Hannon Armstrong Sustainable Infrastructure Capital (HASI) 10-K2022 FY Annual report

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

We make forward-looking statements in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Form 10-K”) within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) that are subject to risks and uncertainties. For these statements, we claim the protections of the safe harbor for forward-looking statements contained in such Sections. These forward-looking statements include information about possible or assumed future results of our business, financial condition, liquidity, results of operations, plans and objectives. When we use the words “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “plan,” “continue,” “intend,” “should,” “may” or similar expressions, we intend to identify forward-looking statements. However, the absence of these words or similar expressions does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. All statements that address operating performance, events or developments that we expect or anticipate will occur in the future are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on such statements. Actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, any such statements are qualified in their entirety by reference to, and are accompanied by, important factors included in Part I, Item 1A. Risk Factors (in addition to any assumptions and other factors referred to specifically in connection with such forward-looking statements) that could have a significant impact on our operations and financial results, and could cause our actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in forward-looking statements made by or on our behalf in this Form 10-K, in presentations, on our websites, in response to questions or otherwise.

PART I

We are internally managed, and our management team has extensive relevant industry knowledge and experience. We have long-standing relationships with the leading energy service companies (“ESCOs”), manufacturers, project developers, utilities, owners and operators that provide recurring, programmatic investment and fee-generating opportunities. Additionally, we have relationships with leading commercial and investment banks and institutional investors from which we are referred additional investment and fee-generating opportunities.

We completed approximately $1.8 billion of transactions during 2022, compared to approximately $1.7 billion during 2021. As of December 31, 2022, we held approximately $4.3 billion of transactions on our balance sheet, which we refer to as our “Portfolio.” For those transactions that we choose not to hold on our balance sheet, we transfer all or a portion of the economics of the transaction, typically using securitization trusts, to institutional investors in exchange for cash and, in certain cases, residual interests in the trusts and ongoing fees. As of December 31, 2022, we managed approximately $5.5 billion in these trusts or vehicles that are not consolidated on our balance sheet. When we combine these assets with our Portfolio, as of December 31, 2022, we manage approximately $9.8 billion of assets, which we refer to as our “Managed Assets.”

We have a large and active pipeline of potential new opportunities that are in various stages of our underwriting process. We believe the Inflation Reduction Act signed into law on August 16, 2022, that incentivizes the construction of and

investment in climate solutions will result in additional investment opportunities in the markets in which we invest over the next several years, which may result in increases in our pipeline in the future. We refer to potential opportunities as being part of our pipeline if we have determined that the project fits within our climate solutions investment strategy and exhibits the appropriate risk and reward characteristics through an initial credit analysis, including a quantitative and qualitative assessment of the opportunity, as well as research on the relevant market and sponsor. Our pipeline of transactions that could potentially close in the next 12 months consists of opportunities in which we will be the lead originator as well as opportunities in which we may participate with other institutional investors. As of December 31, 2022, our pipeline consisted of more than $4.5 billion in new equity, debt and real estate opportunities. There can, however, be no assurance with regard to any specific terms of such pipeline transactions or that any or all of the transactions in our pipeline will be completed.

We are committed to leadership in transparent disclosure on environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”) matters. Beginning in 2013, we became one of the first capital providers to evaluate the carbon efficiency of our Portfolio by utilizing CarbonCount. In 2017, we believe we were the first U.S-based public company to commit to the Climate Disclosure Standards Board led initiative on implementing the recommendations of the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosures (“TCFD”) and provide the recommended disclosures in our Form 10-K. In 2020, we joined the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (“PCAF”), a global financial industry-led partnership to implement a consistent and transparent disclosure framework to report carbon emissions and avoided emissions resulting from financed assets. We began to report in accordance with PCAF in 2022. For further information on our ESG disclosures, see the discussion in the sections titled “Investment Strategy” and “Environmental and Social Responsibility and Corporate Governance” herein. We are committed to providing transparent disclosures on our human capital management, which can be found herein in the section titled “Human Capital Strategy.” In 2021, we founded the Hannon Armstrong Foundation, which provides monetary and non-monetary support to programs that align with our philanthropic priorities of ensuring equal access to climate solutions, empowering and creating opportunity for marginalized individuals and communities, and creating a local impact.

We elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013, and operate our business in a manner that permits us to maintain our exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act.

INVESTMENT STRATEGY

With scientific consensus that global-warming trends are linked to human activities and result in various extreme weather events, we believe our firm is well-positioned to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns by investing in, and managing a portfolio of, assets that address climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions. Further, with increasing weather-related disasters, we see similar investment opportunities in infrastructure assets that mitigate the impact of, and increase the resiliency to, these weather events and other adverse impacts of climate change.

Our vision is that every investment improves our climate future and thus the carbon impact of an investment is at the core of our business model. We believe that climate positive investments will produce attractive risk adjusted returns and we require investments to be neutral to negative on incremental carbon emissions or have some other tangible environmental benefit such as reducing water consumption or increasing resilience to climate change influenced weather events.

Our climate-positive investment thesis is based on the following theories:

We believe combining this investment thesis with our multi-decade experience in investing in our markets through multiple interest rate and business cycles, intermittent governmental support for reducing carbon emissions and several cycles of business expansions in renewable and other sustainable infrastructure markets, allows us to earn attractive risk-adjusted returns on the assets in which we invest. We also believe there is a very large potential market opportunity as the legacy technologies for generating and using energy and the systems that produce carbon emissions are retired and replaced by low-to-no carbon emission systems. Mitigation and resiliency investments continue to grow to address severe weather events and other climate change impacts.

Our investments in climate solutions are focused on three markets:

Of our pipeline, 42% is related to BTM assets and 45% is related to GC assets, with the remainder related to SI. We prefer investments in which the assets use proven technology and have a long-term, creditworthy off-taker or counterparties. For BTM assets, the off-taker or counterparty may be the building owner or occupant, and our investment may be secured by the installed improvements or other real estate rights. For GC assets, the off-takers or counterparties may be utility or electric users who have entered into contractual commitments, such as power purchase agreements (“PPAs”), to purchase power produced by a renewable energy project at a specified price with potential price escalators for a portion of the project’s estimated life.

We make our investments utilizing a variety of structures, including:

We often make investments where we hold a preferred or mezzanine position in a project company where we are subordinated to project debt and/or preferred forms of equity. Investing greater than 10% of our assets in any individual project company requires the approval of a majority of our independent directors. We may adjust the mix and duration of our assets over time in order to allow us to manage various aspects of our Portfolio, including expected risk-adjusted returns, macroeconomic conditions, liquidity, availability of adequate financing for our assets, and the maintenance of our REIT qualification and our exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act.

As of December 31, 2022, our Portfolio consisted of over 340 investments, with approximately 56% of our Portfolio invested in BTM assets and approximately 40% invested in GC assets, which include our land holdings. The mix of our Portfolio is expected to vary over time, as we seek to manage the diversity of our Portfolio by, among other factors, project type, project operator, type of investment, type of technology, transaction size, geography, obligor, and maturity.

We believe that our long history of climate solutions investing, the experience, expertise and relationships of our management team, the anticipated credit strength of the obligors or investees involved in our investments and the size and growth potential of our market, position us well to capitalize on our strategy.

Refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Results of Operations, for additional discussion on the performance of our Portfolio.

We plan to raise additional equity capital and continue to use fixed and floating rate borrowings, which may be in the form of short-term commercial paper issuances, revolving credit facilities, term loans, repurchase agreements, and public and private debt issuances, including convertible debt and off-balance sheet securitization structures, as a means of financing our business. We may also consider the use of special purpose entities or funds in which outside investors participate to allow us to expand the investments that we make or to manage our Portfolio diversification.

The decision on how we finance our business is largely driven by market conditions including the overall interest rate environment, prevailing credit spreads and the terms of available financing. During periods of market disruption, certain sources of financing may be less accessible than others which may impact our financing decisions. Over time, as market conditions change, we may use other forms of financial leverage in addition to these financing arrangements. Although we are not restricted by any regulatory requirements as to the type or amount of financial leverage we may use, our Board has established a target limit of our leverage ratio, defined as the ratio of debt to equity, of at or below 2.5 to 1, and a target range for our percentage of fixed rate debt to total debt of between 75% and 100%, allowing for percentages as low as 70% on a short term basis if we intend to repay or swap floating rate borrowings in the near term. See additional discussion in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources” regarding our ongoing evaluation of our leverage limits and fixed-rate debt targets.

In our off-balance sheet financings, we transfer all or a portion of an investment to a securitization trust in exchange for cash and/or residual interests in the trust, and in some cases, ongoing fees. The availability of securitization counterparties has remained high throughout various market cycles due to investor demand for high credit quality, long-term climate-positive investments. We may arrange such securitizations of loans or other assets prior to originating the transaction and thus avoid exposure to credit spread, interest rate and funding risks. We also typically manage and service these assets in exchange for fees. We may also use other funds or structures where institutional investors purchase all or a portion of the economics of the transaction and where we may receive upfront or ongoing fees for managing the assets. We periodically provide other services, including arranging financings that are held on the balance sheets of other investors and advising various companies with respect to structuring investments.

Refer to Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources, for additional discussion on our financings and our ratios and Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, Notes 5, 7 and 8 to our financial statements for further information on the types and amounts of our financing activities.

An emphasis on a durable social fabric, including diverse, engaged, and fairly compensated staff, is an important factor in our financial success. Our culture is focused on hiring and retaining highly talented employees with diverse backgrounds and empowering them to create value for our stockholders, and our success is dependent on employee understanding of and investment in their role in that value creation. Our employees are responsible for upholding our vision, purpose, and values.

It is important to us that our employees are engaged in our mission of sustainability because we believe engagement improves their performance, as well as our employee recruitment and retention. Our chief executive officer periodically leads employee meetings intended to reinforce the importance of sustainability and regularly meets with small groups of employees to receive their feedback on our business. We also meet no less than quarterly as a Company to provide information to employees on our mission, strategic planning and financial results. We continuously evaluate our employees’ level of engagement through in-person or remote meetings that include asking open-ended questions and through formal surveys or similar tools administered on a periodic basis.

We adhere to a blended learning approach with the understanding that our people learn from experiences (on the job and in life), from other people (mentors or supportive managers), and from formal learning and training programs. We acknowledge that learning is highly individualized and needs to be offered in a way that is most conducive to a specific learner’s needs. We run a periodic education series that includes internal and external speakers presenting topics of interest that are relevant to our

employees. We provide multiple learning solutions that cover a wide range of areas such as diversity, equity, and inclusion training, leadership skills, financial knowledge, technology training, and presentation skills. We also support the pursuit of advanced certifications and degrees in areas including business, science and engineering, and liberal and fine arts and employ formal and informal coaching arrangements.

We care about our employees’ employment experience and recognize them as individuals who are motivated in different ways. Managers hold performance conversations with their employees on a periodic basis to ensure they receive the performance feedback they deserve, and to allow managers to obtain insight into how to support the development of their staff, and to ensure that performance expectations are clear and aligned with the overarching objectives of the Company. We also provide continuous dialogue in between these formal touchpoints.

We believe we provide attractive benefits that promote the health of our employees and their families and design compelling job opportunities, aligned with our mission, in an energizing work environment. We also encourage our employees to continue to develop in their careers, including by obtaining advanced degrees or professional certifications. We compensate our employees according to our fair remuneration policies and believe in paying for performance. Therefore, employees typically receive a portion of their compensation in the form of annual bonuses as well as equity grants which are both tied in part to the Company’s financial performance. We encourage our employees to contribute their time to support various community and charitable activities and contribute to local community organizations with a primary focus on organizations addressing issues around environmental and social justice. In addition to competitive base salaries, cash bonuses, and equity participation for most employees, we are committed to continuously evaluating and ensuring the competitiveness of our benefits offerings so that we meet the various needs of our employees and their families. Despite a healthcare environment that is facing rising costs, we continue to pay substantially all of the cost of our employees’ healthcare insurance. Further, in addition to what we believe to be market total rewards benefits, we provide additional benefits, such as on-site seasonal vaccination clinics, back-up childcare solutions, and a tuition reimbursement program.

We take a values-driven, broad view of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We believe that fostering an internal climate that is supportive and allows people of all backgrounds to flourish lends itself to the highest levels of company performance and facilitates the attraction and retention of best-in-class talent. We also believe it is inherently the right way to conduct business. We support an innovative, creative culture where people can bring their best and most authentic selves to work. Employees who hold divergent opinions are encouraged to voice their views. We track and report internally on key talent metrics including workforce demographics, critical role pipeline data, diversity data, and engagement and inclusion indices.

Decisions regarding staffing, selection, and promotions are made on the basis of individual qualifications related to the requirements of the position. We are committed to identifying and developing the next generation of leaders. We endeavor to select qualified individuals from a diverse pool of candidates derived from broad outreach efforts when we are recruiting. We are committed to the sourcing and/or promotion of highly-qualified women, people of color and other under-represented groups for management and Board positions. To better support our female and underrepresented employees in their onboarding, training, development and progression within the Company, we have established a mentorship program where certain members of our Board mentor female employees who are developing managers.

Our policy is “equal pay for equal work” in compliance with applicable state law. Compensation for our employees is based upon experience, seniority, educational attainment, and individual contribution and company performance against goals.

As of December 31, 2022, we employed 114 people. We intend to hire additional business professionals as needed to assist in the implementation of our business strategy. Refer to “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Results of Operations – Human Capital Metrics” for discussion of metrics related to our Human Capital Strategy.

We own and invest in a diversified portfolio of climate solutions projects focused on reducing or mitigating the impacts of climate change. Under the direction of our chief executive officer and the Board, we are focused on achieving a high level of environmental and social responsibility and strong corporate governance. The Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee of our Board is responsible for our ESG oversight, including related policies and communications. Additionally, we have a committee of employees from across our organization that is focused on implementing ESG strategies and policies and reports directly to our chief executive officer. Annually we publish a report that illustrates our progress on these matters.

Through our membership in the Net Zero Asset Managers Initiative, we are pleased to participate in the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, which brings the financial sector together to accelerate a shared commitment to decarbonizing the global economy. In 2021, we established targets for our transition to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 using the foundational framework developed by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

We are a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact, an initiative focused on responsible business practices related to human rights, labor, the environment and anti-corruption. We participate in a number of initiatives and coalitions that share our commitment to climate action, corporate sustainability, climate-risk disclosure and reporting, and the expansion of clean energy including the United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment, the United Nations Global Compact campaign entitled Business Ambition for 1.5°, Climate Action 100+, and the reporting framework established by an international consortium of business and environmental NGOs referred to as the Climate Disclosure Standards Board.

In order to foster the highest standards of ethics and conduct in all business relationships, we have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy (the “Code of Conduct”). This policy covers a wide range of business practices and procedures and applies to our officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, and consultants. In addition, we have implemented whistleblowing procedures designed to facilitate the report of accounting and auditing matters as well as Code of Conduct matters (the “Whistleblower Policy”) that sets forth procedures by which any Covered Persons (as defined in the Whistleblower Policy) may report, on a confidential basis, concerns regarding, among other things, any questionable or unethical accounting, internal accounting controls or auditing matters with our Audit Committee as well as any potential Code of Conduct or ethics violations with our Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee or our Chief Legal Officer.

