How Evolving Capital Structures Are Enabling Clean Energy at Scale
Brittany Pinkerton is a seasoned financial executive with expertise in management, financial markets, and relationship building. Currently a Managing Director at Eagle Point Credit, she brings extensive experience from her previous roles at ForeStar Credit, ECP, Forsight Sustainable Capital, and Mizuho. Brittany has a strong background in sustainable investing, M&A, and the clean energy sector.
As Head of Sustainability Investment Banking at Truist Securities, Julie Bennett Bunuan leads ESG-focused advisory across industry sectors to support clients navigating the strategic and financing challenges in the transition to a low-carbon economy and also supporting companies enabling a more sustainable economy.
Abby Glackin leads Customer Success at Crux, working to change the way clean energy projects are financed.
Prior to her work at Crux, Abby worked at Pachama, a climate tech company, and served as Director of Strategic Partnerships at Made in Network. She holds a degree in Public Policy from Duke University.
As Senior Director at Nuveen Green Capital, Ryan Doyle leads strategy for financing sustainable real estate solutions.
Prior to Nuveen, Ryan held a variety of leadership roles across sectors, including for PIMCO Real Estate and New York Life.
Wayne is an experienced business leader specializing in Equipment-as-a-Service (EaaS), project finance, and equipment finance. He is passionate about empowering companies to achieve their sustainability goals through innovative financial solutions and strategic partnerships. With a proven track record of driving growth, optimizing asset management, and fostering long-term success, Wayne helps businesses navigate the complexities of sustainable development while ensuring financial efficiency and profitability. He is dedicated to making impactful, sustainable changes in every project.
Financial leaders from Eagle Point Credit, Truist, Nuveen Green Capital, Crux Climate and Redaptive Capital convened to demystify the complex fast-changing world of climate finance. From energy-as-a-service models to transferable tax credits and C-PACE financing, the panel explored the maturing toolkit that’s fueling decarbonization and infrastructure modernization across the Southeast and beyond.
Energy-as-a-Service: Upgrades Without CapEx
Energy-as-a-service (EaaS) emerged as a compelling model for companies seeking to decarbonize without heavy upfront investments. These contracts allow organizations—especially capital-intensive or multi-site firms—to outsource energy upgrades like HVAC, lighting or solar installation while keeping them off the balance sheet. While this structure increases flexibility, panelists noted that creditworthiness is a barrier: the model relies on future cash flows making strong counterparties essential to underwriting.
Private Credit Fills the Climate Financing Gap
Private credit funds are stepping into the “missing middle” of climate tech—supporting mature but non-bankable companies deploying proven yet niche solutions (e.g. renewable natural gas or graphite processing). These lenders focus less on traditional assets and more on contracted revenue streams enabling deployment for technologies that banks still view as too risky or unfamiliar.
Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act, tax credits can now be transferred or sold removing the need for complex tax equity partnerships and democratizing access to project finance. This shift is driving liquidity, broadening participation and allowing new technologies like geothermal or clean fuels to secure funding more efficiently.
As this market matures, it is enabling more creative capital stacks and improving pricing power for clean energy providers.
C-PACE Unlocks Construction and Retrofit Potential
C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing is gaining traction as a non-recourse long-term financing tool for energy efficiency upgrades. Now active in Georgia, C-PACE is particularly helpful for filling financing gaps in both new developments and retrofits especially when higher interest rates make senior debt harder to access. Because it’s structured as a property tax assessment, it doesn’t require mortgage refinancing making it a unique tool for developers.
Panelists emphasized that the most successful projects often combine multiple financial tools. For example, a developer might pre-sell tax credits to secure early capital, use C-PACE to fund construction and close any remaining gaps with private credit. Increasing standardization across instruments is making it easier to layer these solutions and to underwrite risk around projected revenue streams like future tax credit sales.
Caution Amid Opportunity: Volatility and Diligence Still Rule
Despite this progress, uncertainty is a constant. Inflation, supply chain issues, delayed LP equity and the complexity of new credit structures are slowing deal flow. Developers and adopters alike are facing stricter economic scrutiny with projects now expected to deliver strong financial cases—not just sustainability wins. Even transferable tax credits, while easier than tax equity, still require legal, insurance and diligence work that can complicate early-stage planning.
Encouragingly, a wider array of participants is entering the market. Smaller projects (under $20 million) and newer technologies are starting to access tax credit capital often using forward commitments that lock in buyers ahead of project execution. This trend is democratizing finance and creating more pathways for innovation outside traditional utility-scale clean energy.
Southeast Poised for Growth
Geographic tailwinds—particularly in the Southeast U.S.—are shaping market momentum. States like Georgia, Florida and North Carolina are seeing increased capital flows due to population growth, job creation and expanding access to C-PACE and other financial tools. On the policy front, panelists highlighted the importance of clarity and continuity in programs like the IRA’s 45X manufacturing credit to keep momentum going.
The Green Funding 2.0 panel revealed a financial system that is becoming more agile and inclusive in supporting decarbonization. Yet, uncertainty remains the biggest risk. With capital structures evolving rapidly, continued education, standardized frameworks and policy stability will be essential to turning today’s innovative models into tomorrow’s infrastructure reality. As the South emerges as a hotspot for clean energy deployment, flexible finance may prove just as important as breakthrough technology.
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