2)Prior to this date, we may redeem, at our option, some or all of the 2027 Notes for the outstanding principal amount plus the applicable “make-whole” premium as defined in the indenture governing the 2027 Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest through the redemption date. In addition, prior to this date, we may redeem up to 40 % of the Senior Unsecured Notes using the proceeds of certain equity offerings at a price equal to par plus the coupon percentage of the principal amount thereof, plus accrued but unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the applicable redemption date. On, or subsequent to, this date we may redeem the 2027 Notes in whole or in part at a price equal to 100 % of the principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest though the redemption date.
(3)In January 2024, we issued additional 2027 Notes with a principal amount of $200 million for net proceeds of $204 million, equivalent to a yield to maturity of 7.08 %.
(4)We issued the $375 million aggregate principal amount of the 2030 Notes for total proceeds of $371 million ($367 million net of issuance costs) at an effective interest rate of 3.87 %.
We may redeem the 2025 or 2030 Notes in whole or in part at redemption prices defined in the indenture governing the 2025 Notes or 2030 Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest though the redemption date.
The following table presents a summary of the components of the Senior Unsecured Notes:
| As of and for the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Principal | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued interest | |||||||||||
| Unamortized premium (discount) | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Less: Unamortized financing costs | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Carrying value of Senior Unsecured Notes | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Interest expense | $ | $ | |||||||||
Convertible Notes
We have outstanding exchangeable senior notes, and have previously issued convertible senior notes together “Convertible Notes”. Holders may convert or exchange any of their Convertible Notes into shares of our common stock at the applicable conversion or exchange ratio at any time prior to the close of business on the second scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, unless the Convertible Notes have been previously redeemed or repurchased by us.
The following are summarized terms of the Convertible Notes as of December 31, 2023:
| Outstanding Principal Amount | Maturity Date | Stated Interest Rate | Interest Payment Dates | Conversion/Exchange Ratio | Conversion/ Exchange Price | Issuable Shares | Dividend Threshold Amount (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 Convertible Senior Notes | (2) | August 15, 2023 | % | N/A | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes | (3) | May 1, 2025 | % | N/A | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes | August 15, 2028 | % | February 15 and August 15 | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)The conversion ratio is subject to adjustment for dividends declared above these amounts per share per quarter and certain other events that may be dilutive to the holder.
(2)These Notes were settled in 2023 using proceeds of the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes.
(3)The 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes accrete to a premium at maturity equal to 3.25 % per annum. The current balance including accreted premium is $221 million.
For the 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes and the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes, following the occurrence of a make-whole fundamental change, we will, in certain circumstances, increase the exchange rate for a holder that converts its exchangeable notes in connection with such make-whole fundamental change. There are no cash settlement provisions for the 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes and the exchange option can only be settled through physical delivery of our common stock. Upon exchange of the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes, exchange may be settled through cash, shares of our common stock or a combination of cash and shares of our common stock, at our election (as described in the indenture related to the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes). Additionally, upon the occurrence of certain fundamental changes involving us, holders of the 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes or the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes may require us to redeem all or a portion of their notes for cash at a price of 100
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trading day immediately preceding the maturity date for such notes, if certain conditions are met including our common stock trading above 130 % of the exchange price for at least 20 trading days, as set forth in the indenture relating to the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes. Any shares of our common stock issuable upon exchange of the 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes and the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes will have certain registration rights.
The 2025 Exchangeable Senior Notes are guaranteed by us and certain other subsidiaries and may, under certain conditions, be exchangeable for our common stock. The notes accrete to a premium at maturity at an effective rate of 3.25 % annually. Upon any exchange, holders will receive a number of shares of our common stock equal to the product of (i) the aggregate initial principal amount of the notes to be exchanged, divided by $1,000 and (ii) the applicable exchange rate, which will initially be 17.6873, equivalent to an initial exchange price of approximately $56.54 per share, plus cash in lieu of fractional shares. We allocated an amount equal to the net proceeds of this offering to the acquisition or refinancing of, in whole or in part, new and/or existing eligible green projects, which include assets that are neutral to negative on incremental carbon emissions.
The 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes are guaranteed by us and certain other subsidiaries and may, under certain conditions, be exchangeable for our common stock. Upon such exchange, holders will receive a number of shares of our common stock equal to the product of (i) the aggregate initial principal amount of the notes to be exchanged, divided by $1,000 and (ii) the applicable exchange rate, which initially was 36.8494, equivalent to an initial exchange price of approximately $27.14 per share, plus cash in lieu of fractional shares.