We have adopted a Statement of Corporate Policy Regarding Equity Transactions that governs the process to be followed in the purchase or sale of our securities by any of our directors, officers, employees and consultants and prohibits any such persons from buying or selling our securities on the basis of material nonpublic information, and also prohibits our directors and officers from hedging equity securities of the Company, holding such securities in a margin account or pledging such securities as collateral for a loan. We review all of these policies on a periodic basis with our employees.

Our business is managed by our leadership team, subject to the supervision and oversight of our Board. Our directors stay informed about our business by attending meetings of our Board and its committees and through supplemental reports and communications.

OUR FOCUS ON TRANSPARENT ESG REPORTING

We believe in transparent reporting relating to ESG matters because we believe such reporting improves the understanding of our financial results. As discussed in the “Investment Strategy” section above, we quantify the environmental impact of every transaction we execute through the application of CarbonCount. Our 2022 CarbonCount and avoided emissions for investments originated in 2022 can be found in “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Results of Operations — Environmental Metrics”.

We continue to implement the TCFD recommendations, and the recommended disclosures are located in this filing as follows;

We compete against a number of parties, including banks, private equity, hedge or infrastructure investment funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, institutional investors, investment banking firms, specialty finance companies, utilities, independent power producers, project developers, pension funds, governmental bodies, private credit platforms, green banks, and public entities established to own infrastructure assets and other entities.

We compete primarily on the basis of service, price, structure and flexibility as well as the breadth and depth of our expertise. We may at times compete and at other times partner or work as a participant with alternative financing sources. The continued low yields in alternative investment opportunities and increasing investor acceptance of the climate solutions market has increased the level of competition we experience. We may also encounter competition in the form of potential customers or our origination partners electing to use their own capital rather than engaging us as an outside capital provider. In addition, we may also face competition based on technological developments that reduce demand for electricity, increase power supplies through existing infrastructure or that otherwise compete with climate solutions projects in which we have invested. We believe that a significant part of our competitive advantage is our management team’s experience and industry expertise.

For additional information concerning these competitive risks, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—We operate in a competitive market, which may impact the terms of the investments we make.”

Our executive officers and other leadership team personnel and their biographies are provided below. On February 16, 2023, we announced that Jeffrey W. Eckel will become executive chair of our Board, Jeffrey A. Lipson will become president and chief executive officer, and Marc T. Pangburn will become executive vice president and chief financial officer, each effective as of March 1, 2023.

Business Administration at the University of Virginia in 2009, is a CFA charter holder and has passed the CPA examination. He holds a Series 63 and 79 securities licenses.

and held various other executive positions, including at SoCore/ ENGIE. Prior to this, Ms. Shapiro worked in the banking industry for 10 years, where she was responsible for deploying capital in energy and infrastructure assets, including tax equity investments in renewable energy projects. Ms. Shapiro received her Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from UNIFEI in Brazil, and her MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

We maintain a website at www.hannonarmstrong.com. Information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this Form 10-K. We will make available, free of charge, on our website (a) our Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K (including any amendments thereto), proxy statements and other information (collectively, “Company Documents”) filed with, or furnished to, the SEC, as soon as reasonably practicable after such documents are so filed or furnished, (b) Corporate Governance Guidelines, (c) Director Independence Standards, (d) Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy and (e) written charters of the Audit Committee, Compensation Committee, Nominating, Governance and Corporate Responsibility Committee and Finance and Risk Committee of our Board. Company Documents filed with, or furnished to, the SEC are also available for review by the public at the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. We provide copies of our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics policy, free of charge, to stockholders who request such documents. Requests should be directed to Investor Relations, One Park Place, Suite 200, Annapolis, Maryland 21401, (410) 571-9860.

The projects in which we invest typically depend in part on various U.S. federal, state or local governmental policies and incentives that support or enhance project economic feasibility. Such policies may include governmental initiatives, laws and regulations designed to reduce energy usage and impact the use of renewable energy or the investment in and the use of climate solutions, including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.

U.S. federal policies and incentives include, for example, tax credits (including credits that have been recently reduced and scheduled to be eliminated or phased out in the future), tax deductions, bonus depreciation, federal grants and loan guarantees and energy market regulations. State and local governments policies and incentives include, for example, renewable portfolio standards (“RPS”), commercial property assessed clean energy (“C-PACE”) programs, feed-in tariffs, other tariffs, tax incentives and other cash and non-cash payments.

Governmental agencies, commercial entities and developers of climate solutions projects frequently depend on these policies and incentives to help defray the costs associated with, and to finance, various projects. Government regulations also impact the terms of third-party financing provided to support these projects, including through energy savings performance contracts. If any of these government policies, incentives or regulations are adversely amended, delayed, eliminated, reduced, retroactively changed or not extended beyond their current expiration dates, or there is a negative impact from the recent federal law changes or proposals, the operating results of the projects we finance and the demand for, and the returns available from, the investments we make may decline, which could harm our business.

The projects we invest in are subject to substantial regulation by U.S. federal, state and local governmental agencies. For example, many projects require government permits, licenses, concessions, leases or contracts. Government entities, due to the wide-ranging scope of their authority, have significant leverage in setting their contractual and regulatory relationships with third parties. In addition, government permits, licenses, concessions, leases and contracts are generally very complex, which may result in periods of non-compliance, or disputes over interpretation or enforceability. If the projects in which we invest fail to obtain or comply with applicable regulations, permits, or contractual obligations, they could be prevented from being constructed or subjected to monetary penalties or loss of operational rights, which could negatively impact project operating results and the returns on our assets. In addition, government counterparties also may have the discretion to change or increase regulation of project operations, or implement laws or regulations affecting project operations, separate from any contractual

rights they may have. These actions could adversely impact the efficient and profitable operation of the projects in which we invest.

Contracts with government counterparties that support the projects in which we invest may be more favorable to the government counterparties compared to commercial contracts with private parties. For example, a lease, concession or general service contract may enable the government to modify or terminate the contract without requiring the payment of adequate compensation. Typically, our contracts with government counterparties contain termination provisions including prepayment amounts. In most cases, the prepayment amounts provide us with amounts sufficient to repay the financing we have provided but may be less than amounts that would be payable under “make whole” provisions customarily found in commercial lending arrangements.

Government entities may also suspend or debar contractors from doing business with the government or pursue various criminal or civil remedies under various government contract regulations. They may also issue new government contracts or fail to extend existing government contracts. Our ability to originate new assets could be adversely affected if one or more of the ESCOs or other origination sources with whom we have relationships are suspended or debarred or fail to win new, or renew existing, contracts.

Many traditional sources of energy such as coal, petroleum-based fuels and natural gas can be influenced by the price of underlying or substitute commodities. Such prices, which have decreased and may continue to decrease, may reduce the demand for energy efficiency projects or other projects, including renewable energy facilities, that do not rely on fossil fuel energy sources. For example, low natural gas prices may reduce the demand for projects like renewable energy that can substitute for natural gas. Low natural gas prices also typically adversely affect both the price available to renewable energy projects under future power sale agreements and the price of the electricity the projects sell on either a forward or a spot-market basis. Further, as has occurred in the past, technological progress in electricity generation, storage or in the production of traditional fuels or the discovery of large new deposits of traditional fuels could reduce the cost of energy generated from those sources and consequently reduce the demand for the types of projects in which we invest, which could harm our new business origination prospects as well as the value of our existing Portfolio. In addition, volatility in commodity prices, including energy prices, may cause building owners and other parties to be reluctant to commit to projects for which repayment is based upon a fixed monetary value for energy savings that would not decline if the price of energy declines. Any resulting decline in demand for our investments or the price that industry participants receive for the sale of fossil fuel could adversely impact our operating results.

The market for various types of climate solutions projects is emerging and rapidly evolving, leaving their future success uncertain. If some or all market segments or investing techniques prove unsuitable for widespread commercial deployment or if demand for such projects or techniques fail to grow sufficiently, the demand for our capital may decline or develop more slowly than we anticipate. Many factors will influence the widespread adoption and demand for such projects and investing techniques, including general and local economic conditions, commodity prices of fossil fuel energy sources, the cost and availability of energy storage, the cost-effectiveness of various projects and techniques, performance and reliability of such technologies compared to conventional power sources and technologies, and the extent of government subsidies and regulatory developments. Any changes in the markets, products, technologies, financing techniques, or the regulatory environment could adversely impact the demand or financial performance for such projects and our investments.

Federal, state and local government regulations and policies concerning the electric utility industry, and internal policies and regulations promulgated by electric utilities, heavily influence the market for electricity products and services. These regulations and policies often relate to electricity pricing and the interconnection of customer-owned electricity generation. In the United States, governments and utilities continuously modify these regulations and policies. These regulations and policies could deter customers from purchasing energy efficiency and renewable energy systems. For example, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) recently conducted its own review of grid resiliency and the functioning of electricity markets and has made, and could continue to make, changes to policies and regulations related to the function of the electricity markets and grid resiliency which may negatively impact the use of renewable energy or encourage the use of fossil fuel energy over renewable energy. This could result in a significant reduction in the potential demand for such systems. Utilities commonly charge fees to larger, industrial customers for disconnecting from the electric grid or for having the capacity to use power from the electric grid for back-up purposes. In addition, there is an increasing trend towards initiating or increasing fixed fees for users to have electricity service from a utility. These fees could increase our customers’ cost to use energy efficiency and renewable energy systems not supplied by the utility and make them less desirable, thereby harming our business, prospects, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, any changes to government or internal utility regulations and policies that favor electric utilities could reduce competitiveness and cause a significant reduction in demand for systems in which we invest.

Further, certain climate solutions projects in which we invest may be “qualifying facilities” that are exempt from rate regulation as public utilities by FERC under the Federal Power Act, (the “FPA”). FERC regulations under the FPA confer upon these qualifying facilities key rights to interconnection with local utilities and can entitle such facilities to enter into PPAs with local utilities, from which the qualifying facilities benefit. Changes to these U.S. federal laws and regulations could increase the regulatory burdens and costs and could reduce the revenue of the project. In addition, modifications to the pricing policies of utilities could require climate solutions projects to achieve lower prices in order to compete with the price of electricity from the electric grid and may reduce the economic attractiveness of certain energy efficiency measures. To the extent that the projects in which we invest are subject to rate regulation, the project owners will be required to obtain FERC acceptance of their rate schedules for wholesale sales of energy, capacity and ancillary services. Any adverse changes in the rates project owners are permitted to charge could negatively impact the repayment of our investments, or the return on our assets.

In addition, the operation of, and electrical interconnection for, our climate solutions projects may be subject to U.S. federal, state or local interconnection and federal reliability standards, some of which are set forth in utility tariffs. These standards and tariffs specify rules, business practices and economic terms to which the projects in which we invest are subject and that may impact a project’s ability to deliver the electricity it produces or transports to its end customer. The tariffs are drafted by the utilities and approved by the utilities’ state and U.S. federal regulatory commissions. These standards and tariffs change frequently and it is possible that future changes will increase our administrative burden or adversely affect the terms and conditions under which the projects render services to their customers.

Under certain circumstances, we may also be subject to the reliability standards of the North American Electric Reliability Corporation. If project owners fail to comply with the mandatory reliability standards, they could be subject to sanctions, including substantial monetary penalties, which could also raise credit risks for, or lower the returns available from, the project companies in which we invest.

These various regulations may also limit the transferability or sale of renewable energy projects and any such limits could negatively impact our returns from such projects.

We compete against a number of parties who may provide alternatives to our investments including, among others, a wide variety of financial institutions, government entities and energy industry participants. A historically low interest rate environment over the past several years and increasing investor acceptance of the climate solutions market increased the level of competition we experience, and we expect supportive government policies and initiatives to further increase competition in the markets in which we invest. We also encounter competition in the form of potential customers or our origination partners electing to use their own capital rather than engaging an outside provider such as us. In addition, we also face competition based on technological developments that reduce demand for electricity, increase power supplies through existing infrastructure or that otherwise compete with our climate solutions projects. Some of our competitors are significantly larger than we are, have access to greater capital and other resources than we do and may have other advantages over us. In addition, some of our competitors have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which allow those competitors to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than we can. Further, many of our competitors are not subject to the operating constraints associated with REIT tax compliance or maintenance of an exemption from the 1940 Act. These characteristics could allow our competitors to consider a wider variety of opportunities, establish more relationships and offer better pricing and more flexible structuring than we can offer. We may lose business opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may not be able to achieve acceptable risk-adjusted returns on our assets or we may be forced to bear greater risks of loss. The increase in the number or the size of our competitors in this market has resulted, and could continue to result, in less attractive terms on our investments or the need to accept a higher level of risks associated with our investments. As a result, competitive pressures we face could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Although our energy efficiency investments do not normally require additional governmental appropriations to cover repayment due to the energy and operating savings derived from the newly installed equipment and systems, a significant decline in the fiscal health, level of appropriations or budgets of government customers may make it difficult for them to remain current on existing payment obligations or undesirable to enter into new energy efficiency improvement projects. Alternatively, some government entities may choose to provide appropriations or other credit support for climate solutions projects, which would negatively impact the use of private capital such as ours. This could have a material and adverse effect on the return of and return on our investments for existing projects and on our ability to originate new assets. Moreover, other changes in resources available to governments may also impact their willingness to undertake energy efficiency projects. For example, an increase in money set aside for government expenditures for energy efficiency projects may reduce demand for our investments.

In addition, to the extent we make investments that involve direct appropriations, we will depend on approval of the necessary spending for the projects. The repayment of the investment, or the return on our asset, could be adversely affected if appropriations for any such projects are delayed or terminated.

Interest rates are highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors beyond our control. Many of our assets pay a fixed rate of interest or provide a fixed preferential return.

With respect to our business operations, increases in interest rates, have caused, and in general, may in the future cause: (1) project owners to be less interested in borrowing or raising equity and thus reduce the demand for our investments; (2) the interest expense associated with our borrowings to increase; (3) the market value of our fixed rate or fixed return assets to decline; and (4) the market value of any fixed-rate interest rate swap agreements to increase. Decreases in interest rates, in general, may over time cause: (1) project owners to be more interested in borrowing or raising equity thus increase the demand for our assets; (2) prepayments on our assets, to the extent allowed, to increase; (3) the interest expense associated with our borrowings to decrease; (4) the market value of our fixed rate or fixed return assets to increase; and (5) the market value of any fixed-rate interest rate swap agreements to decrease. Adverse developments resulting from changes in interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Volatile market conditions could significantly and negatively impact the liquidity of our assets. Illiquid assets typically experience greater price volatility, as a ready market does not exist, and can be more difficult to value. In addition, validating third-party pricing for illiquid assets may be more subjective than more liquid assets. The illiquidity of our assets may make it difficult for us to sell such assets if the need or desire arises. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our Portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have previously recorded our assets. To the extent that we utilize leverage to finance our investments that are or become illiquid, the negative impact on us related to trying to sell assets in a short period of time for cash could be greatly exacerbated. As a result, our ability to vary our Portfolio in response to changes in economic and other conditions may be relatively limited, which could adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

Our investments are not publicly traded. The fair value of assets that are not publicly traded may not be readily determinable. In accordance with GAAP, we record certain of our assets at fair value, which may include unobservable inputs. Because such valuations are subjective, the fair value of these assets may fluctuate over short periods of time and our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these assets existed. The value of our common stock could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these assets were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal. Additionally, our results of operations for a given period could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of these assets were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon their disposal. The valuation process can be particularly challenging during periods when market events make valuations of certain assets more difficult, unpredictable and volatile.

