There’s a major M&A wave rolling through the commercial and industrial (C&I) renewables sector—and it’s reshaping how projects are built, valued, and acquired.

On one end, large IPPs are offloading C&I portfolios to focus on utility-scale. On the other, pure-play developers are intentionally building with a “sell at NTP” model in mind. Buyers—often institutional-backed aggregators—are actively hunting for bankable projects they can roll up into larger portfolios.

But while transaction activity is high, financing remains a persistent bottleneck.

The Financing Roadblock: What’s Slowing Deals

Most buyers operate with strict internal financing assumptions. If a project doesn’t have an investment-grade offtaker, it often gets priced conservatively—or skipped entirely.

This doesn’t just create a pricing mismatch. It distorts the entire pipeline:

• Sellers believe the asset is worth more.

• Buyers can’t justify the risk-adjusted return.

• And developers stop pursuing projects with non-IG offtakers altogether.

The result? A narrower set of deals gets built—and a massive swath of viable demand remains unserved.

But that risk isn’t always unmanageable. In many cases, credit risk can be mitigated. That’s where credit insurance enters—not just to rescue tough deals, but to expand what’s possible in the first place.

Smart Buyers Are Quietly Using Credit Insurance to Win

A growing group of repeat acquirers are shifting their approach. Before they close, they bring projects to Energetic Capital and ask:

“Would your team have appetite for this offtake?”

If the answer is yes, they know they can likely secure investment-grade permanent debt financing post-close. That clarity gives them the confidence to bid more aggressively—and win deals others can’t.

In this context, credit insurance becomes more than just a safety net.

It’s a strategic tool that gives buyers real bidding power.

Sellers Are Catching On—And Reaping the Benefits

We’re now seeing sellers take a page from the buy-side playbook. By engaging early and pre-packaging projects with credit insurance on part of the cash flows, they boost the overall bankability of their portfolio.

The upside?

• Better risk profile.

• Faster buyer diligence.

• Higher exit valuations.

This isn’t theoretical—it’s happening right now. And it’s turning generic portfolios into premium ones.

A Market-Level Shift Is Underway

Credit insurance is no longer just a back-end, post-financing tool—it’s becoming a foundational part of how clean energy transactions are priced, structured, and executed.

The benefits are increasingly hard to ignore:

• Sellers attract stronger buyers and accelerate time to close.

• Buyers unlock more projects without compromising returns.

• Lenders get comfortable due to credit risk-mitigation earlier in the process, not after the fact.

• Deals move faster—with fewer surprises, fewer retrades, and clearer alignment on value.

At Energetic Capital, we’re not just supporting financing—we’re actively shaping how C&I projects get valued, acquired, and monetized. This isn’t just about de-risking deals. It’s about stepping into a true capital markets role:

• enabling transactions

• improving execution

• and giving our clients a strategic edge.

In a market defined by speed, scale, and scarcity, that kind of edge isn’t optional—it’s a competitive advantage.

Ready to Play Offense in M&A?

The landscape is changing fast. Those who know how to enhance credit profiles early will move faster, win more deals, and realize stronger returns.

Whether you’re a developer building to sell or an aggregator looking to scale—talk to us before your next transaction.

Credit insurance isn’t just a de-risking tool. It’s a deal accelerator, a pricing lever, and a competitive advantage.

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