The following table presents a summary of the components of our Convertible Notes:
| As of and for the year ended December 31, | |||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Principal | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Accrued interest | |||||||||||
| Premium | |||||||||||
| Less: Unamortized financing costs | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Carrying value of Convertible Senior Notes | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Interest expense | $ | $ | |||||||||
In order to mitigate the potential dilution to our common stock upon exchange of the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes, we entered into privately-negotiated capped call transactions (“Capped Calls”) with certain counterparties. The Capped Calls are separate transactions and are not part of the terms of the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes. The total premium for the Capped Calls was recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in capital. The Company used a portion of the proceeds from the 2028 Exchangeable Senior Notes to pay for the cost of the Capped Call premium. The material terms of the Capped Calls are as follows:
| (in millions except per share data) | ||||||||
| Aggregate cost of capped calls | $ | |||||||
| Initial strike price per share | $ | |||||||
| Initial cap price per share | $ | |||||||
| Shares of our common stock covered by the capped calls | ||||||||
Expiration date | August 15, 2028 | |||||||
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CarbonCount Term Loan Facility
We have entered into a CarbonCount Term Loan Facility (“the unsecured term loan facility”) with a syndicate of banks. In 2023, we increased the outstanding principal amount from $383 million, to $535 million. Principal amounts under the term loan facility bear interest at a rate of Term SOFR plus applicable margins based on our current credit rating plus 0.10 %, which may be adjusted downward up to 0.10 % to the extent our Portfolio achieves certain targeted levels of carbon emissions avoidance, as measured by our CarbonCount metric. As of December 31, 2023, the applicable margin is 2.125 % and the current interest rate is 7.52 %. The coupon on any drawn amounts will be reset at monthly, quarterly, or semi-annual intervals at our election. Interest is due and payable quarterly. Payments of 1.25 % of the outstanding principal balance are due quarterly. The unsecured term loan facility has a maturity date of October 31, 2025, and loans under the unsecured term loan facility can be prepaid without penalty. We intend to allocate an amount equal to the net proceeds of this offering to the acquisition or refinancing of, in whole or in part, new and/or existing eligible green projects, which include assets that are neutral to negative on incremental carbon emissions.
Principal and interest payments which were due under the term loan facility as of December 31, 2023 are as follows:
| Year Ending December 31, | Future maturities | |||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||
| 2024 | $ | |||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||
| Total | $ | |||||||
| Less: Unamortized financing costs | ( | |||||||
| Carrying Value | $ | |||||||
The unsecured term loan facility contains terms, conditions, covenants, and representations and warranties that are customary and typical for a transaction of this nature, including various affirmative and negative covenants, and limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds, stock repurchases and dividends we declare. The unsecured term loan facility also includes customary events of default and remedies.
Secured Term Loan
In 2023, we amended our approval-based credit facility to become a secured term loan ("secured term loan") with a maturity date of January 2028. Principal amounts under the secured term loan will bear interest at a rate of Daily Term SOFR plus a credit spread of 2.25 %, plus 0.10 %. We are required to hold interest rate swaps with notional values equal to 85 % of the outstanding principal amount of the loan. The secured term loan is subject to mandatory principal amortization of 5 % per annum, with principal and interest payments due quarterly. The secured term loan contains terms, conditions, covenants, and representations and warranties that are customary and typical for a transaction of this nature, including various affirmative and negative covenants, and limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds, stock repurchases and dividends we declare. The secured term loan also includes customary events of default and remedies.
As of December 31, 2023, with respect to the secured term loan, the outstanding principal balance is $200 million, the interest rate as of the last rate reset is 7.68 %, and we have financing receivables pledged with a carrying value of $454 million. Unamortized financing costs associated with the secured term loan have been netted against the loan on our balance sheet and are being amortized on a straight-line basis over the term of the secured term loan Facility. Principal payments which were due under the secured term loan as of December 31, 2023 are as follows:
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| Year Ending December 31, | Future maturities | |||||||
| (in millions) | ||||||||
| 2024 | $ | |||||||
| 2025 | ||||||||
| 2026 | ||||||||
| 2027 | ||||||||
| 2028 | ||||||||
| Total | ||||||||
| Less: Unamortized Financing Costs | ( | |||||||
| Carrying Value | $ | |||||||
Interest rate swaps
In connection with several of our long-term borrowings, including floating-rate loans from our unsecured term loan facility, our secured term loan, unsecured revolving credit facility, and the anticipated refinancings of certain of our Senior Unsecured Notes we have entered into the following interest rate swaps derivative transactions in 2023 that are designated as cash flow hedges as of December 31, 2023:
| Instrument Type | Index | Hedged Rate | Fair Value as of | Notional Value as of | Term | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| December 31, 2023 | December 31, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | 1 month SOFR | % | $ | ( | $ | March 2023 to March 2033 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | Overnight SOFR | % | June 2026 to June 2033 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | Overnight SOFR | % | June 2026 to June 2033 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | Overnight SOFR | % | April 2025 to April 2035 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Collar | 1 month SOFR | (1) | May 2023 to May 2026 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | Overnight SOFR | % | ( | September 2023 to June 2033 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | Overnight SOFR | % | ( | September 2023 to June 2033 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Interest Rate Swap | Overnight SOFR | % | ( | September 2023 to June 2033 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1) Interest rate collar consists of a purchased interest rate cap of 4.00 % and a written interest rate floor of 3.70 %.