A decline in the fair market value of any asset we carry at fair value, may require us to reduce the value of such assets under GAAP. In addition, our other financial assets are subject to an impairment assessment that could result in adjustments to their carrying values. Upon the subsequent disposition or sale of such assets, we could incur future losses or gains based on the difference between the sale price received and adjusted value of such assets as reflected on our balance sheet at the time of sale.

These estimates, judgments and assumptions are inherently uncertain, and, if they prove to be wrong, then we face the risk that charges to income will be required. Any charges could significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations and the price of our securities. See Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies and Use of Estimates for a discussion of the accounting estimates, judgments and assumptions that we believe are the most critical to an understanding of our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We have equity investments in climate solutions project companies that we account for under the equity method of accounting, which requires us to rely on the project sponsor for the reporting of the financial results of those project companies, including in some instances the allocation of earnings under the hypothetical liquidation at book value (“HLBV”) method. The HLBV method involves complex judgments around the interpretation of legal provisions governing liquidation of the entity in which we are invested. To the extent the reporting inclusive of these HLBV allocations we are provided is incorrect, our financial results reported using that information may be incorrect.

The majority of our investments are not rated by any rating agency and we expect that most of the assets we originate and acquire in the future will not be rated by any rating agency. Although we focus on climate solutions project companies with high credit quality obligors, we believe that some of the projects or obligors in which we invest, if rated, would be rated below investment grade, due to speculative characteristics of the project or the obligor’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal or pay dividends. Some of our assets may result in an amount of risk, volatility or potential loss of principal that is greater than that of alternative asset opportunities.

To the extent our assets, their underlying obligors, or our debt are rated by credit rating agencies or by our internal rating process, such assets, obligors or our debt will be subject to ongoing evaluation by credit rating agencies and our internal rating process, and those ratings may be changed or withdrawn in the future. If rating agencies assign a lower-than-expected rating or if a rating is further reduced or withdrawn by a rating agency or us, or if there are indications of a potential reduction or withdrawal of the ratings of our assets, the underlying obligors or our debt in the future, the value of these assets could significantly decline, the level of borrowings based on such asset could be reduced or we could incur higher borrowing costs or incur losses upon disposition or the failure of obligors to satisfy their obligations to us.

Our investments are subject to risks of delinquency, foreclosure and loss. In many cases, the ability of a borrower to return our invested capital and our expected return is dependent primarily upon the successful development, construction and operation of the underlying project. If the cash flow of the project is reduced, the borrower’s ability to return our capital and our expected return may be impaired. We make certain estimates regarding project cash flows or savings during the underwriting of our investment. These estimates may not prove accurate, as actual results may vary from estimates. The cash flows or cost savings of a project can be affected by, among other things: the terms of the power purchase or other use agreements used in such project; the creditworthiness of the off-taker or project user; price of power or services now and in the future; the technology deployed; unanticipated expenses in the development or operation of the project and changes in national, regional, state or local economic conditions, laws and regulations; and acts of God, terrorism, social unrest and civil disturbances.

In the event of any default or shortfall of an investment, we will bear a risk of loss of principal or equity to the extent of any deficiency between the value of the collateral, if any, and the amount of our investment, which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flow from operations and may impact the cash available for distribution to our stockholders. Many of the projects are structured as special purpose limited liability companies, which limits our ability to realize any recovery to the collateral or value of the project itself. In the event of the bankruptcy of a project owner, obligor, or other borrower, our investment or the project will be deemed to be subject to the avoidance powers of the bankruptcy trustee or debtor-in-possession and our or the project’s contractual rights may be unenforceable under federal bankruptcy or state law. Foreclosure proceedings against a project can be an expensive and lengthy process, which could have a substantial negative effect on our anticipated return on the foreclosed investment.

We provide a range of investment structures, including various types of debt and equity securities, senior and subordinated loans, real property leases, mezzanine debt, preferred equity and common equity. Our projects may have, or may be permitted to incur, other liabilities or equity preferences that rank equally with, or senior to, our positions or investments in such projects or businesses, as the case may be, including with respect to grants of collateral. By their terms, such instruments may entitle the holders to receive payment of interest, principal payments or other distributions on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments with respect to the instruments in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of an entity in which we have invested, holders of instruments ranking senior to our investment in that project or business would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any

distribution. After repaying such senior stakeholders, such project may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of securities ranking equally with instruments we hold, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other stakeholders holding such instruments in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant project.

Subordinated and mezzanine debt and equity investments involve a number of significant risks, including:

Although the covenants in our financing or investment documentation generally restrict certain actions that may be taken by project owners, we generally do not control the projects in which we invest. As a result, we are subject to the risk that the project owner may make certain business decisions or take risks with which we disagree or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests.

Some of our project companies are structured as joint ventures, partnerships, securitizations, syndications and consortium arrangements. Part of our strategy is to participate with other institutional investors or the project’s sponsor on various climate solutions transactions. These arrangements are driven by the magnitude of capital required to complete acquisitions and the development of climate solutions projects and other industry-wide trends that we believe will continue. Such arrangements involve risks not present where a third party is not involved, including the possibility that partners or co-venturers might become bankrupt or otherwise fail to fund their share of required capital contributions. Additionally, partners or co-venturers might at any time have economic or other business interests or goals different from ours. These investments generally provide for a reduced level of control over an acquired project because governance rights are shared with others. Accordingly, project decisions relating to the management, operation and the timing and nature of any exit, are often made by a majority vote of the investors or by separate agreements that are reached with respect to individual decisions. In addition, project operations may be subject to the risk that the project owners may make business, financial or management choices with which we do not agree or the management of the project may take risks or otherwise act in a manner that does not serve our interests. Because we may not have the ability to exercise control, we may not be able to realize some or all of the benefits expected from our investment. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could suffer as a result.

In addition, some of our joint ventures, partnerships, and equity investments subject the sale or transfer of our interests in these project companies to rights of first refusal or first offer, tag along or drag along rights and buy-sell, call-put or other restrictions. Such rights may be triggered at a time when we may not want them to be exercised and such rights may inhibit our ability to sell our interest in an entity within our desired time frame or on any other desired terms.

Many of the projects in which we invest rely on revenue or repayment from contractual commitments of end-customers, including federal, state, or local governments for energy efficiency projects or utilities or other customers under PPAs. There is a risk that these customers may default under their contracts. In addition, many of these end-customers are large entities with wide ranging activities. An event in a non-related part of the business could have a material adverse impact on the financial strength of such end-customer, such as the effect of wildfires on the California utilities. Furthermore, the bankruptcy, insolvency, or other liquidity constraints of one or more customers may result in a renegotiation or rejection of the third-party contract, delay the receipt of any obligations or reduce the likelihood of collecting defaulted obligations. Some projects rely on one customer for their revenue and thus the project could be materially and adversely affected by any material change in the

financial condition of that customer. While there may be alternative customers for such a project, there can be no assurance that a new contract on the same terms will be able to be negotiated for the project.

Certain of our projects with contractually committed revenues or other sources of repayment under long term contracts will be subject to re-contracting risk in the future. These projects may be unable to renegotiate these contracts once their terms expire on equally favorable terms or at all. If it is not possible to renegotiate these contracts on favorable terms, our business, financial condition, results of operations, and prospects could be materially and adversely affected.

Revenues at some of the projects in which we invest depend on reliable and efficient metering, or other revenue collection systems, which are often specified in the contract. If one or more of these projects are not able to operate and maintain the metering or other revenue collection systems in the manner expected, if the operation and maintenance costs, are greater than expected, or if the customer disputes the output of the revenue collection system, the ability of the project to repay our investments or provide a return to us on our asset could be materially and adversely affected.

In most instances, projects which sell power under PPAs commit to sell minimum levels of generation. If the project generates less than the committed volumes, it may be required to buy the shortfall of electricity on the open market or make payments of liquidated damages or be in default under a PPA, which could result in its termination. In the event that any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer as a result.

We are exposed to credit risks in the commercial projects in which we invest. We are also subject to varying degrees of credit risk related to ESCOs in government energy efficiency projects in which guarantees provided by ESCOs under energy savings performance contracts are required in the event that certain energy savings are not realized by the customer.

Where we make loans to or own equity interests in special purposes entities such as those that lease solar energy systems to residential customers, those special purpose entities often enter into various contractual arrangements with, or receive performance guarantees from the affiliate project sponsor to ensure satisfactory equipment or other project performance over the term of the lease or power purchase agreement. To the extent those parties are unable to perform on their contractual obligations or performance guarantees we may see diminished equity returns or the special purpose entity may be unable to repay their loan timely or at all.

Some of our projects enter into PPAs when they contract to sell all or a fixed proportion of the electricity generated by the project, sometimes bundled with renewable energy credits and capacity or other environmental attributes, to a power purchaser, often a utility, or increasingly, a corporation. PPAs are used to stabilize our revenues from that project. We are exposed to the risk that the power purchaser, who we consider an obligor, will fail to perform under a PPA or the PPA will be terminated or expire, which will lead to that project needing to sell its electricity at the then market price, which could be substantially lower than the price provided in the applicable PPA. In most instances, the project also commits to sell minimum levels of generation. If the project generates less than the committed volumes, it may be required to buy the shortfall of electricity on the open market or make payments of liquidated damages or be in default under a PPA, which could result in its termination. In the event that any of these events were to occur, our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer as a result.

Low prices for traditional fossil fuels, particularly natural gas, could cause demand for renewable energy to decrease and prices have, and may continue to, adversely affect both the future sale price of energy under new PPAs and the current sale price of energy sold on a spot-market basis. Low PPA and spot market power prices, if combined with other factors, can have a material adverse effect on our projects and their respective values and our expected returns, results of operations and cash available for distribution.

Some of the projects we invest in, or may plan to invest in, sell environmental attributes such as renewable energy credits or other similar credits on an uncontracted basis. To the extent merchant prices for these attributes are lower than expected, our projects revenues could be adversely impacted, and our business, financial condition, and results of operations could suffer as a result.

The future success of our assets will depend, in part, on their ability to maintain satisfactory interconnection agreements. If the interconnection or transmission agreement of a project is terminated for any reason, they may not be able to replace it with an interconnection and transmission arrangement on terms as favorable as the existing arrangement, or at all, or they may experience significant delays or costs in connection with securing a replacement. If a network to which one or more of the projects is connected experiences equipment or operational problems or other forms of “down time,” the affected project may lose revenue and be exposed to non-performance penalties and claims from its customers. These may include claims for damages incurred by customers, such as the additional cost of acquiring alternative electricity supply at then-current spot market rates. The owners of the network will not usually compensate electricity generators for lost income due to down time. In addition, our projects may be exposed to a locational basis risk resulting from a difference between where the power is generated and the contracted delivery point. These factors could materially affect these projects, which could negatively affect our business, results of operations, financial condition, and cash flow.

The electricity produced and revenues generated by a renewable electric generation facility are highly dependent on suitable weather conditions, which are beyond our control. Components of renewable energy systems, such as turbines, solar panels and inverters, could be damaged by natural disasters or severe weather, including extreme temperatures, wildfires, hurricanes, hailstorms or tornadoes. Furthermore, the potential physical impacts of climate change may impact our projects, including the result of changes in weather patterns (including floods, tsunamis, drought, mudslides, and rainfall levels), wind speeds, water availability, storm patterns and intensities, and temperature levels. The projects in which we invest will be obligated to bear the expense of repairing the damaged renewable energy systems and replacing spare parts for key components and insurance may not cover the costs or the lost revenue. Natural disasters or unfavorable weather and atmospheric conditions, such as extreme cold temperatures or extreme events of rain, flooding, and mudslides, could impair the effectiveness of the renewable energy assets, reduce their output beneath their rated capacity, require shutdown of key equipment or impede operation of the renewable energy assets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows. Sustained unfavorable weather could also unexpectedly delay the installation of renewable energy systems, which could result in a delay in our investing in new projects or increase the cost of such projects. The resulting effects of climate change can also have an impact on the cost of, and the ability of a project to obtain, adequate insurance coverage to protect against related losses.

We typically base our investment decisions with respect to each renewable energy facility on the findings of studies conducted on-site prior to construction or based on historical conditions at existing facilities. However, actual climatic conditions at a facility site may not conform to the findings of these studies. Even if an operating project’s historical renewable energy resources are consistent with the long-term estimates, the unpredictable nature of weather conditions often results in daily, monthly and yearly material deviations from the average renewable resources anticipated during a particular period. Therefore, renewable energy facilities in which we invest may not meet anticipated production levels or the rated capacity of the generation assets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and cash flows.

The ongoing operation of the projects in which we invest involves risks that include construction delays, the breakdown or failure of equipment or processes or performance below expected levels of output or efficiency due to wear and tear, latent defect, design error or operator error or force majeure events, among other things. In addition to natural risks such as earthquake, flood, drought, lightning, wildfire, hurricane, ice, wind, and temperature extremes, other hazards, such as fire, explosion, structural collapse and machinery failure, acts of terrorism or related acts of war, hostile cyber intrusions, pandemics, or other catastrophic events are inherent risks in the construction and operation of a project. These and other hazards can cause significant personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property, plant and equipment and contamination of, or damage to, the environment and suspension of operations. Operation of a project also involves risks that the operator will be unable to transport its product to its customers in an efficient manner due to a lack of transmission capacity. Unplanned outages of projects, including extensions of scheduled outages due to mechanical failures or other problems, occur from time to time and are an inherent risk of the business. Unplanned outages typically increase operation and maintenance expenses and may reduce revenues as a result of selling less electricity or require the project to incur significant costs as a result of obtaining replacement power from third parties in the open market to satisfy forward power sales obligations. Any extended interruption in a project’s construction or operation, a project’s inability to operate its assets efficiently, manage capital expenditures and costs and generate earnings and cash flow could have a material adverse effect on the repayment of and return on our investment and our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. While the projects maintain insurance, obtain warranties from vendors and obligate contractors to meet certain performance levels, the proceeds of such insurance, warranties or performance guarantees may not cover the lost revenues, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments should the project experience any equipment breakdowns, insurance claims or non-performance by contractors or vendors.

Many of the projects in which we invest are capital intensive and require substantial ongoing expenditures for, among other things, additions and improvements, and maintenance and repair of plant and equipment related to project operations. In addition, there may be cash needs to settle certain contractual obligations of the projects, such as settlements or margining requirements related to hedging activities. While we do not typically bear the responsibility for these expenditures, any failure by the equity owner to make necessary operating or capital expenditures could adversely impact project performance. In addition, some of these expenditures may not be recoverable from current or future contractual arrangements.

