Investment Firm Offers $25 Million for Renewables, Efficiency

September 7, 2005

RNK Capital LLC, a manager of environmental investments, announced in early September that it aims to invest $25 million in the U.S. renewable energy and energy efficiency market and is inviting interested parties to submit an Expression of Interest. The company hopes to receive offers for renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that will result in renewable energy credits, sulfur dioxide emissions allowances, nitrous oxide emissions allowances, or other environmental credits. As an active participant in the markets for emissions trading and renewable energy credits, RNK Capital will consider either buying the credits or allowances generated by the projects or providing debt financing for the projects. The company did not set a specific due date for responses. See RNK Capital's Request for Project Proposals Web site.

Renewable energy credits are proving to be a lucrative business: PNM, New Mexico's largest utility, announced last week that it will sell renewable energy credits to El Paso Electric Company for the next six years to help that utility meet the state's renewable energy portfolio standard. PNM buys all the power from the 200-megawatt New Mexico Wind Energy Facility and will sell the credits from an undisclosed portion of that power to El Paso Electric. According to PNM, the deal will be worth about $4 million. See the press release from PNM Resources, and for more information about renewable energy credits, see the Green-e Web site.

A recent publication from DOE's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) notes that some federal energy projects can earn financial benefits by taking advantage of emissions market opportunities. The publication provides a summary of the current emissions credit markets. See the NREL publication, "Emission Market Opportunities for Federal Energy Projects" (PDF 202 KB). Download Adobe Reader.