The fair values of our interest rate derivatives designated and qualifying as effective cash flow hedges are reflected in our consolidated balance sheets as a component of other assets (if in an unrealized gain position) or accounts payable, accrued expenses and other (if in an unrealized loss position) and in net unrealized gains and losses in AOCI. As of December 31, 2023, all of our derivatives were designated as hedging instruments which were deemed to be effective. As of December 31, 2023, we hold $9 million of collateral related to our interest rate derivatives that are assets, and we have netted the liability associated with that collateral against our derivative assets in other assets on our balance sheet. As of December 31, 2023, we have posted $9 million worth of collateral related to our interest rate derivatives that are liabilities, and we have netted the asset associated with that collateral against our derivative liabilities in accounts payable, accrued assets, and other liabilities on our balance sheet. A benefit of $6 million was included in interest expense as a result of our hedging activities for the year ended December 31, 2023.
9. Commitments and Contingencies
Leases
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We lease office space at our headquarters in Annapolis, Maryland under an operating lease entered into in 2021 which expires in 2033. In 2023, we entered into a lease for additional office space in New York, New York.
We have a lease related to our previous office space entered into in 2011 and amended in 2013 and 2017. Lease payments under this prior lease commenced in 2012 and incremental payments related to the amendments commenced in 2014 and 2017. The lease expires in 2027, and we began subleasing this space in 2023.
The leases provide for operating expense reimbursements and annual escalations that are amortized over the respective lease terms on a straight-line basis. Rent expense related to these three leases was less than $1 2 1 million per year during the remaining term of the leases.
Litigation
The nature of our operations exposes us to the risk of claims and litigation in the normal course of our business. We are not currently subject to any legal proceedings that are probable of having a material adverse effect on our financial position, results of operations or cash flows.
Guarantees and other commitments
We have made guarantees related to the financing of four of our joint venture entities that own debt securities of energy efficiency projects. We received $64 million of the proceeds of this financing arrangement, and in turn have guaranteed the obligations of the entity related to this financing, which includes collateral posting requirements as well as repayment of the financing at maturity in May 2024. As of December 31, 2023, our maximum obligation under this guarantee is approximately $87 million. We believe the likelihood of having to perform under the guarantee is remote, have recorded no liability associated with this guarantee, and presently have not been required to post collateral for this guarantee as the assets of the joint venture entities are enough to support the financing obligation. We have executed a separate agreement with our joint venture partner pursuant to which it is liable for repayment to us of 15 % of this guarantee obligation.
As a part of broader project restructuring in order to increase our expected cash flows from the investment, we alongside the project sponsor, made guarantees to support the working capital needs of two of the project companies owned by Jupiter Equity Holdings LLC, an equity method investee. The guarantees are in effect until the tax equity investors in those project companies achieve their target preferred returns, and our contractual maximum under these guarantees is $53 million, and is limited to $20 million in any particular calendar year. As of December 31, 2023, we have no liability recorded as a result of these guarantees as we believe it is not probable we will be required to perform under them. As of December 31, 2023 we have not been asked to perform under them.
In connection with some of our transactions, we have provided certain limited representations, warranties, covenants and/or provided an indemnity against certain losses resulting from our own actions, including related to certain investment tax credits. As of December 31, 2023, there have been no such actions resulting in claims against the Company.
10. Income Tax
As discussed in Note 1, as a result of expanding opportunities in non-qualifying REIT assets, effective January 1, 2024, we have elected to revoke our REIT election, and will be taxed as a C Corporation beginning in tax year 2024. Commencing with the taxable year ended December 31, 2024, all of the Company’s taxable income will be subject to U.S. federal and state income tax at the applicable corporate tax rate. Dividends paid to stockholders will no longer be tax deductible. The Company will also no longer be subject to the REIT compliance requirements for assets, income, or distributions to stockholders among other REIT compliance requirements.
The Company anticipates that operating as a taxable C Corporation will provide the Company with flexibility to execute various strategic initiatives without the constraints of complying with REIT requirements, including increased investing in power generating, transportation, and alternative fuel assets that are not REIT qualifying. The Company’s transition to a taxable C Corporation is not expected to result in significant incremental current income tax expense in the near term due to the availability of net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards and tax credits typically offered by the assets in which we often invest.