The projects in which we invest often require large areas of land for construction and operation or other easements or access to the underlying land. In addition, we may acquire rights to land or other real property. Although we believe that we, or the projects in which we invest, have valid rights to all material easements, licenses and rights of way, not all of such easements, licenses and rights of way are registered against the lands to which they relate and may not bind subsequent owners. Some of our real property rights and projects generally are, and are likely to continue to be, located on land occupied pursuant to long-term easements and leases. The ownership interests in the land subject to these easements and leases may be subject to mortgages securing loans or other liens (such as tax liens) and other easement and lease rights of third parties (such as leases of water, oil or mineral rights) that were created prior to, or are superior to, our or our projects’ easements and leases. As a result, our rights may be subject, and subordinate, to the rights of those third parties. We typically obtain representations or perform title searches or obtain title insurance to protect our real property interest and our investments in our projects against these risks. Such measures may, however, be inadequate to protect against all risk of loss of rights to use the land rights we have acquired or the land on which these projects are located, which could have a material and adverse effect on our land rights, our projects and their financial condition and operating results.

We own land or leasehold interests used by renewable energy projects that are concentrated in a limited number of geographic locations. One consequence of this is that the aggregate returns we realize may be substantially adversely affected by the unfavorable performance of a small number of leases, a significant decline in the market value of any single property or a natural disaster in a concentrated area. Our cash flow depends in part on the ability to lease the real estate to projects or other tenants on economically favorable terms. We could be adversely affected by various facts and events over which we have limited or no control, such as:

At any time, any tenant may experience a downturn in its business, including increased operating costs, termination of a PPA or low spot-market prices of products, that may weaken its operating results or overall financial condition, a tenant may delay lease commencement, fail to make rental payments when due, decline to extend a lease upon its expiration, become insolvent or declare bankruptcy. Any tenant bankruptcy or insolvency, leasing delay or failure to make rental payments when due could result in the termination of the tenant’s lease and material losses to us.

If a tenant elects to terminate its lease prior to or upon its expiration or does not renew its lease as it expires, we may not be able to rent or sell the properties or realize our expected value. Furthermore, leases that are renewed and some new leases for properties that are re-leased, may have terms that are less economically favorable than expiring lease terms, or may require us to incur significant costs, such as lease transaction costs. In addition, negative market conditions or adverse events affecting tenants, or the industries in which they operate, may force us to sell vacant properties for less than their carrying value, which could result in impairments. Any of these events could adversely affect the value of our asset, the cash flow from operations and our ability to make distributions to stockholders and service indebtedness. A significant portion of the costs of owning property, such as real estate taxes, insurance and maintenance, are not necessarily reduced when circumstances cause a decrease in rental revenue from the properties. In a weakened financial condition, tenants may not be able to pay these costs of ownership and we may be unable to recover these operating expenses from them.

Further, the occurrence of a tenant bankruptcy or insolvency could diminish the income we receive from the tenant’s lease or leases. For instance, a bankruptcy court might authorize the tenant to terminate its leases with us. If that happens, our claim against the bankrupt tenant for unpaid future rent would be subject to statutory limitations that most likely would be substantially less than the remaining rent we are owed under the leases. In addition, any claim we have for unpaid past rent, if any, may not be paid in full. As a result, tenant bankruptcies may have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

In addition, since renewable energy projects are often concentrated in certain states, we would also be subject to any adverse change in the political or regulatory climate in those states or specific counties where such properties are located that could adversely affect our properties and our ability to lease such properties.

A number of the projects where we invest could have workforces that are unionized or in the future may become unionized and, as a result, are required to negotiate the wages, benefits and other terms with many of their employees collectively. If these projects were unable to negotiate acceptable contracts with any of their unions as existing agreements expire, they could experience a significant disruption of their operations, higher ongoing labor costs and restrictions on their ability to maximize the efficiency of their operations, which could have a material and adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, in some jurisdictions where our projects have operations, labor forces have a legal right to strike, which may have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations, either directly or indirectly, for example if a critical upstream or downstream counterparty was itself subject to a labor disruption that impacted the ability of our projects to operate.

We invest in projects that typically rely on third parties to select, manage or provide equipment or services. Third parties may be responsible for choosing vendors, including equipment suppliers and subcontractors. Project success often depends on third parties who are capable of installing and managing projects and structuring contracts that provide appropriate protection against construction and operational risks. In many cases, in addition to contractual protections and remedies, project owners may seek guaranties, warranties and construction bonding to provide additional protection.

The warranties provided by the third parties and, in some cases, their subcontractors, typically limit any direct harm that results from relying on their products and services. However, there can be no assurance that a supplier or subcontractor will be willing or able to fulfill its contractual obligations and make necessary repairs or replace equipment. In addition, these warranties generally expire within one to five years or may be of limited scope or provide limited remedies. If projects are unable to avail themselves of warranty protection or receive the expected protection under the terms of the guaranties or bonding, we may need to incur additional costs, including replacement and installation costs, which could adversely impact our investment.

Under various U.S. federal, state and local laws, an owner or operator of real estate or a project may become liable for the costs of removal of certain hazardous substances released from the project or any underlying real property. These laws often impose liability without regard to whether the owner or operator knew of, or was responsible for, the release of such hazardous substances.

The presence of hazardous substances may adversely affect our, or another owner’s, ability to sell a contaminated project or borrow using the project as collateral. To the extent that we, or another project owner, become liable for removal costs, our investment, or the ability of the owner to make payments to us, may be negatively impacted.

We acquire real property rights, make investments in projects that own real property, have collateral consisting of real property and in the course of our business, we may take title to a project or its underlying real estate assets relating to one of our debt financings. In these cases, we could be subject to environmental liabilities with respect to these assets. To the extent that we become liable for the removal costs, our results of operation and financial condition may be adversely affected. The presence of hazardous substances, if any, may adversely affect our ability to sell the affected real property or the project and we may incur substantial remediation costs, thus harming our financial condition.

Although our assets or projects generally have insurance, supplier warranties, subcontractors performance assurances such as bonding and other risk mitigation measures, the proceeds of such insurance, warranties, bonding or other measures may not be adequate to cover lost revenue, increased expenses or liquidated damages payments that may be required in the future.

Certain obligors to which we have credit exposure are, or may be, subject to consumer protection laws, such as federal truth-in-lending, consumer leasing, and equal credit opportunity laws and regulations, as well as state and local sales and finance laws and regulations. Claims arising out of actual or alleged violations of law may be asserted against those obligors by individuals or governmental entities and may expose them to significant damages or other penalties, including fines, or could reduce the likelihood the residential customer may pay their obligation, which could limit their ability to repay borrowings or make equity distributions to us.

Our Board determines our operational policies and may amend or revise our policies, including our policies with respect to investments, acquisitions, dispositions, growth, operations, compensation, indebtedness, capitalization and dividends, or approve transactions that deviate from these policies, without a vote of, or notice to, our stockholders at any time. We may change our investment guidelines, underwriting process and our strategy at any time with the approval of our Board, but without the consent of our stockholders, which could result in originating assets that are different in type from, and possibly riskier than, the assets initially contemplated. In addition, our charter provides that our Board may authorize us to revoke or otherwise terminate our REIT election, without the approval of our stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in our best interests to qualify as a REIT. These changes could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and our ability to make distributions to our stockholders.

Our underwriting process and our asset and financial management and reporting are dependent on our present and future communications and information systems. Any failure or interruption of these systems could cause delays or other problems in our originating, financing, investing, asset and financial management and reporting activities, which could have a material adverse effect on our operating results.

Our information technology architecture is partially outsourced. These systems and processes may be either internet based or through traditional outsourced functions and certain of these arrangements are new or emerging. When we contract with these service providers we attempt to evaluate the quality of their systems and controls before we execute the arrangement and may rely on third party reviews and audits of these service providers and attempt to implement certain processes to ensure the quality of the data received from these service providers. Because of the nature and maturity of the technology such efforts may be unsuccessful or incomplete and the unavailability of these systems or the inaccurate data provided from these service providers could negatively impact our financial results.

A cyber incident is considered to be any adverse event that threatens the confidentiality, integrity or availability of our information resources. These incidents may be an intentional attack or an unintentional event and could involve gaining unauthorized access to our information systems for purposes of misappropriating assets, stealing confidential information, corrupting data or causing operational disruption. The risk of a security breach or disruption, particularly through cyber-attacks or cyber intrusions, including by computer hackers, nation-state affiliated actors, and cyber terrorists, has generally increased as the number, intensity and sophistication of attempted attacks and intrusions from around the world have increased, and will likely continue to increase in the future. The result of these incidents could include disrupted operations, misstated or unreliable financial data, disrupted market price of our common stock, misappropriation of assets, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance cost, regulatory enforcement, litigation and damage to our relationships. These risks require continuous and likely increasing attention and other resources from us to, among other actions, identify and quantify these risks, upgrade and expand our technologies, systems and processes to adequately address them and provide periodic training for our employees to assist them in detecting phishing, malware and other schemes. Such attention diverts time and other resources from other activities and there is no assurance that our efforts will be effective. Additionally, the cost of maintaining such systems and processes, procedures and internal controls may increase from its current level. Potential sources for disruption, damage or failure of our information technology systems include, without limitation, computer viruses, security breaches, human error, cyber- attacks, natural disasters and defects in design. Additionally, due to the size and nature of our company, we rely on third-party service providers for many aspects of our business. The networks and systems that our third-party vendors have established or use may not be effective. As our reliance on technology has increased, so have the risks posed to both our information systems and those provided by third-party service providers. Our processes, procedures and internal controls that are designed to mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber intrusions do not guarantee that a cyber incident will not occur or that our financial results, operations or confidential information will not be negatively impacted by such an incident.

Even if we are not targeted directly, cyberattacks on the U.S. and foreign governments, financial markets, financial institutions, or other businesses, including borrowers, vendors, software creators, cybersecurity service providers, and other third parties with whom we do business, may occur, and such events could disrupt our normal business operations and networks in the future.

In recent years, the outbreaks of a number of diseases, including COVID-19, avian influenza, H1N1, and other viruses have resulted in and increased the risk of a pandemic or major public health issues. We believe that our ability to operate, our level of business activity and the profitability of our business, as well as the values of, and the cash flows from, the assets we own could in the future be impacted by another pandemic or other major public health issue. While we have implemented risk management and contingency plans and taken preventive measures and other precautions, no predictions of specific scenarios can be made with certainty and such measures may not adequately predict the impact on our business from such events.

We generate substantially all of our revenue from operations in the United States. We may seek to expand our projects outside of the United States in the future. These operations will be subject to a variety of risks that we do not face in the United States, including risk from changes in foreign country regulations, infrastructure, legal systems and markets. Other risks include possible difficulty in repatriating overseas earnings and fluctuations in foreign currencies.

Our overall success in international markets will depend, in part, on our ability to succeed in different legal, regulatory, economic, social and political conditions. We may not be successful in developing and implementing policies and strategies that will be effective in managing these risks in each country where we decide to do business. Our failure to manage these risks successfully could harm our international projects, reduce our international income or increase our costs, thus adversely affecting our business, financial condition and operating results.

The U.S. federal government, the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the U.S. Treasury, the SEC, U.S. Congress and other governmental and regulatory bodies have taken, are taking or may in the future take, various actions to address inflation, financial crises, or other areas of regulatory concern. Such actions could have a dramatic impact on our business, results of operations and financial condition, and the cost of complying with any additional laws and regulations or the elimination or reduction in scope of various existing laws and regulations could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations. The far-ranging government intervention in the economic and financial system may carry unintended consequences and cause market distortions. We are unable to predict at this time the extent and nature of such unintended consequences and market distortions, if any. The inability to evaluate the potential impacts could have a material adverse effect on the operations of our business.

We conduct our operations so that we are not required to register as an investment company under the 1940 Act. Section 3(a)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is or holds itself out as being engaged primarily in the business of investing, reinvesting or trading in securities. Section 3(a)(1)(C) of the 1940 Act defines an investment company as any issuer that is engaged or proposes to engage in the business of investing, reinvesting, owning, holding or trading in securities and owns or proposes to acquire investment securities having a value exceeding 40% of the value of the issuer’s total assets (exclusive of U.S. Government securities and cash items) on a non-consolidated basis, which we refer to as the 40% test. Excluded from the term “investment securities,” among other things, are U.S. Government securities and securities issued by majority-owned subsidiaries that are not themselves investment companies and are not relying on the exemption from the definition of investment company set forth in Section 3(c)(1) or Section 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act.

We conduct our businesses primarily through our subsidiaries and our operations so that we comply with the 40% test. The securities issued by any wholly-owned or majority-owned subsidiaries that we hold or may form in the future that are exempted from the definition of “investment company” based on Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the 1940 Act, together with any other investment securities we may own, may not have a value in excess of 40% of the value of our total assets on a non-consolidated basis. Certain of our subsidiaries rely on or will rely on an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act pursuant to Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act, which is available for entities which are not primarily engaged in issuing redeemable securities, face-amount certificates of the installment type or periodic payment plan certificates and which are primarily engaged in the business of purchasing or otherwise acquiring mortgages and other liens on and interests in real estate. This exemption generally requires that at least 55% of such subsidiaries’ portfolios must be comprised of qualifying assets and at least 80% of each of their portfolios must be comprised of qualifying assets and real estate-related assets under the 1940 Act. Consistent with guidance published by the SEC staff, we intend to treat as qualifying assets for this purpose loans secured by projects for which the original principal amount of the loan did not exceed 100% of the value of the underlying real property portion of the collateral when the loan was made. We intend to treat as real estate-related assets non-controlling equity interests in joint ventures that own projects whose assets are primarily real property. In general, with regard to our subsidiaries relying on Section 3(c)(5)(C), we rely on other guidance published by the SEC or its staff or on our analyses of guidance published with respect to other types of assets to determine which assets are qualifying real estate assets and real estate-related assets.

In addition, one or more of our subsidiaries qualifies for an exemption from registration as an investment company under the 1940 Act pursuant to either Section 3(c)(5)(A) of the 1940 Act, which is available for entities which are not engaged in the

Although we monitor the portfolios of our subsidiaries relying on the Section 3(c)(5)(A), (B) or (C) exemptions periodically and prior to each acquisition, there can be no assurance that such subsidiaries will be able to maintain their exemptions. Qualification for exemptions from registration under the 1940 Act will limit our ability to make certain investments. For example, these restrictions will limit the ability of these subsidiaries to make loans that are not secured by real property or that do not represent part or all of the sales price of merchandise, insurance, and services.

