Prepared for lenders, CDCs, and federal agencies to SBA SOP 50 10 8, USDA RD Instruction 5001, and conventional underwriting standards. Fiduciary duty runs to the lender and the agency, never the borrower. More than 4,000 studies since 1998 covering $40.2 billion in evaluated project value.
RAS promises fish without coastline — at industrial capital intensity. The feasibility question is whether the energy, labor, and depreciation load of full water treatment is covered by the premium the controlled product earns plus the logistics advantage of farming next to the market. The study validates the technology vendor's biomass claims against operating installations, builds the energy budget from the actual treatment train, and stress-tests the case at commodity pricing, because a RAS that only works at premium prices is a marketing thesis wearing a fish farm.
System-level technical review — biofiltration capacity, oxygenation, backup power as a life-support requirement — capex benchmarked per kilogram of annual capacity against the category's published build costs, commissioning and biological-ramp scheduling, and a power-interruption risk analysis with mitigation stated as conditions.
Every Wert-Berater financial model is fully linked with no hardcoded values, so any reviewer can stress any input. Deliverables comprise a complete narrative report and the linked Excel model, with ten-year pro forma, sensitivity analysis at ±5, 10, and 15 percent, interest-rate stress from +0.5 to +3.0 percent, and ratio analysis benchmarked against RMA and IBISWorld data.
SBA engagements are prepared to SOP 50 10 8, including its debt-service-coverage minimums of 1.15x operating and 1.00x global. USDA engagements follow RD Staff Instruction 5001 across the Business & Industry, Community Facilities, REAP, and Value-Added Producer Grant programs. Conventional engagements are built to the lender's stated coverage standard, typically 1.20x. RAS credits are equipment-and-building structures suited to SBA 504 where owner-operated and conventional lending at scale; USDA energy programs may layer where renewable integration is real.
The firm's controlled-environment agriculture and cold-storage practices supply the energy-modeling and specialized-envelope analysis RAS underwriting requires — including a $17,350,000 CEA engagement built on the same channel-level revenue discipline. Independence is non-negotiable: determinations follow the evidence and are not revised under pressure, and studies are built to pass lender, agency, and third-party review without exception items.
Qualify a project. Tell us about the project and the program. We will tell you the truth about it — scope, timeline, and fee confirmed before work begins.
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