We recorded an income tax benefit (expense) of approximately $(32 ) million for the year ended December 31, 2023, a $(7 ) million tax benefit (expense) for the year ended December 31, 2022, and an $(17 ) million tax benefit (expense) for the year for the year ended 2021. The federal income tax expense and benefits recorded were determined using a rate of 21%. Our deferred tax assets and liabilities were measured using a federal rate of 21%. As discussed in Note 1, commencing on January 1, 2024, the Company will be taxed as a C Corporation, and $33 million of our income tax expense for the year ended December 31, 2023 is the result of revaluing the Company’s REIT business related deferred tax assets and liabilities using a statutory rate of 21% due to the REIT election revocation. As a result of the revocation of our REIT election effective January 1, 2024, we have changed the presentation of our rate reconciliation to include both REIT and TRS activities in the current year. Prior year
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presentation has been updated to conform to our current year presentation. Below is a reconciliation between the federal statutory rates and our effective tax rates for the years ended December 31:
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| Federal statutory income tax rate | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||
| Changes in rate resulting from: | |||||||||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | % | % | ( | % | |||||||||||||
| Equity method investments | ( | % | ( | % | ( | % | |||||||||||
| Recognition of deferred tax liability from REIT revocation | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||
REIT benefit / dividends paid deduction | ( | % | ( | % | ( | % | |||||||||||
| Other | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | % | % | % | |||||||||||||
| Effective tax rate | % | % | % | ||||||||||||||
Our deferred tax liability was $77 million and $44 million as of December 31, 2023 and 2022. Our deferred tax liability is included in accounts payable, accrued expenses and other on our consolidated balance sheet. Deferred income taxes represent the tax effect from continuing operations of the differences between the book and tax basis of assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets (liabilities) include the following as of December 31:
| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||
| Net operating loss (NOL) carryforwards | $ | $ | |||||||||
| Tax credit carryforwards | |||||||||||
| Share-based compensation | |||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||
| Valuation allowance | ( | ||||||||||
| Gross deferred tax assets | |||||||||||
| Receivables basis difference | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||
| Equity method investments | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Gross deferred tax liabilities | ( | ( | |||||||||
| Net deferred tax liabilities | $ | ( | $ | ( | |||||||
We have unused NOLs of $666 million and tax credits of approximately $31 million. Approximately $87 million of our NOLs will begin to expire in 2034. If we were to experience a change in control as defined in Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code, our ability to utilize NOLs in the years after the change in control would be limited. Similar rules and limitation may apply for state tax purposes as well. Of our NOLs, $579 million were added in taxable years after 2017 which are not subject to expiration but are limited to 80% of taxable income. Our tax credits begin to expire in 2034.
We have no examinations in progress, none are expected at this time, and years 2020 through 2023 are open. As of December 2023 and 2022, we had no no no
For federal income tax purposes, the cash dividends paid for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 are characterized as follows:
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| 2023 | 2022 | ||||||||||
| Common distributions | |||||||||||
| Ordinary income | % | % | |||||||||
| Return of capital | % | % | |||||||||
Capital gain dividend | % | % | |||||||||
| % | % | ||||||||||
11. Equity
Dividends and Distributions
Our Board declared the following dividends in 2022, 2023, and 2023:
| Announced Date | Record Date | Pay Date | Amount per share | |||||||||||||||||
| 2/17/2022 | 04/4/2022 | 04/11/2022 | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| 5/3/2022 | 07/5/2022 | 07/12/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8/4/2022 | 10/4/2022 | 10/11/2022 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11/3/2022 | 12/28/2022 | (1) | 01/6/2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| 02/16/2023 | 04/3/2023 | 04/10/2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 05/4/2023 | 07/5/2023 | 07/12/2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 08/3/2023 | 10/4/2023 | 10/11/2023 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 11/2/2023 | 12/29/2023 | (1) | 01/12/2024 | |||||||||||||||||
| 02/15/2024 | 04/5/2024 | 04/19/2024 | ||||||||||||||||||
(1)These dividends are treated as distributions in the following year for tax purposes.
Equity Offerings
We have an effective universal shelf registration statement registering the potential offer and sale, from time to time and in one or more offerings, of any combination of our common stock, preferred stock, depositary shares, debt securities, warrants and rights (collectively referred to as the “securities”). We may offer the securities directly, through agents, or to or through underwriters by means of ordinary brokers’ transactions on the NYSE or otherwise at market prices prevailing at the time of sale or at negotiated prices and may include “at the market” (“ATM”) offerings, to or through a market maker or into an existing trading market on an exchange or otherwise. In January 2023, we established a dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan, allowing stockholders and holders of OP Units (including LTIP Units) to purchase shares of our common stock by reinvesting cash dividends or distributions received. We completed the following public offerings (including ATM issuances) of our common stock in 2022 and 2023:
| Date/Period | Common Stock Offerings | Shares Issued | Price Per Share (1) | Net Proceeds (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| (amounts in millions, except per share amounts) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q1 2022 | ATM | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q2 2022 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q3 2022 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q4 2022 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q1 2023 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 5/30/2023 | Public Offering | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q2 2023 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q3 2023 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Q4 2023 | ATM | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
(1)Represents the average price per share at which investors in our ATM offerings purchased our shares.