There can be no assurance that the laws and regulations governing the 1940 Act, including the Division of Investment Management of the SEC providing more specific or different guidance regarding these exemptions, will not change in a manner that adversely affects our operations. For example, on August 31, 2011, the SEC issued a concept release (No. IC-29778; File No. SW7-34-11, Companies Engaged in the Business of Acquiring Mortgages and Mortgage-Related Instruments) pursuant to which it is reviewing the scope of the exemption from registration under Section 3(c)(5)(C) of the 1940 Act. While the SEC has yet to provide additional information on its position relating to these exemptions and timing of any future changes to the exemptions remain unknown, any additional guidance from the SEC or its staff from this process or in other circumstances could provide additional flexibility to us, or it could further inhibit our ability to pursue the strategies we have chosen. If we or our subsidiaries fail to maintain an exemption from the 1940 Act, we could, among other things, be required either to (1) change the manner in which we conduct our operations to avoid being required to register as an investment company, (2) effect sales of our assets in a manner that, or at a time when, we would not otherwise choose to do so or (3) register as an investment company, any of which could negatively affect our business, our ability to make distributions, our financing strategy and the market price for our shares of common stock.

We have not requested the SEC or its staff to approve our treatment of any company as a majority-owned subsidiary and neither the SEC nor its staff has done so. If the SEC or its staff were to disagree with our treatment of one or more companies as majority-owned subsidiaries, we would need to adjust our strategy and our assets in order to continue to pass the 40% test. Any such adjustment in our strategy could have a material adverse effect on us.

If the market value or income potential of our assets changes as a result of changes in interest rates, general market conditions, government actions or other factors, we may need to adjust the portfolio mix of our real estate assets and income or liquidate our non-qualifying assets to maintain our REIT qualification or our exemption from the 1940 Act. If changes in asset values or income occur quickly, this may be especially difficult to accomplish. This difficulty may be exacerbated by the illiquid nature of the assets we may own. We may have to make decisions that we otherwise would not make absent the REIT and 1940 Act considerations.

We use debt to finance our assets, including credit facilities, recourse and non-recourse debt, securitizations, and syndications. Changes in the financial markets and the economy generally could adversely affect one or more of our lenders or potential lenders and could cause one or more of our lenders, potential lenders or institutional investors to be unwilling or unable to provide us with financing or participate in securitizations or could increase the costs of that financing or securitization. Some of our borrowings will have a remaining balance when they come due. If we are unable to repay or refinance the remaining balance of this debt, or if the terms of any available refinancing are not favorable, we may be forced to liquidate assets or incur higher costs which may significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could in turn cause the value of our common stock to decline. The return on our assets

and cash available for distribution to our stockholders may be reduced to the extent that market conditions prevent us from leveraging our assets or increase the cost of our financing relative to the income that can be derived from the assets acquired. Increases in our financing costs will reduce cash available for distributions to stockholders. We may not be able to meet our financing obligations and, to the extent that we cannot, we risk the loss of some or all of our assets to liquidation or sale to satisfy the obligations.

As some of our borrowings will have a remaining balance at maturity, we may be required to enter into new borrowings at higher rates or to sell certain of our assets to repay the loan. Our credit facilities have rates that adjust on a frequent basis based on prevailing short-term interest rates. Increases in interest rates, or a flattening or inversion of the yield curve, reduce the spread between the returns on our assets which are typically priced using longer-term interest rates and the cost of any new borrowings or borrowings where the interest rate adjusts to market rates or is based on shorter-term rates. This change in interest rates would adversely affect our earnings and, in turn, cash available for distribution to our stockholders. In addition, as we may use short-term borrowings that are generally short-term commitments of capital, lenders may respond to market conditions making it more difficult for us to obtain continued financing. If we are not able to renew our then existing facilities or arrange for new financing on terms acceptable to us, or if we default on our covenants or are otherwise unable to access funds under any of these facilities, we may have to curtail entering into new transactions and/or dispose of assets. We will face these risks given that a number of our borrowings have a shorter duration than the assets they finance.

We are not restricted by any regulatory requirements to maintain our leverage ratio at or below any particular level. The amount of leverage we may deploy for particular assets will depend upon the availability of particular types of financing and our assessment of the credit, liquidity, price volatility and other risks of those assets and the credit quality of our financing counterparties. We have established leverage limits which are discussed in Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources. However, our charter and bylaws do not limit the amount or type of indebtedness we can incur, and our Board has changed, and has the discretion to deviate from or change at any time in the future, our leverage policy, which could result in an investment portfolio with a different risk profile. We utilize non-recourse facilities on certain types of assets that have significantly higher leverage. On these facilities, the lenders’ primary recourse is to the pledged assets. If the value of the pledged assets is below the value of the debt or if we default on a facility, the lender would be able to foreclose on all the pledged assets, which would result in losses and reduce our assets and the cash available for distributions to stockholders. We may apply too much leverage to our assets or may employ an inefficient financing strategy to our assets.

We hold securitized loans and often hold the most junior certificates or the residual value associated with a securitization. We have also established funds and special purpose entities through which we hold only a partial or subordinate interest or a residual value after taking into account our non-recourse debt facilities or a right to participate in the profits of such entity once it achieves a predefined threshold. As a holder of the residual value or other such interests, we are more exposed to losses on the underlying collateral because the interest we retain in the securitization vehicle or other entity would be subordinate to the more senior notes or interests issued to investors and we would, therefore, absorb all of the losses, up to the value of our interests, sustained with respect to the underlying assets before the owners of the notes or other interests experience any losses. In addition, the inability to securitize our Portfolio or assets within our Portfolio could hurt our performance and our ability to grow our business.

We also use various special purpose entities to own and finance our assets. These subsidiaries incur various types of debt, that can be used to finance one or more of our assets. This debt is typically structured as non-recourse debt, which means it is repayable solely from the revenue from the investment financed by the debt and is secured by the related physical assets, major contracts, cash accounts and in some cases, a pledge of our ownership interests in the subsidiaries involved in the projects. Although this subsidiary debt is typically non-recourse to us, we make certain representations and warranties or enter into certain guaranties of our subsidiary’s obligations or covenants to the non-recourse debt holder, the breach of which may require us to make payments to the lender. We may also from time to time determine to provide financial support to the subsidiary in order to maintain rights to the project or otherwise avoid the adverse consequences of a default. In the event a subsidiary defaults on its indebtedness, its creditors may foreclose on the collateral securing the indebtedness, which may result in us losing our ownership interest in some or all of the subsidiary’s assets. The loss of our ownership interest in a subsidiary or some or all of a subsidiary’s assets could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and operating results.

Our existing credit facilities and debt contain, and any future financing facilities may contain, various affirmative and negative covenants, including maintenance of an interest coverage ratio and limitations on the incurrence of liens and indebtedness, investments, fundamental organizational changes, dispositions, changes in the nature of business, transactions with affiliates, use of proceeds and stock repurchases. In addition, the terms of our non-recourse debt include restrictions and covenants, including limitations on our ability to transfer or incur liens on the assets that secure the debt. For further information see Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources.

The covenants and restrictions included in our existing financings do, and the covenants and restrictions to be included in any future financings may, restrict our ability to, among other things:

Our non-recourse debt limits our ability to take action with regard to the assets pledged as security for the debt. These restrictions, as well as any other covenants contained in any future financings, may interfere with our ability to obtain financing, or to engage in other business activities, which may significantly limit or harm our business, financial condition, liquidity and results of operations. Certain financing agreements also contain cross-default provisions, so that if a default occurs under any one agreement, the lenders under our other agreements could also declare a default. A default and resulting repayment acceleration could significantly reduce our liquidity, which could require us to sell our assets to repay amounts due and outstanding. This could also significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could cause the value of our common stock to decline and adversely affect our ability to qualify, or remain qualified, as a REIT. A default will also significantly limit our financing alternatives such that we will be unable to pursue our leverage strategy, which could curtail the returns on our assets.

In addition, certain of our financing arrangements contain provisions that provide for a preference in cash flow allocations to the lender from our assets or an acceleration of principal payments owed when certain conditions are present related to the underlying assets that serve as collateral for the financing. These provisions may limit our ability to obtain distributions from the underlying assets and could impact our cash flow and expected returns.

We have issued senior unsecured notes that require us to maintain a certain amount of unencumbered assets as a part of our Portfolio, as well as to maintain certain debt coverage service ratios in order to issue additional notes. These provisions may limit our ability to leverage certain assets and limit our overall debt levels.

Some of our borrowings will have a remaining balance when they become due. If our subsidiary is unable to repay or refinance the remaining balance of this debt, or if the terms of any available refinancing are not favorable, we may be forced to liquidate assets or incur higher costs which may significantly harm our business, financial condition, results of operations, and our ability to make distributions, which could cause the value of our common stock to decline.

Even though most swaps are cleared through a central counterparty clearinghouse, certain transactions could be executed bilaterally with a counterparty. We would remain exposed to our counterparty’s ability to perform on its obligations under each hedge and cannot look to the creditworthiness of a central counterparty for performance. As a result, if a hedging counterparty cannot perform under the terms of the hedge, we would not receive payments due under that hedge, we may lose any unrealized gain associated with the hedge and the hedged liability would cease to be hedged. While we would seek to terminate the relevant hedge transaction and may have a claim against the defaulting counterparty for any losses, including unrealized gains, there is no assurance that we would be able to recover such amounts or to replace the relevant hedge on economically viable terms or at all. In such case, we could be forced to cover our unhedged liabilities at the then current market price. We may also

Furthermore, our interest rate swaps and other hedge transactions are subject to increasing statutory and other regulatory requirements and, depending on the identity of the counterparty, applicable international requirements. Recently, new regulations have been promulgated by U.S. and foreign regulators to strengthen the oversight of swaps, and any further actions taken by such regulators could constrain our strategy or increase our costs, either of which could materially and adversely impact our results of operations.

Additionally, applicable regulations require certain derivatives, including certain interest rate swaps, to be executed on a regulated market and cleared through a central counterparty. Unlike over-the-counter swaps, the counterparty for the cleared swaps is the clearing house, which reduces counterparty risk. However, cleared swaps require us to appoint clearing brokers and to post margin in accordance with the clearing house’s rules, which has resulted in increased costs for cleared swaps compared to over-the-counter swaps. Our over-the-counter hedges with swap dealers are subject to margin regulations which prescribe the required margin, limit eligible margin to cash and specified types of securities. These margin regulations have the effect, therefore, of increasing the costs of hedging and could induce us to limit our use of certain hedging transactions.

Also, any mortgage real estate investment trust that trades in swaps may be considered a "commodity pool," which would cause its operator to be regulated as a “commodity pool operator” (a “CPO”). Operators of mortgage REITs are currently exempt from CPO registration requirements, subject to certain qualification parameters. The need to operate within these parameters could limit the use of swaps and other commodity interests by us below the level that we would otherwise consider optimal or may lead to the registration of our company, our management team or our directors as commodity pool operators, which will subject us to additional regulatory oversight, compliance and costs.

Moreover, the projects in which we invest, may enter into various forms of hedging including interest rate and power price hedging. To the extent they enter into such hedges, the financial results of the project will be exposed to similar risks as described above which could adversely impact our results of operations. Further, the hedges entered into by us or the projects in which we invest may not be effective which could adversely impact our economics.

We, or our projects, may choose not to pursue, or fail to qualify for, hedge accounting treatment relating to derivative and hedging transactions. We, or our projects, may fail to qualify for hedge accounting treatment for a number of reasons, including if we, or our projects, use instruments that do not meet the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 815 definition of a derivative, we, or our projects, fail to satisfy ASC Topic 815 hedge documentation and hedge effectiveness assessment requirements or the hedge relationship is not highly effective. If we, or our projects, fail to qualify for, or choose not to pursue, hedge accounting treatment, our, or our projects, operating results may be impacted because losses on the derivatives that we, or our projects, enter into may not be offset by a change in the fair value of the related hedged transaction in our statement of operations presented under GAAP.

Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). However, an active trading market for our common stock may not continue, which could cause our common stock to trade at a discount to historical prices. Some of the factors that have or in the future could negatively affect the market price of our common stock include:

Market factors unrelated to our performance also have, and could in the future, negatively impact the market price of our common stock. One of the factors that investors may consider in deciding whether to buy or sell our common stock is our distribution rate as a percentage of our stock price relative to market interest rates. If market interest rates increase, prospective investors may demand a higher distribution rate or seek alternative investments paying higher dividends or interest. As a result, interest rate fluctuations and conditions in capital markets have, or in the future could, affect the market value of our common stock.

Subject to applicable law, our Board, without stockholder approval, may authorize us to issue additional authorized and unissued shares of common stock and preferred stock on the terms and for the consideration it deems appropriate.

We cannot predict the effect, if any, of future sales of our common stock or the availability of shares for future sales, on the market price of our common stock. Sales of substantial amounts of common stock or the perception that such sales could occur may adversely affect the prevailing market price for our common stock.

We are generally required to distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains) each year for us to qualify, and maintain our qualification, as a REIT under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Internal Revenue Code”). Our current policy is to pay quarterly distributions, which on an annual basis is expected to equal or substantially exceed 90% or more of our REIT taxable income. In the event that our Board authorizes distributions in excess of the income or cash flow generated from our assets, we may make such distributions from the proceeds of future offerings of equity or debt securities or other forms of debt financing or the sale of assets.

Our ability to make distributions may be adversely affected by a number of factors. Therefore, although we anticipate making quarterly distributions to our stockholders, our Board has the sole discretion to determine the timing, form and amount of any distributions to our stockholders. If our portfolio of assets fails to generate sufficient income and cash flow, we could be required to sell assets, borrow funds, raise additional equity or make a portion of our distributions in the form of a taxable stock distribution or distribution of debt securities. To the extent that we are required to sell assets in adverse market conditions or borrow funds at unfavorable rates, our results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. If we raise additional equity, our stock price could be materially and adversely affected. Our Board will make determinations regarding distributions based upon various factors, including our earnings, our financial condition, our liquidity, our debt covenants, maintenance of our REIT qualification, applicable provisions of the MGCL and other factors as our Board may deem relevant from time to time. We believe that a change in any one of the following factors could adversely affect our results of operations and impair our ability to make distributions to our stockholders:

As a result, no assurance can be given that we will be able to make distributions to our stockholders at any time in the future or that the level of any distributions we do make to our stockholders will achieve a market yield or increase or even be maintained over time, any of which could materially and adversely affect us.

In addition, all or a portion of the distributions that we make to our stockholders will be taxable as ordinary income, subject to a potential deduction equal to 20% of the amount of such dividends for taxable years beginning in 2018 and ending in 2025, which generally reduces the effective U.S. federal income tax rate applicable to such dividends. However, a portion of our distributions may be designated by us as long-term capital gains to the extent that they are attributable to capital gain income recognized by us or may constitute a return of capital to the extent that they exceed our earnings and profits as determined for tax purposes. A return of capital is not taxable income but has the effect of reducing the basis of a stockholder’s investment in shares of our common stock.

Our present debt ranks, and any future debt would rank, senior to our common stock. Such debt is, and likely will be, governed by a loan agreement, an indenture, or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, our convertible securities, and any equity securities or convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock and may result in dilution to owners of our common stock. We and, indirectly, our stockholders will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such debt or securities. Because our decision to issue debt or equity securities in any future offering will depend on market conditions and other factors beyond our control, we cannot predict or estimate the amount, timing, or nature of our future offerings. Thus, holders of our common stock will bear the risk of our future offerings reducing the market price of our common stock and diluting the value of their stock holdings in us.

