With $9 billion of debt, in July 2017, PREPA (Puerto Rico utility) filed for bankruptcy relief due to the cumulative impact of years of mismanagement, mounting operation and maintenance problems, the failure to recover the costs of providing power to its customers, years’ long battles with creditors, and a diminished workforce.

Yieldcos were touted as a transformational vehicle for unlocking value in electric generation assets and reducing capital costs. In 2015 the yieldco market crashed down to earth, dropping 43% in average value.

AWEA has noted a two-thirds drop in wind power costs over the past six years.

Editor’s note: YieldCos have been one recent development in financing wind farms. This article, authored by Josh L. Sturtevant and Morgan Gerard at Sullivan & Worcester LLP, provides an update.  YieldCos have been hammered lately, both in the stock market (though things have recently been picking up) and in the press. The reasons are myriad…