(2)Net proceeds from the offerings are shown after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and other offering costs.
Equity-based Compensation Awards
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We have 7,500,000 awards authorized for issuance under our current equity-based compensation plan. As of December 31, 2023, we have issued awards with service, performance and market conditions and have 6,340,415 awards remaining available for issuance. During the year ended December 31, 2023, our Board awarded employees and directors 765,767 shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units, and LTIP Units that vest from 2024 to 2027. Refer to Note 4 for background on the LTIP Units.
A summary of equity-based compensation expense and the fair value of shares and LTIP Units vested on the vesting date for the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 is shown below.
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |||||||||||||||
| (in millions) | |||||||||||||||||
| Equity-based compensation expense | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Fair value of awards vested on vesting date | |||||||||||||||||
The total unrecognized compensation expense related to awards of shares of restricted stock, restricted stock units, and LTIP Units was approximately $20 million as of December 31, 2023. We expect to recognize compensation expense related to these awards over a weighted-average term of approximately 2 years. A summary of the unvested shares of restricted common stock that have been issued is as follows:
| Restricted Shares of Common Stock | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value | Value | |||||||||||||||
| (per share) | (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Ending Balance—December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Ending Balance—December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
A summary of the unvested shares of restricted stock units that have market-based vesting conditions that have been issued is as follows:
Restricted Stock Units (1) | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value | Value | |||||||||||||||
| (per share) | (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Incremental performance shares granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Incremental performance shares granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
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(1) As discussed in Note 2, restricted stock units with market-based vesting conditions can vest between 0 % and 200 % subject to both the absolute performance of our common stock as well as relative performance compared to a group of peers. The incremental performance shares granted relate to the vesting of an award at the 200 % level.
A summary of the unvested LTIP Units that have time-based vesting conditions that have been issued is as follows:
LTIP Units (1) | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value | Value | |||||||||||||||
| (per share) | (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | |||||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
(1) See Note 4 for information on the vesting of LTIP Units.
A summary of the unvested LTIP Units that have market-based vesting conditions that have been issued is as follows:
LTIP Units (1) | Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value | Value | |||||||||||||||
| (per share) | (in millions) | ||||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2021 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Incremental performance shares granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | |||||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2022 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
| Granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Incremental performance shares granted | |||||||||||||||||
| Vested | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Forfeited | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
Ending Balance—December 31, 2023 | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||
(1) See Note 4 for information on the vesting of LTIP Units. LTIP Units with market-based vesting conditions can vest between 0 % and 200 % subject to both the absolute performance of our common stock as well as relative performance compared to a group of peers. The incremental performance shares granted relate to the vesting of awards at the actual performance level.
NOL Stockholder Rights Plan
In 2023, we entered into a Tax Benefits Preservation Plan (“The Plan”), which is designed to protect our tax benefits in connection with any "ownership change" within the meaning of Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Under the Plan, we declared a dividend distribution of one right (a “Right”) for each outstanding share of our common stock to be paid to all record holders of our common stock at the close of business on November 21, 2023. The Plan is intended to reduce the risk that our ability to use net operating losses ("NOLs") and certain other Tax Benefits will become substantially limited as the result of an “ownership change”.
Pursuant to the Plan, if a stockholder (or group) becomes a 5 % stockholder without meeting certain exceptions, the Rights become exercisable upon board approval and entitle stockholders (other than the 5 % stockholder or group causing the rights to become exercisable) to purchase additional of our common shares at a significant discount, resulting in significant dilution in the economic interest and voting power of the 5 % stockholder or group causing the Rights to become exercisable. Stockholders owning 5% or more of our outstanding shares at the time the Plan was adopted were grandfathered and will only cause the Rights to distribute and become exercisable if they acquire any additional HASI shares. Under the Plan, the Board has the ability to determine in its sole discretion that any person shall not be deemed an acquiring person and therefore that the Rights shall not become exercisable if such person becomes a 5 % stockholder. The adoption of the Plan and the dividend distribution will not have an impact on our consolidated financial statements.
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12. Earnings per Share of Common Stock
The net income or loss attributable to the non-controlling OP units have been excluded from the basic earnings per share and the diluted earnings per share calculations attributable to common stockholders. Unvested share-based payment awards that contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends or dividend equivalents (whether paid or unpaid) are participating securities and are excluded from net income available to common stockholders in the computation of earnings per share pursuant to the two-class method. Certain share-based awards are included in the diluted share count to the extent they are dilutive as discussed in Note 2. To the extent our Convertible Notes are dilutive under the if-converted method, we add back the interest expense to the numerator and include the weighted average shares of potential common stock over the period issuable upon conversion of the note in the denominator in calculating dilutive EPS as described in Note 2.