Our success depends, to a significant extent, on the continued services of our senior management team. We have entered into employment agreements with certain members of our senior management team. Notwithstanding these agreements, there can be no assurance that any or all members of our senior management team will remain employed by us. We do not maintain key person life insurance on any of our officers other than two policies we maintain for Mr. Eckel under which we are a beneficiary in the amount of approximately $500 thousand. The loss of services of one or more members of our senior management team could harm our business and our prospects.

Conflicts of interest could arise in the future as a result of the relationships between us and our affiliates, on the one hand, and our Operating Partnership or any partner thereof, on the other. Our directors and officers have duties to our company under applicable Maryland law in connection with our management. Our duties, as the general partner, to our Operating Partnership and our partners may come into conflict with the duties of our directors and officers to us.

Under Delaware law, a general partner of a Delaware limited partnership owes its limited partners the duties of good faith and fair dealing. Other duties, including fiduciary duties, may be modified or eliminated in the partnership’s partnership agreement, except that conflict of interest transactions may still run afoul of implied contractual standards under Delaware law. The partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership provides that, for so long as we own a controlling interest in our Operating Partnership, any conflict that cannot be resolved in a manner not adverse to either our stockholders or the limited partners will be resolved in favor of our stockholders. We have not obtained an opinion of counsel covering the provisions set forth in the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership that purport to waive or restrict our fiduciary duties that would be in effect under common law were it not for the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership.

Additionally, the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership expressly limits our liability by providing that neither we, as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, nor any of our directors or officers, will be liable or accountable in damages to our Operating Partnership, its limited partners or their assignees for errors in judgment, mistakes of fact or law or for any act or omission if the general partner, director or officer, acted in good faith. In addition, our Operating Partnership is required to indemnify us, our affiliates and each of our and their respective officers, directors, employees and agents to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law against any and all losses, claims, damages, liabilities (whether joint or several),

expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and other legal fees and expenses), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts arising from any and all claims, demands, actions, suits or proceedings, civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, that relate to the operations of the Operating Partnership, provided that our Operating Partnership will not indemnify any such person for (1) willful misconduct or a knowing violation of the law, (2) any transaction for which such person received an improper personal benefit in violation or breach of any provision of the partnership agreement of our Operating Partnership, or (3) in the case of a criminal proceeding, the person had reasonable cause to believe the act or omission was unlawful.

The “control share” provisions of the MGCL provide that, subject to certain exemptions, a holder of “control shares” of a Maryland corporation (defined as shares which, when aggregated with all other shares controlled by the stockholder (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), entitle the stockholder to exercise one of three increasing ranges of voting power in electing directors) acquired in a “control share acquisition” (defined as the direct or indirect acquisition of ownership or control of issued and outstanding “control shares”) has no voting rights with respect to such shares except to the extent approved by our stockholders by the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter, excluding votes entitled to be cast by the acquirer of control shares, our officers and our directors who are also our employees.

The “unsolicited takeover” provisions of Title 3, Subtitle 8 of the MGCL permit our Board, without stockholder approval and regardless of what is currently provided in our charter or bylaws, to implement certain takeover defenses, some of which (for example, a classified board) we do not yet have.

Our charter permits our Board to authorize us to issue additional shares of our authorized but unissued common or preferred stock. In addition, our Board may, without common stockholder approval, amend our charter to increase the aggregate number of our shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have the authority to issue and classify or reclassify any unissued shares of common or preferred stock and set the terms of the classified or reclassified shares. As a result, our Board may establish a series of common or preferred stock that could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for shares of our common stock or otherwise be in the best interest of our stockholders.

Our charter eliminates the liability of our present and former directors and officers to us and our stockholders for money damages to the maximum extent permitted under Maryland law.

Our charter authorizes us, and our bylaws and indemnification agreements entered into with each of our directors and executive officers require us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, to indemnify and, without requiring a preliminary determination of their ultimate entitlement to indemnification, to pay or reimburse defense costs and other expenses of each of our directors and officers in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party or witness by reason of his or her service to us. As a result, we and our stockholders have rights against our directors and officers that are more limited than might otherwise exist and, in the event that actions taken by any of our directors or officers impede the performance of our company, your and our ability to recover damages from such director or officer will be limited.

Our charter provides that, subject to the rights of holders of any series of preferred stock, a director may be removed with or without cause upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least two thirds of the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors. Vacancies may be filled only by a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if less than a quorum. These requirements make it more difficult to change our management by removing and replacing directors and may prevent a change in control of our company that is in the best interests of our stockholders.

In order for us to qualify as a REIT for each taxable year after 2013, no more than 50% in value of our outstanding capital stock may be owned, directly or constructively, by five or fewer individuals during the last half of any calendar year, and at least 100 persons must beneficially own our stock during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months, or during a proportionate portion of a shorter taxable year. “Individuals” for this purpose include natural persons, private foundations, some employee benefit plans and trusts, and some charitable trusts. To assist us in preserving our REIT qualification, among other purposes, our charter generally prohibits any person from directly or indirectly owning more than 9.8% in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive, of the aggregate outstanding shares of our capital stock, the outstanding shares of any class or series of our preferred stock or the outstanding shares of our common stock. These ownership limits could have the effect of discouraging a takeover or other transaction in which holders of our common stock might receive a premium for their shares over the then prevailing market price or which holders might believe to be otherwise in their best interests. Our Board has established exemptions from these ownership limits that permit certain institutional investors and their clients to hold shares of our common stock in excess of these ownership limits.

We have elected to be treated, and qualify, as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The U.S. federal income tax laws governing REITs are complex, and judicial and administrative interpretations of the U.S. federal income tax laws governing REIT qualification are limited. To qualify as a REIT and remain so qualified, we must meet, on an ongoing basis through actual operating results, various tests regarding the nature and diversification of our assets and our income, the ownership of our outstanding shares, and the amount of our distributions. Even a technical or inadvertent violation could jeopardize our REIT qualification. Our ability to satisfy the asset tests depends upon our analysis of the characterization and fair market values of our assets, some of which are not susceptible to a precise determination, and for which we will not obtain independent appraisals.

We received a private letter ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), which we refer to as the Ruling, relating to our ability to treat certain of our assets as qualifying REIT assets. We are entitled to rely on this Ruling for those assets which fit within the scope of the Ruling only to the extent that we have the legal and contractual rights described therein, we continue to operate in accordance with the relevant facts described in the ruling request we submitted, that such facts were accurately presented and to the extent such ruling is not inconsistent with the Real Property Regulations (as discussed in more detail below). As a result, no assurance can be given that we will always be able to rely on this Ruling.

In August of 2016, the Treasury Department and the IRS published regulations which we refer to as the Real Property Regulations relating to the definition of “real property” for purposes of the REIT income and asset tests with respect to our taxable years beginning after December 31, 2016. Among other things, the Real Property Regulations provide that an obligation secured by a structural component of a building or other inherently permanent structure qualifies as a real estate asset for REIT qualification purposes only if such obligation is also secured by a real property interest in the inherently permanent structure served by such structural component. This aspect of the Real Property Regulations has important implications for our qualification as a REIT since a significant portion of our REIT qualifying assets consists of receivables that are secured by liens on installed structural improvements designed to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and a significant portion of our REIT qualifying gross income is interest income earned with respect to such receivables.

The structural improvements securing our receivables generally qualify as “fixtures” under local real property law, as well as under the Uniform Commercial Code, or the UCC, which governs rights and obligations of parties in secured transactions. Although not controlling for REIT purposes, the general rule in the United States is that once improvements are permanently installed in real properties, such improvements become fixtures and thus take on the character of and are considered to be real property for certain state and local law purposes. In general, in the United States, laws governing fixtures,

including the UCC and real property law, afford lenders who have secured their financings with security interests in fixtures with rights that extend not just to the fixtures that secure their financings, but also to the real properties in which such fixtures have been installed. By way of example only, Section 9-604(b) of the UCC, which has been adopted in all but two states in the United States, permits a lender secured by fixtures, upon a default, to enforce its rights under the UCC or under applicable real property laws. Although there is limited authority directly on point, given the nature of, and the extent to which, the structural improvements securing our receivables are integrated into and serve the related buildings, we believe that the better view is that the nature and scope of our rights in such buildings that inure to us as a result of our receivables are sufficient to satisfy the requirements of the Real Property Regulations described above. In addition to the limited authority directly on point, two other important caveats apply in this regard. First, the Real Property Regulations do not define what is required for an obligation secured by a lien on a structural component to also be secured by a real property interest in the building served by such structural component. However, the initial proposed version of the Real Property Regulations, which never became effective, included a requirement that the interest in the real property held by a REIT be “equivalent” to the interest in a structural component held by the REIT in order for the structural component to be treated as a real estate asset. This requirement was ultimately not included in the final Real Property Regulations, in part in response to comments that such requirement may negatively affect investment in energy efficiency and renewable energy assets. We believe the deletion of this requirement implies that under the final Real Property Regulations, our rights in the building need not be equivalent to our rights in the structural components serving the building. Second, real property law is typically relegated to the states and the specific rights available to any lien or mortgage holder, including our rights as a fixture lien holder described above, may vary between jurisdictions as a result of a range of factors, including the specific local real property law requirements and judicial and regulatory interpretations of such laws, and the competing rights of mortgage and other lenders. We have applied the analysis described above in a number of states that have adopted Section 9-604(b) of the UCC. In addition, in states where Section 9-604(b) of the UCC has not been adopted, we apply the analysis described above based on the application of the local real property laws of that state to the extent that we have received advice from counsel in those jurisdictions that local real property law provides us with appropriate rights to the buildings in which the structural improvements securing our receivables have been installed. Furthermore, we have applied the analysis described above to certain receivables secured by liens on structural improvements installed in buildings located in certain U.S. installations outside of the United States, based on our view that such installations are subject to U.S. sovereignty and as a result the UCC applies in such installations. While a number of cases have addressed the rights of fixture lien holders generally, there are limited judicial interpretations in only a few jurisdictions that directly address the rights and remedies available to a fixture lien holder in the real property in which the fixtures have been installed. Such rights have been addressed in some cases that support our position and, in factual circumstances distinguishable from our own, in some cases where the courts have found these rights to be more limited. The resolution of these issues in many jurisdictions therefore remains uncertain. As a result of the foregoing, no assurance can be given that the IRS will not challenge our position that our receivables meet the requirements of the Real Property Regulations or that, if challenged, such position would be sustained.

The preamble to the Real Property Regulations provides that, to the extent a private letter ruling issued prior to the issuance of the Real Property Regulations is inconsistent with the Real Property Regulations, the private letter ruling is revoked prospectively from the applicability date of the Real Property Regulations. We do not believe that the Ruling is inconsistent with the Real Property Regulations because we believe the analysis in the Ruling was based on similar principles as the relevant portions of the Real Property Regulations, and accordingly we do not believe that the Real Property Regulations impact our ability to rely on the Ruling. However, no assurance can be given that the IRS would not successfully assert that we are not permitted to rely on the Ruling because the Ruling has been revoked by the Real Property Regulations.

If the IRS were to assert that a significant portion of our receivables do not qualify as real estate assets and do not generate income treated as interest income from mortgages on real property, we would fail to satisfy both the gross income requirements and asset requirements applicable to REITs. If this were to occur, we would be required to restructure the manner in which we receive such income and we may realize significant income that does not qualify for the REIT 75% gross income test, which could cause us to fail to qualify as a REIT.

In addition, our compliance with the REIT income and quarterly asset requirements also depends upon our ability to successfully manage the composition of our income and assets on an ongoing basis in accordance with existing REIT regulations and rules and interpretations thereof. Moreover, the IRS, new legislation, court decisions or other administrative guidance, in each case possibly with retroactive effect, may make it more difficult or impossible for us to qualify as a REIT. Our ability to satisfy the requirements to qualify as a REIT also depends in part on the actions of third parties over which we have no control or only limited influence, including in cases where we own an equity interest in an entity that is classified as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Thus, given the highly complex nature of the rules governing REITs, the ongoing importance of factual determinations, and the possibility of future changes in our circumstances, no assurance can be given that we will so qualify for any particular year. Further, differences in timing between the recognition of taxable income, our GAAP income and the actual receipt of cash may occur. For example, we may be required to accrue interest and discount income on debt securities or interests in debt securities before we receive any payments of interest or principal on such assets,

If we fail to qualify as a REIT in any taxable year, and we do not qualify for certain statutory relief provisions, we would be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on our net taxable income, and distributions to our stockholders would not be deductible by us in determining our taxable income. In such a case, we might need to borrow money or sell assets in order to pay our taxes. Our payment of income tax would negatively impact the results of our operations and decrease the amount of our income available for distribution to our stockholders. Furthermore, if we fail to maintain our qualification as a REIT, we no longer would be required to distribute substantially all of our taxable income to our stockholders, which would leave our Board with more discretion over our future distribution levels. In addition, unless we were eligible for certain statutory relief provisions, we could not re-elect to qualify as a REIT for the subsequent four taxable years following the year in which we failed to qualify.

To qualify as a REIT, we must ensure that we meet the REIT gross income tests annually and that, at the end of each calendar quarter, at least 75% of the value of our total assets consists of cash, cash items, government securities, shares in REITs and other qualifying real estate assets. In addition, certain other limitations apply to the asset we may hold, which generally limit the concentration we may hold in assets that are not qualifying real estate assets. If we fail to comply with these requirements at the end of any calendar quarter, we must correct the failure within 30 days after the end of the calendar quarter or qualify for certain statutory relief provisions to avoid losing our REIT qualification and suffering adverse tax consequences.

In addition, in order to qualify as a REIT, we must distribute to our stockholders, each calendar year, at least 90% of our REIT taxable income (including certain items of non-cash income), determined without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gain. To the extent that we satisfy the 90% distribution requirement, but distribute less than 100% of our REIT taxable income, we will be subject to U.S. federal corporate income tax on our undistributed income. In addition, we will incur a 4% non-deductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which our distributions in any calendar year are less than a minimum amount specified under U.S. federal income tax laws. We intend to distribute our taxable income to our stockholders in a manner intended to satisfy the REIT 90% distribution requirement and to avoid the 4% non-deductible excise tax.

These requirements may require us to liquidate from our portfolio, or contribute to a taxable REIT subsidiary (a “TRS”), otherwise attractive investments, and we may be unable to pursue investments that would be otherwise advantageous to us in order to satisfy the source of income or asset diversification requirements for qualifying as a REIT. These actions could have the effect of reducing our income and amounts available for distribution to our stockholders. In addition, if we are compelled to liquidate our assets, such as to repay obligations to our lenders, this could impact our qualification with the REIT requirements, and we may be required to take actions to satisfy the REIT income, asset, or distribution tests, or else fail to qualify as a REIT. No assurance can be provided that we will satisfy these requirements under all circumstances. Furthermore, in order to meet the REIT distribution requirements, we may be required to: (i) sell assets in adverse market conditions, (ii) raise debt or equity on unfavorable terms, (iii) distribute amounts that would otherwise be invested in future acquisitions, capital expenditures or repayment of debt, (iv) make a taxable distribution of our shares as part of a distribution in which stockholders may elect to receive shares or (subject to a limit measured as a percentage of the total distribution) cash or (v) use cash reserves, in order to comply with the REIT distribution requirements and to avoid U.S. federal corporate income tax and the 4% non-deductible excise tax. Thus, compliance with the REIT distribution requirements may hinder our ability to grow, which could adversely affect the value of our common stock.

