The resource is measured in years of data, the revenue in decades of contract — wind credits reward patience and punish optimism in the capacity factor.
Wind underwriting begins with the resource record: measured wind data at hub height over a period long enough to mean something, converted to a net capacity factor through losses the analysis itemizes — wake, availability, curtailment, icing where relevant. The capacity factor is wind’s capture rate: the single assumption the entire pro forma multiplies, and the one most worth stressing. Revenue then follows the offtake structure — PPA, hedge, or merchant tail — with EIA market data framing whatever portion floats.
Land control and community posture are wind’s entitlement layer: lease footprints across multiple owners, setback regimes, and the local permitting climate belong in the conditions assessment, alongside interconnection — queue position and network-upgrade allocation — which sets the schedule more often than construction does. Distributed and behind-the-meter projects swap some of those risks for host-load analysis: the offtaker’s own consumption profile becomes the demand study.
Wert-Berater’s renewable practice treats wind within the same discipline as its solar and storage work: production-to-coverage modeling on contracted revenue, counterparty analysis, incentive-stack reconciliation with the uncommitted layers stripped, and decommissioning obligations stated rather than discovered.
Engagements are typically initiated by the borrower, with lender or CDC confirmation obtained before work begins — institutions apply differing rules, so sponsors should confirm the required path with their lending contact — and are delivered in 10 to 15 business days from complete project data, and built to the program framework that governs the credit — SBA SOP 50 10 8 coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global, the 37-factor structure of USDA RD Instruction 5001, or the 1.20x convention of conventional credit policy — with a ten-year pro forma, sensitivity at ±5/10/15 percent, rate stress to +3.0 percent, and Monte Carlo analysis as standard equipment.
President, Wert-Berater, Inc. — independent feasibility study consultants since 1998. More than 4,000 feasibility studies completed across all 50 states and internationally, evaluating $40.2 billion in project value for SBA, USDA, EB-5, conventional, and institutional financing decisions. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and agency in every engagement.
+1 310-857-2443 ext. 800 · email · 1968 South Coast Hwy, Ste 2382, Laguna Beach, CA 92651 · 111 Town Square Pl Ste 1238 PMB 657834, Jersey City, NJ 07310 · 539 W. Commerce St #8486, Dallas, TX 75208
Schedule a ConversationIndependent feasibility studies since 1998 — 4,000+ engagements, $40.2 billion in evaluated project value. Standard delivery in 10 to 15 business days. Fiduciary duty to the lender and agency.