The computation of basic and diluted earnings per common share of our common stock is as follows:
| Year ended December 31, | |||||||||||||||||
| Numerator: | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||
| (dollars in millions, except share and per share data) | |||||||||||||||||
Net income (loss) attributable to controlling stockholders and participating securities | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Less: Dividends and distributions to participating securities | ( | ( | ( | ||||||||||||||
| Undistributed earnings attributable to participating securities | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to controlling stockholders | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
Add: Interest expense related to convertible notes under the if-converted method | |||||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) attributable to controlling stockholders—diluted | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Denominator: | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average number of common shares—basic | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average number of common shares—diluted | |||||||||||||||||
| Basic earnings per common share | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Diluted earnings per common share | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Securities being allocated a portion of earnings: | |||||||||||||||||
| Weighted-average number of OP units | |||||||||||||||||
| Participating securities: | |||||||||||||||||
| Unvested restricted common stock and unvested LTIP Units with time-based vesting conditions outstanding at period end | |||||||||||||||||
Potentially dilutive securities as of period end that were not dilutive for the presented periods: | |||||||||||||||||
| Unvested restricted common stock and unvested LTIP Units with time-based vesting conditions | |||||||||||||||||
| Restricted stock units | |||||||||||||||||
| LTIP Units with market-based vesting conditions | |||||||||||||||||
| Potential shares of common stock related to convertible notes | |||||||||||||||||
13. Equity Method Investments
During the years ended December 31, 2023, 2022, and 2021 we recognized income of $141 million, $31 million, and $126 million respectively, from our equity method investments. We describe our accounting for the non-controlling equity investments in Note 2.
The following is a summary of the consolidated balance sheets and income statements of the entities in which we have a significant equity method investment. These amounts are presented on the underlying investees’ accounting basis. In certain instances, adjustment to these equity values may be necessary in order to reflect our basis in these investments, for reasons including but not limited to the investees reporting to us being on a cost basis rather than a fair value basis or due to our allocations under HLBV differing from our purchase price of the investment. As described in Note 2, any difference between the amount of our investment and the amount of our share of underlying equity is generally amortized over the life of the assets and liabilities to which the differences relate. Our basis in equity method investments exceeds the basis reported to us by our investees by an aggregate amount of $284 million, and $531 million, as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.
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Daggett Renewable HoldCo LLC | Other Investments (1) | Total | |||||||||||||||
| Balance Sheet | in millions | ||||||||||||||||
As of September 30, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Current assets | $ | $ | $ | ||||||||||||||
| Total assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Members’ equity | |||||||||||||||||
As of December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Current assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Total assets | |||||||||||||||||
| Current liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Total liabilities | |||||||||||||||||
| Members’ equity | |||||||||||||||||
| Income Statement | |||||||||||||||||
For the nine months ended September 30, 2023 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from continuing operations | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
For the year ended December 31, 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from continuing operations | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
For the year ended December 31, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||
| Revenue | |||||||||||||||||
| Income (loss) from continuing operations | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
| Net income (loss) | ( | ( | |||||||||||||||
(1) Represents aggregated financial statement information for investments not separately presented.
14. Defined Contribution Plan
We administer a 401(k) savings plan, a defined contribution plan covering substantially all of our employees. Employees in the plan may contribute up to the maximum annual IRS limit before taxes via payroll deduction. Under the plan, we provide a dollar for dollar match for the first 4 % of the employee’s contributions and a $0.50 per dollar match for the next 2 % of employee contributions. We contributed approximately $1 1 million during the year ended December 31 2021.
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SCHEDULE II - VALUATION AND QUALIFYING ACCOUNTS
ALLOWANCE FOR CREDIT LOSSES
| For the year ended December 31, | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| (in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at beginning of period | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
| Charged to provision | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Loan charge-offs | ( | |||||||||||||||||||
| Balance at end of period | $ | $ | $ | |||||||||||||||||
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Item 9. Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure
None.
Item 9A. Controls and Procedures
A review and evaluation was performed by our management, including our chief executive officer and chief financial officer, of the effectiveness of the design and operation of our disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) under the Exchange Act), as of the end of the period covered by this Form 10-K. Based on that review and evaluation, the chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded that our current disclosure controls and procedures, as designed and implemented, were effective. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a control system, no matter how well designed and operated, can provide only reasonable, not absolute, assurance that it will detect or uncover failures within our company to disclose material information otherwise required to be set forth in our periodic reports.
Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting. Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers and effected by our Board, management and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with U.S. GAAP and includes those policies and procedures that:
•pertain to the maintenance of records that in reasonable detail accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of our company;
•provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and
•provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.
Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risks that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.
Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2023. In making this assessment, our management used criteria set forth by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission in Internal Control-Integrated Framework (2013 Framework).
Based on this assessment, our management believes that, as of December 31, 2023, our internal control over financial reporting was effective based on those criteria.
Changes in Internal Control Over Financial Reporting
There have been no changes in our internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the quarter ended December 31, 2023 that have materially affected, or are reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.
Our company’s independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, has issued an attestation report on the effectiveness of our company’s internal control over financial reporting. This report appears on page 78 of this annual report on Form 10-K.
Item 9B. Other Information
On February 15, 2023, we entered into an amendment and waiver (the “Amendment and Waiver”) to the Amended and Restated Employment Agreement of Jeffrey W. Eckel, our executive chairman.
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Pursuant to the Amendment and Waiver any annual bonus received by Mr. Eckel for performance during the year ending December 31, 2024 and future periods will be paid in equity, subject to vesting requirements, instead of cash.
In addition, under the Amendment and Waiver, the target value of the equity compensation award to be granted to Mr. Eckel on March 1, 2024 was reduced from $3,285,750 to $1,647,000, subject to vesting and performance requirements.
The foregoing summary of the Amendment and Waiver does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by the terms of the Amendment and Waiver attached as an exhibit to this Annual Report on Form 10-K and incorporated by reference herein.
Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections
None.
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PART III
Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers and Corporate Governance
The information regarding our directors, executive officers and certain other matters required by Item 401 of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to our definitive proxy statement relating to our annual meeting of stockholders (the “Proxy Statement”), to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
The information regarding compliance with Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act required by Item 405 of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
The information regarding our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics required by Item 406 of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
The information regarding certain matters pertaining to our corporate governance required by Item 407(c)(3), (d)(4) and (d)(5) of Regulation S-K is incorporated by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
Item 11. Executive Compensation
The information regarding executive compensation and other compensation related matters required by Items 402 and 407(e)(4) and (e)(5) of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
Item 12. Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management and Related Stockholder Matters
The tables on beneficial ownership of our Company required by Item 403 of Regulation S-K are incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
Securities Authorized For Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans
In 2013, we adopted our 2013 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2013 Plan”) and in 2022, we adopted our 2022 Equity Incentive Plan (the “2022 Plan”), to provide equity-based incentive compensation to members of our senior management team, our independent directors, advisers, consultants and other personnel. The 2022 Plan authorizes our compensation committee to grant stock options, shares of restricted common stock, restricted stock units, phantom shares, dividend equivalent rights, LTIP Units and other restricted limited partnership units issued by our Operating Partnership and other equity-based awards. Up to 7,500,000 equity awards may be issued under the 2022 Plan. Upon the adoption of the 2022 Plan, no further awards were permitted to be granted under the 2013 Plan.
As of December 31, 2023, in the aggregate under the 2013 Plan and 2022 Plan, we have approximately 1.8 million shares of our restricted common stock, LTIP Units, and restricted common stock units outstanding (assuming that the restricted stock units vest at 200%), which are subject to vesting and, in some cases, performance requirements, to our directors, officers and other employees.
The following table presents certain information about our equity compensation plan as of December 31, 2023:
| Award | Number of securities remaining available for future issuance under equity compensation plans (1) | ||||
| Equity compensation plans approved by stockholders | 6,340,415 | ||||
| Equity compensation plans not approved by stockholders | — | ||||
| Total | 6,340,415 | ||||
(1)The 2022 Plan provides for grants of up to 7,500,000 equity awards. As of December 31, 2023, we did not have outstanding under our equity compensation plan, any options, warrants or rights to purchase shares of our common stock.
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Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Director Independence
The information regarding transactions with related persons, promoters and certain control persons and director independence required by Items 404 and 407(a) of Regulation S-K is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
Item 14. Principal Accountant Fees and Services
The information concerning principal accounting fees and services and the Audit Committee’s pre-approval policies and procedures required by Item 14 is incorporated herein by reference to the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC within 120 days after December 31, 2023.
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PART IV
Item 15. Exhibits and Financial Statement Schedules
Documents filed as part of the report
The following documents are filed as part of this Form 10-K in Part II, Item 8 and are incorporated by reference:
(a)(1) Financial Statements:
See index in Item 8—“Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” filed herewith for a list of financial statements.
(a)(2) 2. Financial Statement Schedules:
See index in Item 8—“Financial Statements and Supplementary Data,” filed herewith for Schedule II – Valuation and Qualifying Accounts filed in response to this Item.