Even though we qualify for taxation as a REIT, we may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on our income and assets, including taxes on any undistributed income, tax on income from some activities conducted as a result of a foreclosure, and state or local income, franchise, property and transfer taxes, including mortgage recording taxes. In addition, any TRSs we own are subject to U.S. federal, state and local corporate income or franchise taxes. In order to meet the REIT qualification requirements, or to avoid the imposition of a 100% tax that applies to certain gains derived by a REIT from sales of inventory or property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business, we may hold some of our assets through TRSs. Any taxes paid by such TRSs would decrease the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

We may acquire mezzanine loans, which are loans secured by equity interests in a partnership or limited liability company that directly or indirectly owns real property. In IRS Revenue Procedure 2003-65, the IRS provided a safe harbor pursuant to which a mezzanine loan, if it meets each of the requirements contained in the Revenue Procedure, will be treated by

the IRS as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset tests, and interest derived from the mezzanine loan will be treated as qualifying mortgage interest for purposes of the REIT 75% gross income test. Although IRS Revenue Procedure 2003-65 provides a safe harbor on which taxpayers may rely, it does not prescribe rules of substantive tax law. We may acquire mezzanine loans that may not meet all of the requirements for reliance on this safe harbor. In the event we own a mezzanine loan that does not meet the safe harbor, the IRS could challenge such loan’s treatment as a real estate asset for purposes of the REIT asset and income tests, and if such a challenge were sustained, we could fail to qualify as a REIT. Further, we invest in assets such as C-PACE bonds and assessments, that we believe are secured by real property for purposes of the REIT income and asset tests but with respect to which no authority is directly on point. If the IRS were to successfully assert that such C-PACE assets are not qualifying assets for purposes of the REIT gross asset tests or do not generate qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, our REIT qualification could be adversely affected.

Further, under certain circumstances, interest from debt instruments that are secured by real property and other property is required to be apportioned between qualifying real estate interest and nonqualifying interest based on the principal amount of the debt instrument and the fair market value of the underlying real property. If debt instruments that we hold were to generate a greater amount of nonqualifying interest than we anticipate, we could fail to satisfy the REIT gross income test, and could lose our REIT qualification or be required to pay a penalty tax to preserve our REIT compliance.

To the extent we acquire debt investments in the secondary market for less than their face amount, the amount of such discount will generally be treated as “market discount” for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Market discount is generally accrued on the basis of a constant yield to maturity of a debt investment. Accrued market discount is reported as income when, and to the extent that, any payment of principal of the debt instrument is made, unless we elect to include accrued market discount in income as it accrues. Principal payments on certain loans are made monthly, and consequently accrued market discount may have to be included in income each month as if the debt investment was assured of ultimately being collected in full. If we collect less on the debt investment than our purchase price plus the market discount we had previously reported as income, we may not be able to benefit from any offsetting loss deductions.

Similarly, some of the debt investments that we acquire may have been issued with an original issue discount. We will generally be required to report such original issue discount based on a constant yield method and will be taxed based on the assumption that all future projected payments due on such debt investments will be made. If such debt investments turn out not to be fully collectible, an offsetting loss deduction will become available only in the later year that uncollectability is provable. In addition, in the event that any debt investments acquired by us are delinquent as to mandatory principal and interest payments, or in the event payments with respect to a particular debt investment are not made when due, we may nonetheless be required to continue to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income as it accrues, despite doubt as to its ultimate collectability. While we would in general ultimately have an offsetting loss deduction available to us when such interest was determined to be uncollectible, the utility of that deduction could depend on our having taxable income in that later year or thereafter. Although we do not presently intend to, we may, in the future, acquire debt investments that are subsequently modified by agreement with the borrower. If such amendments are “significant modifications” under the applicable Treasury Regulations, we may be required to recognize taxable income as a result of such amendments. In addition, we may be required to accelerate our accrual for U.S. federal income tax purposes of certain items of income to the extent that we would otherwise recognize such items of income for U.S. federal income tax purposes later than we would report such items on our financial statements. Finally, we may be required under the terms of indebtedness that we incur with private lenders to use cash received from interest payments to make principal payments on that indebtedness, with the effect of recognizing income but not having a corresponding amount of cash available for distribution to our stockholders. These circumstances could affect our ability to satisfy the REIT distribution requirements.

Securitizations by us or our subsidiaries could result in the creation of taxable mortgage pools for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, we could have “excess inclusion income.” Certain categories of stockholders, such as non-U.S. stockholders eligible for treaty or other benefits, U.S. stockholders with net operating losses, and certain U.S. tax-exempt stockholders that are subject to unrelated business income tax, could be subject to increased taxes on a portion of their dividend income from us that is attributable to any such excess inclusion income. In the case of a stockholder that is a REIT, a regulated investment company (a “RIC”), common trust fund or other pass-through entity, our allocable share of our excess inclusion income could be considered excess inclusion income of such entity. In addition, to the extent that our common stock is owned by U.S. tax-exempt “disqualified organizations,” such as certain government-related entities and charitable remainder trusts that are not subject to tax on unrelated business income, we may incur a corporate level tax on a portion of any excess inclusion income. Because this tax generally would be imposed on us, all of our stockholders, including stockholders that are not disqualified organizations, generally will bear a portion of the tax cost associated with the classification of us or a portion of our assets as a taxable mortgage pool. A RIC, or other pass-through entity owning our common stock in record name will be subject

to tax at the highest U.S. federal corporate income tax rate on any excess inclusion income allocated to their owners that are disqualified organizations. Moreover, we could face limitations in selling equity interests in these securitizations to outside investors, or selling any debt securities issued in connection with these securitizations that might be considered to be equity interests for tax purposes. Finally, if we were to fail to qualify as a REIT, any taxable mortgage pool securitizations would be treated as separate taxable corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes that could not be included in any consolidated U.S. federal corporate income tax return. These limitations may prevent us from using certain techniques to maximize our returns from securitization transactions.

Overall, no more than 20% of the value of a REIT’s total assets may consist of stock or securities of one or more TRSs. In order to satisfy the TRS limitation, we may make loans to our TRSs that meet the requirements to be treated as qualifying investments of new capital, which are generally treated as real estate assets under the Internal Revenue Code. Because such loans are treated as real estate assets for purposes of the REIT requirements, we do not treat these loans as TRS securities for purposes of the TRS asset limitation. However, no assurance can be provided that the IRS may not successfully assert that such loans should be treated as securities of our TRSs, which could adversely impact our qualification as a REIT. In addition, our TRSs have obtained financing in transactions in which we and our other subsidiaries have provided guaranties and similar credit support. Although we believe that these financings are properly treated as financings of our TRSs for U.S. federal income tax purposes, no assurance can be provided that the IRS would not assert that such financings should be treated as issued by other entities in our structure, which could impact our compliance with the TRS limitation and the other REIT requirements. While we will be monitoring the aggregate value of the securities of our TRSs and intend to conduct our affairs so that such securities will represent less than 20% of the value of our total assets, there can be no assurance that we will be able to comply with the TRS limitation in all market conditions.

Further, the TRS rules limit the deductibility of interest paid or accrued by a TRS to its parent REIT to assure that the TRS is subject to an appropriate level of corporate taxation. The rules also impose a 100% excise tax on certain transactions between a TRS and its parent REIT that are not conducted on an arm’s-length basis.

A REIT’s net income from prohibited transactions is subject to a 100% tax. In general, prohibited transactions are sales or other dispositions of property, other than foreclosure property, but including loans, held as inventory or primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business. We might be subject to this tax if we were to sell or securitize loans in a manner that was treated as a sale of the loans as inventory for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, in order to avoid the prohibited transactions tax, we may choose not to engage in certain sales of loans, other than through a TRS, and we may be required to limit the structures we use for our securitization transactions, even though such sales or structures might otherwise be beneficial for us.

The REIT provisions of the Internal Revenue Code may limit our ability to hedge our assets and operations. Under these provisions, any income that we generate from transactions intended to hedge our interest rate exposure will be excluded from gross income for purposes of the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests if (i) the instrument (A) hedges interest rate risk on liabilities used to carry or acquire real estate assets or certain other specified types of risk, or (B) hedges an instrument described in clause (A) for a period following the extinguishment of the liability or the disposition of the asset that was previously hedged by the hedged instrument, and (ii) such instrument is properly identified under applicable Treasury Regulations. Income from hedging transactions that do not meet these requirements will generally constitute non-qualifying income for purposes of both the REIT 75% and 95% gross income tests. As a result of these rules, we may have to limit our use of hedging techniques that might otherwise be advantageous or implement those hedges through a TRS. This could increase the cost of our hedging activities because our TRS would be subject to tax on gains or the limits on our use of hedging techniques could expose us to greater risks associated with changes in interest rates than we would otherwise want to bear. In addition, losses in our TRS will generally not provide any tax benefit to us, although subject to limitation, such losses may be carried forward to offset future taxable income of the TRS.

The U.S. federal income tax laws and regulations governing REITs and their stockholders, as well as the administrative interpretations of those laws and regulations, are constantly under review and may be changed at any time, possibly with retroactive effect. No assurance can be given as to whether, when, or in what form, the U.S. federal income tax laws applicable to us and our stockholders may be enacted. Changes to the U.S. federal income tax laws and interpretations of U.S. federal tax laws could adversely affect an investment in our common stock.

We urge you to consult your tax advisor concerning the effects of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax laws to you regarding an investment in shares of our common stock.

PART II

Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “HASI.”

As of February 16, 2023, we had 165 registered holders of our common stock. The 165 holders of record do not include the beneficial owners of our common stock whose shares are held by a broker or bank. Such information was obtained from The Depository Trust Company.

The stock performance graph and table below shall not be deemed, under the Securities Act or the Exchange Act, to be (i) “soliciting material” or “filed” or (ii) incorporated by reference by any general statement into any filing made by us with the SEC, except to the extent that we specifically incorporate such stock performance graph and table by reference.

 

The table below summarizes all of our repurchases of common stock during 2022.

(1)    During the year ended December 31, 2022, certain of our employees surrendered common stock owned by them to satisfy their tax and other compensation related withholdings associated with the vesting of restricted stock and restricted stock units. Non-controlling interest holders exchanged 2,777 OP units for the same number of shares of common stock during the year ended December 31, 2022. The price paid per share is based on the closing price of our common stock as of the date of the exchange and withholding.

Item 6.    [Reserved]

None.

We completed approximately $1.8 billion of transactions during 2022, compared to approximately $1.7 billion during 2021. As of December 31, 2022, we held approximately $4.3 billion of transactions on our balance sheet, which we refer to as our “Portfolio.” For those transactions that we choose not to hold on our balance sheet, we transfer all or a portion of the economics of the transaction, typically using securitization trusts, to institutional investors in exchange for cash and/or residual interests in the assets and in some cases, ongoing fees. As of December 31, 2022, we managed approximately $5.5 billion in these trusts or vehicles that are not consolidated on our balance sheet. When we combine these assets with our Portfolio, as of December 31, 2022, we manage approximately $9.8 billion of assets, which we refer to as our “Managed Assets”.

Our investments take many forms, including equity, joint ventures, land ownership, lending, or other financing transactions. We also generate ongoing fees through off-balance sheet securitization transactions, advisory services, and asset management. We use borrowings as part of our strategy to increase potential returns to our stockholders and we have available a broad range of financing sources including non-recourse or recourse debt, equity and off-balance sheet securitization structures.

See Item 1. Business for a further discussion of our business, investing strategy, and financing strategy.

Portfolio Size

The size of our Portfolio will be a key driver of revenue. Generally, as the size of our Portfolio on our balance sheet grows the amount of our revenue will increase. Our Portfolio may grow at an uneven pace as opportunities to originate new assets may be irregularly timed, and the timing and extent of our success in such originations cannot be predicted. To the extent the size of our Portfolio changes due to equity method investment activity, the income or loss from such investments will not be included in revenue but are reflected as income (loss) from equity method investments in our income statement and will vary over time. In addition, we may decide for any particular asset that we should securitize or otherwise sell a portion, or all, of the asset, which would result in gain on sale of receivables and investments or fee income as described below. The level of portfolio activity will fluctuate from period to period based upon the market demand for the capital we provide, our view of economic fundamentals including interest rates, the present mix of our Portfolio, our ability to identify new opportunities that meet our investment criteria, the volume of projects that have advanced to stages where we believe a transaction is appropriate, seasonality in our activities and in the various projects where we may provide debt or equity and our ability to consummate the identified opportunities, including as a result of our available capital. The level of our new origination activity, the percentage of the originations that we choose to retain on our balance sheet and the related income, will directly impact our interest and rental revenue and income from equity method investments.

Income from Securitization, Syndication and Other Services

We earn gain on sale of financial assets or fee income by securitizing or selling all or a portion of certain transactions. For transactions that we securitize via a non-consolidated trust, we recognize a gain on the securitization. The gain may be comprised of either or both cash received and a residual interest in securitized assets. We may also recognize additional income from servicing fees from these securitized assets over the life of the asset. We view the revenue from such activities as a valuable component of our earnings and an important source of franchise value.

In many cases, we arrange the securitization of the loan or other asset prior to originating the transaction and thus avoid exposure to credit spread and interest rate risks. In these cases, we avoid funding risks for these financings or other assets given that our securitization partners contractually agree to fund such assets before the origination transaction is completed.

We also generate fee income for syndications where we arrange financings that are held by other investors or if we sell existing transactions to other investors. In these transactions, unless we decide to hold a portion of the economic interest of the transaction on our balance sheet, we have no exposure to risks related to ownership of those financings. We may charge advisory, retainer or other fees, including through our broker dealer subsidiary.

The total amount of income from securitizations, syndications, and other services will vary from quarter to quarter depending on various factors, including the level of our originations, the duration, credit quality and types of assets we originate, current and anticipated future interest rates, the impact on our leverage, the mix of our Portfolio and our need to tailor our mix of assets in order to allow us to qualify as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes and maintain our exemption from registration under the 1940 Act.

