About
Context
Renewable energy and energy efficiency are crucial components of Brazil’s 2030 climate goals as the country aims to increase energy efficiency by 10% and reach a share of 23% non-hydro renewables in the electricity sector by 2030. In order to meet these targets, access to low-cost, long-term finance is critical.
There is a major funding shortfall for green projects in Brazil. The Brazilian National Development Bank (BNDES) provides most of the finance to renewable energy projects but the recent economic recession and new fiscal constraints have dropped project lending to its lowest since 2007. Most projects rely on this financing and this has put their viability in question. Long-term private finance is needed to fill the gap, but the market in Brazil is not well developed.
Approach
The Green FIDC builds on a Brazil-specific instrument, the Fundo de Investimento em Direitos Creditórios (FIDC) – used by companies in Brazil to raise capital by securitizing receivables through asset-backed securities. The proposed instrument is a new type of “Green” FIDC that combines existing FIDC regulatory frameworks, green certification criteria, the segregation of operational and financial risks, and a financial model tailored to the needs of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.
In a two-stage process, the instrument would first provide construction and development finance for new construction (greenfield) projects through an asset-backed vehicle (the FIDC) that might segregate the funding providers and the operational management – thus reducing the risk to public and private investors. Once the project is fully operational, it would be refinanced through the sale of new senior shares of the FIDC in Brazilian Capital Markets. The structure uses risk-appropriate, public and/or concessional funds to efficiently and cost-effectively mitigate development risk during early stages when private capital is most scarce. Once projects transition into bankable ongoing businesses with stable cash flows, public capital would be repaid or recycled.
This approach allocates risks to investors best suited to handle them and helps overcome key barriers in the market.
Path Forward
The proponents are currently developing a pilot for Órigo Energia using the Green FIDC concept to finance the sales of rooftop solar systems to Brazilian residential consumers. The lack of financing to rooftop solar systems has been a major obstacle to the expansion of this market in Brazil. Using the Green FIDC concept, residential consumers may access credit at lower interest rates and longer tenors – making the purchase of rooftop solar systems cheaper than energy bills. This pilot is currently fundraising for its first stage and has already secured 30% in junior and mezzanine shares from Brazilian private sector investors, demonstrating that the Green FIDC is commercially viable.
The proponents are also seeking USD 700k in preparation funding, and USD 75m in mezzanine capital to expand the pilot into an investment program – structuring another 3 Green FIDCs in different sectors – from energy efficiency to utility-scale renewable energy generation. Public and/or philanthropic support is needed in the initial stages of development. In the long-term, the aim of this program is to leverage up to USD 1 billion in clean investment through several FIDCs.
Contexto
Eficiência energética e energias renováveis são componentes cruciais das metas do Brasil para o Acordo de Paris, uma vez que o país busca um aumento de 10% em eficiência energética e uma parcela de 23% de renováveis (exceto hidrelétrica) até 2030.
Existe uma enorme lacuna no financiamento de renováveis e eficiência energética no Brasil. O Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social (BNDES) financia a maior parte dos projetos de energia renovável, mas a recente recessão econômica e novas restrições fiscais reduziram os empréstimos a tais projetos para o índice mais baixo desde 2007. A maioria dos projetos no Brasil dependem de tal financiamento, de forma que sua viabilidade foi colocada em xeque. É preciso financiamento privado de longo prazo para preencher essa lacuna. Porém o mercado de capitais no Brasil para esta finalidade ainda não é bem desenvolvido.
Estratégia
O Green FIDC adapta uma estrutura financeira já existente no Brasil, o Fundo de Investimento em Direitos Creditórios (FIDC) – usado por empresas no Brasil para levantar capital através da securitização de recebíveis, com títulos lastreados por ativos. O instrumento proposto é um tipo de FIDC “verde”, que combina as regulações de um FIDC com critérios de certificação ambiental, e um modelo financeiro adaptado às necessidades de financiamento para projetos de energias renováveis e eficiência energética.
Em um processo de duas etapas, esse instrumento fornecerá o financiamento para a construção e desenvolvimento do projeto através de um veículo financeiro garantido por ativos (o FIDC). Uma vez que o projeto se torna operacional, o financiamento seria reciclado através da venda de novas cotas sênior do FIDC no mercado de capitais doméstico. Levando em consideração os riscos envolvidos, essa estrutura aloca, de forma eficiente e efetiva em termos de custos, recursos públicos e/ou subsidiados para mitigar riscos nas fases iniciais de construção, já que os recursos privados durante esse período são mais escassos. Uma vez que os projetos passam para a fase operacional com fluxos de caixa estáveis, os recursos públicos e/ou subsidiados são pagos ou reciclados em outros projetos.
Essa abordagem aloca riscos de acordo com o tipo de investidor apropriado, e desta forma supera barreiras fundamentais existentes no mercado.
Próximos passos
Duas possibilidades de projetos piloto estão sendo exploradas para financiamento através de um Green FIDC. A primeira possibilidade é um projeto para substituir lâmpadas comuns em espaços públicos por lâmpadas de LED, e securitizar a energia poupada. O uso de tecnologia LED pode resultar em até 70% de redução de consumo energético, além de trazer outros benefícios, como o aumento da segurança pública. Para além do piloto, o Green FIDC poderia ser uma estratégia viável para financiar projetos adicionais de iluminação pública no Brasil, um mercado estimado em U$ 8.6 bilhões.
Uma segunda possibilidade de piloto é com uma planta de energia solar fotovoltaica. Os proponentes do Green FIDC, Albion Capital e Get2C, estão explorando um projeto de 90MW no estado do Ceará, entre outros possíveis projetos. Plantas solares fotovoltaicas são a fonte de energia renovável com maior crescimento no Brasil, com um mercado estimado de U$ 1.8 trilhão.
Os proponentes estão buscando por U$ 300 mil de recursos iniciais preparatórios e U$ 15-20 milhões de capital de risco (mezanino) para esses pilotos. Será necessário suporte público ou filantrópico no estágio inicial de desenvolvimento, e para demonstrar ao mercado a viabilidade do Green FIDC. No longo prazo, o objetivo é de se criar um programa de investimento que possa levantar até U$ 1 bilhão em investimentos através de diversos FIDCs ao longo de dez anos.
Cover image courtesy of EBC Agencia Brasil Fotografias, via Creative Commons
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Contact
Paulo Todaro
Albion Capital
Paulo.todaro@albioncapital.com.br