(3)Exhibits Files:
Exhibit number | Exhibit description | ||||
| 3.1 | |||||
| 3.2 | |||||
| 3.3 | |||||
| 4.1 | |||||
4.2* | |||||
| 4.3 | |||||
| 4.4 | |||||
| 4.5 | |||||
| 4.6 | |||||
| 4.7 | |||||
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| 4.8 | |||||
| 4.9 | |||||
| 4.10 | |||||
| 4.11 | |||||
10.1* | |||||
| 10.2 | |||||
| 10.3 | |||||
| 10.4 | |||||
| 10.5 | |||||
| 10.6 | |||||
| 10.7 | |||||
| 10.8 | |||||
| 10.9 | |||||
| 10.10 | |||||
| 10.11 | |||||
| 10.12 | |||||
| 10.13 | |||||
| 10.14 | |||||
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| 10.15 | |||||
| 10.16 | |||||
| 10.17 | |||||
| 10.18 | |||||
| 10.19 | |||||
| 10.20 | |||||
10.21* | |||||
10.22* | |||||
| 10.23 | |||||
| 10.24 | |||||
| 10.25 | |||||
| 10.26 | |||||
| 10.27 | |||||
| 10.28 | |||||
| 10.29 | |||||
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| 10.30 | |||||
| 10.31 | |||||
| 10.32 | |||||
| 10.33 | |||||
| 10.34 | |||||
| 10.35 | |||||
21.1* | |||||
23.1* | |||||
24.1* | Power of Attorney (included on signature page) | ||||
31.1* | |||||
31.2* | |||||
32.1** | |||||
32.2** | |||||
97.1* | |||||
101.SCH* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Schema | ||||
101.CAL* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Calculation Linkbase | ||||
101.DEF* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Definition Linkbase | ||||
101.LAB* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Label Linkbase | ||||
101 PRE* | Inline XBRL Taxonomy Extension Presentation Linkbase | ||||
| 104 | Cover Page Interactive Data File Included as Exhibit 101 (embedded within the Inline XBRL document) | ||||
* Filed herewith. | |||||
** Furnished with this report. | |||||
Item 16. Form 10-K Summary
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None.
- 125 -
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.
| HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE | |||||
| INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC. | |||||
| (Registrant) | |||||
| Date: February 16, 2024 | /s/ Jeffrey A. Lipson | ||||
Jeffrey A. Lipson | |||||
Chief Executive Officer and President | |||||
/s/ Marc T. Pangburn | |||||
Marc T. Pangburn | |||||
Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President | |||||
| /s/ Charles W. Melko | |||||
| Charles W. Melko | |||||
| Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer and Senior Vice President | |||||
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POWER OF ATTORNEY
KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS, that each person whose signature appears below constitutes and appoints Jeffrey A. Lipson, Marc T. Pangburn and Charles W. Melko, and each of them, with full power to act without the other, such person’s true and lawful attorneys-in-fact and agents, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for him or her and in his or her name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to sign this Form 10-K and any and all amendments thereto, and to file the same, with exhibits and schedules thereto, and other documents in connection therewith, with the Securities and Exchange Commission, granting unto said attorneys-in-fact and agents, and each of them, full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing necessary or desirable to be done in and about the premises, as fully to all intents and purposes as he or she might or could do in person, hereby ratifying and confirming all that said attorneys-in-fact and agents, or any of them, or their or his or her substitute or substitutes, may lawfully do or cause to be done by virtue hereof.
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.
Signatures | Title | ||||||||||
By: | /s/ Jeffrey A. Lipson | President and Chief Executive Officer | February 16, 2024 | ||||||||
| Jeffrey A. Lipson | (Principal Executive Officer) | ||||||||||
By: | /s/ Marc T. Pangburn | Chief Financial Officer | February 16, 2024 | ||||||||
Marc T. Pangburn | and Executive Vice President | ||||||||||
(Principal Financial Officer) | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Charles W. Melko | Chief Accounting Officer, Treasurer and | February 16, 2024 | ||||||||
Charles W. Melko | Senior Vice President | ||||||||||
(Principal Accounting Officer) | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Jeffrey W. Eckel | Executive Chair of the Board | February 16, 2024 | ||||||||
Jeffrey W. Eckel | |||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Lizabeth Ardisana | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
| Lizabeth Ardisana | |||||||||||
| By: | /s/ Clarence D. Armbrister | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
| Clarence D. Armbrister | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Teresa M. Brenner | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
Teresa M. Brenner | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Nancy C. Floyd | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
| Nancy C. Floyd | |||||||||||
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By: | /s/ Charles M. O’Neil | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
Charles M. O’Neil | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Richard J. Osborne | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
Richard J. Osborne | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Steven G. Osgood | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
Steven G. Osgood | |||||||||||
By: | /s/ Kimberly A. Reed | February 16, 2024 | |||||||||
Kimberly A. Reed | |||||||||||
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