Credit Risks

We source and identify quality opportunities within our broad areas of expertise and apply our rigorous underwriting processes to our transactions, which, we believe, will generally enable us to minimize our credit losses and maintain our current level of financing costs. In the case of various renewable energy and other sustainable infrastructure projects, we will be exposed to the credit risk of the obligor of the project’s PPA or other long-term contractual revenue commitments, as well as to the credit risk of certain suppliers and project operators. While we do not anticipate facing significant credit risk in our assets related to government energy efficiency projects, we are subject to varying degrees of credit risk in these projects in relation to payment guarantees provided by ESCOs that are required in the event that certain energy savings are not realized by the customer. We are also exposed to credit risk in our other projects that do not benefit from governments as the obligor such as on balance sheet financing of projects undertaken by universities, schools and hospitals, as well as privately owned commercial projects. We have extended mezzanine loans to various special purpose entities which own residential or community solar projects, and the ultimate repayment of those loans is dependent on the creditworthiness of the related residential obligors. As a result of investing in these and other mezzanine loans, we are exposed to additional credit risk. In certain instances interest is paid on our mezzanine loans in-kind, which increases our outstanding loan balances and causes the ultimate repayment of cash to occur later. We seek to manage credit risk through thorough due diligence and underwriting processes, strong structural protections in our transaction agreements with customers and continual, active asset management and portfolio monitoring. Nevertheless, unanticipated credit losses could occur and during periods of economic downturn in the global economy, our exposure to credit risks from obligors increases, and our efforts to monitor and mitigate the associated risks may not be effective in reducing our credit losses. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Credit Risks for further information on our credit risks and see Note 6 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for additional detail of the credit risks surrounding our Portfolio.

Changes in Market Interest Rates and Liquidity

Interest rate risk is highly sensitive to many factors, including governmental monetary and tax policies, domestic and international economic and political considerations and other factors beyond our control. We are subject to interest rate risk in connection with new asset originations and our borrowings, including our revolving credit facilities, and in the future, to the extent we choose to enter into any new floating rate assets, revolving credit facilities or other borrowings. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for further information on interest rates risks and liquidity.

Commodity Prices

When we make investments in a project that act as a substitute for an underlying commodity, we may be exposed to volatility in prices for that commodity. For example, the performance of renewable energy projects that produce electricity can be impacted by volatility in the market prices of various forms of energy, including electricity, coal and natural gas. This is especially true for utility scale projects that sell power on a wholesale basis such as many of our Grid-Connected projects as opposed to Behind-the-Meter projects which compete against the retail or delivered costs of electricity which includes the cost of transmitting and distributing the electricity to the end user. See Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk for further information on the impact of commodity prices.

Government Policies

We make investments in renewable energy projects that typically depend in part on various federal, state or local governmental policies that support or enhance the project’s economic feasibility. Such policies may include governmental initiatives, laws and regulations designed to reduce energy usage and impact the use of renewable energy or the investment in, and the use of, climate solutions. Policies and incentives provided by the U.S. federal government may include tax credits (with some of these tax credits that are related to renewable energy scheduled to be reduced or eliminated in the future), tax deductions, bonus depreciation, federal grants and loan guarantees, and energy market regulations. The value of tax credits, deductions and incentives and how they can be realized may be impacted by changes in tax laws, rates, or regulations.

Incentives provided by state and local governments may include an RPS or similar clean energy standard, which specify the portion of the power utilized by local utilities that must be derived from renewable or clean energy sources as well as the state or local government sponsored programs where the financing of energy efficiency or renewable energy projects is repaid through an assessment in the property tax bill in a program commonly referred to as PACE. Additionally, certain states have implemented feed-in or net metering tariffs, pursuant to which electricity generated from renewable energy sources is purchased at a higher rate than prevailing wholesale rates. Other incentives include tariffs, tax incentives and other cash and non-cash payments.

Governmental agencies, commercial entities and developers of climate solutions projects frequently depend on these policies and incentives to help defray the costs of various projects. Government regulations also impact the terms of third party financing provided to support these projects. If any of these government policies, incentives or regulations are adversely amended, delayed, eliminated, reduced, retroactively changed or not extended beyond their current expiration dates or there is a

negative impact from the recent federal law changes or proposals, the operating results of the projects we finance and the demand for, and the returns available from our investments may decline, which could harm our business.

Scenario 1 - Global action is taken to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels

Scenario 1 - Global action is taken to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and

Scenario 2 - Global temperatures increase more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Our financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires the use of estimates and assumptions that involve the exercise of judgment and use of assumptions as to future uncertainties. The following discussion addresses the accounting policies that we use including areas that involve the use of significant estimates. Our most critical accounting policies involve decisions and assessments that could affect our reported assets and liabilities, as well as our reported revenues and expenses. We believe that all of the decisions and assessments upon which our financial statements are based are reasonable at the time made and based upon information available to us at that time. Our critical accounting policies and accounting estimates may be expanded over time. Those material accounting policies and estimates that we expect to be most critical to an investor’s understanding of our financial results and condition and require complex management judgment are discussed below. See Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for further details on our accounting policies.

We evaluate our critical accounting estimates and judgments on an ongoing basis and update them, as necessary, based on changing conditions.

We have identified the following accounting policies as critical because they require significant judgments and assumptions about highly complex and inherently uncertain matters and the use of reasonably different estimates and assumptions could have a material impact on our reported results of operations or financial condition.

Consolidation

Equity Method Investments

For our non-consolidated equity investments, we generally determine our income allocations under the equity method of accounting based on the change in our claim on net assets of the investee entity as reported by the investee using a method commonly referred to as the hypothetical liquidation at book value method or (“HLBV”). This method uses a hypothetical liquidation scenario that may require judgment in its application and could have a material impact on our reported financial results. Any changes in this method of application or in certain assumptions could either increase or decrease our net income and the carrying value of the assets accounted for under this method. We further discuss our process for applying this method of income allocations in Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.

Impairment of our Portfolio

We evaluate the various assets in our Portfolio on at least a quarterly basis, and more frequently when economic or other conditions warrant such an evaluation, for delinquencies or other events that may indicate a potential impairment or specific consideration in the development of the allowance for credit losses. For our equity method investments and real estate, if an impairment charge is deemed appropriate it would be recorded in our income statement and reduce our net income. In addition, for our receivables, we make judgments about our expected losses related to the receivables in our Portfolio and record an allowance for credit losses on such receivables with a provision for loss on receivables in our income statement. We further discuss our process for evaluating these judgments in Note 2 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.

Securitization of Financial Assets

For a comparison of our results of operations for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2021 and December 31, 2020, see “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on February 22, 2022.

We completed approximately $1.8 billion of transactions during 2022, compared to approximately $1.7 billion during 2021. Our strategy includes holding a large portion of these transactions on our balance sheet. We refer to the transactions we hold on our balance sheet as of a given date as our “Portfolio”. Our Portfolio was approximately $4.3 billion as of December 31, 2022 and $3.6 billion December 31, 2021.

Portfolio

Our Portfolio totaled approximately $4.3 billion as of December 31, 2022, and included approximately $2.4 billion of BTM assets and approximately $1.7 billion of GC assets. Approximately 43% of our Portfolio consisted of unconsolidated equity investments in renewable energy related projects. Approximately 48% consisted of fixed-rate government and commercial receivables and debt securities, which are classified as investments, on our balance sheet and approximately 9% of our Portfolio was real estate leased to renewable energy projects under long-term operating lease agreements. Our Portfolio consisted of over 340 transactions with an average size of $12 million and the weighted average remaining life of our Portfolio (excluding match-funded transactions) of approximately 17 years as of December 31, 2022.

The table below provides details on the interest rate and maturity of our receivables and debt securities as of December 31, 2022:

See Note 6 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K for information on:

For information on our securitization assets relating to our securitization trusts, see Note 5 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K. The securitization assets do not have a contractual maturity date and the underlying securitized assets have contractual maturity dates until 2058.

Comparison of the Year Ended December 31, 2022 to the Year Ended December 31, 2021

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

We consider the following non-GAAP financial measures useful to investors as key supplemental measures of our performance: (1) distributable earnings, (2) distributable net investment income, and (3) managed assets. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered along with, but not as alternatives to, net income or loss as measures of our operating performance. These non-GAAP financial measures, as calculated by us, may not be comparable to similarly named financial measures as reported by other companies that do not define such terms exactly as we define such terms.

are allocated losses in proportion to the tax benefits received, while the sponsors of the project are allocated gains of a similar amount. The investment tax credit available for election in solar projects is a one-time credit realized in the quarter when the project is considered operational for tax purposes and is fully allocated under HLBV in that quarter (subject to an impairment test), while the production tax credit required for wind projects and electable for solar projects is a ten-year credit and thus is allocated under HLBV over a ten year period. In addition, the agreed upon allocations of the project’s cash flows may differ materially from the profit and loss allocation used for the HLBV calculations in a given period. We also consider the impact of any OTTI in determining our income from equity method investments.

Distributable earnings does not represent cash generated from operating activities in accordance with GAAP and should not be considered as an alternative to net income (determined in accordance with GAAP), or an indication of our cash flow from operating activities (determined in accordance with GAAP), or a measure of our liquidity, or an indication of funds available to fund our cash needs, including our ability to make cash distributions. In addition, our methodology for calculating distributable earnings may differ from the methodologies employed by other companies to calculate the same or similar supplemental performance measures, and accordingly, our reported distributable earnings may not be comparable to similar metrics reported by other companies.

We have calculated our distributable earnings for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020. The table below provides a reconciliation of our GAAP net income to distributable earnings:

The following is a reconciliation of our GAAP-based net investment income to our distributable net investment income for the years ended December 31, 2022, 2021 and 2020:

Managed Assets

As we both consolidate assets on our balance sheet and securitize assets off-balance sheet, certain of our receivables and other assets are not reflected on our balance sheet where we may have a residual interest in the performance of the investment, such as servicing rights or a retained interest in cash flows. Thus, we present our investments on a non-GAAP “Managed Assets” basis, which assumes that securitized receivables are not sold. We believe that our Managed Asset information is useful to investors because it portrays the amount of both on- and off-balance sheet receivables that we manage, which enables investors to understand and evaluate the credit performance associated with our portfolio of receivables, investments and residual assets in off-balance sheet securitized receivables. Our management also uses Managed Assets in this way. Our non-GAAP Managed Assets measure may not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies.

The following is a reconciliation of our GAAP-based Portfolio to our Managed Assets as of December 31, 2022 and 2021:

Other Measures and Metrics

As discussed in Item 1. Business, as part of our investment process, we calculate the estimated metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions, or carbon emissions avoided by our investments by applying emissions factor data from the U.S. Government or the International Energy Administration to an estimate of a project’s energy production or savings to compute an estimate of metric tons of carbon emissions avoided. We then determine the metric tons of carbon emissions avoided per thousand dollars of investments, in a calculation we refer to as CarbonCount, which enables us to measure the impact our investments have on reducing carbon emissions. We estimate that our investments originated in 2022 will reduce annual carbon emissions by approximately 600 thousand metric tons, equating to a CarbonCount of 0.35.

In assessing our performance and results of operations, we also consider the impact of our operations on the environment. We utilize the carbon emissions categorizations established by the World Resources Institute Greenhouse Gas Protocol Corporate Standards (“Standards”) to set goals and calculate our estimated emissions. The categorizations are as follows:

As part of our broader human capital strategy, we monitor and disclose certain metrics which help us understand our workforce and our progress in fostering a diverse and inclusive work environment. As of December 31, 2022, we employed 112 people full-time, 2 person part-time, and 10 people as independent contractors. The average tenure of our employees as of December 31, 2022, was approximately 4.18 years, and more than 34% of our employees had been employed by us for more than 4 years. For the year ended December 31, 2022, we had a voluntary employee turnover rate of 7%. There were no retirements or resignations related to ill health.

As discussed in Item 1. Business - Human Capital and Social Strategy, we are undertaking studies and are focused on continuing to increase the diversity of our workforce at all levels of our organization and are in the process of developing goals to enhance diversity and inclusion. These metrics are and will continue to be actively managed and will be reported along with the results of the studies to our executive leadership as well as our Board.

Metrics surrounding the diversity and inclusion of our workforce are shown below:

Of both our workforce and our managerial roles, 3% represent as LGBTQ. In addition to diversity of gender and ethnic background, we also value diversity of thought, with 64% of our leadership team and 78% of our Board possessing degrees outside the fields of business or economics, including in science and engineering, liberal and fine arts, and law.

We also continue to utilize off-balance sheet securitization transactions, where we transfer the loans or other assets we originate to securitization trusts or other bankruptcy remote special purpose funding vehicles that are not consolidated on our balance sheet. We have continued to complete off-balance sheet securitization transactions with large institutional investors such as life insurance companies. As of December 31, 2022, the outstanding principal balance of our assets financed through the use of these off-balance sheet transactions was approximately $5.5 billion.

The decision on how we finance specific assets or groups of assets is largely driven by risk and portfolio and financial management considerations, including the potential for gain on sale or fee income, as well as the overall interest rate environment, prevailing credit spreads and the terms of available financing and market conditions. During periods of market disruptions, certain sources of financing may be more readily accessible than others which may impact our financing decisions. Over time, as market conditions change, we may use other forms of debt and equity in addition to these financing arrangements.

The amount of financial leverage we may deploy for particular assets will depend upon the availability of particular types of financing and our assessment of the credit, liquidity, price volatility and other risks of those assets, and the interest rate environment. As shown in the table below, our debt to equity ratio was approximately 1.8 to 1 as of December 31, 2022, which is below our current board-approved leverage limit of up to 2.5 to 1. Our percentage of fixed rate debt was approximately 86% as of December 31, 2022, which is within our board-approved targeted fixed rate debt percentage range of 75% to 100%.

The calculation of our fixed-rate debt and financial leverage as of December 31, 2022 and 2021 is shown in the chart below:

Sources and Uses of Cash

We had approximately $176 million and $251 million in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash as of December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Cash Flows Relating to Operating Activities

Net cash provided by operating activities was approximately $13 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, driven primarily by net income of $127 million, less adjustments for non-cash and other items of $114 million. The non-cash and other adjustments consisted of decreases of $94 million related to equity method investments, $48 million related to non-cash gain on securitization, $22 million related to changes in receivables held for sale, and $7 million in accrued interest and other. These were partially offset by increases of $17 million for equity based compensation, $14 million of non-cash loss on debt extinguishment, $11 million of changes in accounts payable and accrued expenses, $11 million in amortization of financing costs, and $4 million of depreciation and amortization.

Cash Flows Relating to Investing Activities

funded escrow accounts of $12 million. These were offset by collected payments of $149 million from receivables and fixed rate debt securities and the receipt of $91 million from the sale of financial assets. We also collected $21 million from equity method investments in excess of income recognized to date under GAAP, withdrew $2 million from escrow accounts, and had other cash inflows of $6 million.

Cash Flows Relating to Financing Activities

U.S. federal income tax law generally requires that a REIT distribute annually at least 90% of its REIT taxable income, without regard to the deduction for dividends paid and excluding net capital gains, and that it pays tax at regular corporate rates to the extent that it annually distributes less than 100% of its REIT taxable income. Our current policy is to pay quarterly distributions, which on an annual basis will equal or exceed substantially all of our REIT taxable income. The taxable income of the REIT can vary from our GAAP earnings due to a number of different factors including the book to tax timing differences of income and expense recognition from our transactions as well as the amount of taxable income of our TRS distributed to the REIT. See Note 10 to our financial statements in this Form 10-K regarding the amount of our distributions that are treated as ordinary taxable income to our stockholders.

The dividends declared in 2022 and 2021 are described in Note 11 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.

As of December 31, 2022, we carried only our investments and residual assets in securitized financial assets at fair value on our balance sheet. As a result, in reviewing our book value, there are a number of important factors and limitations to consider. Other than our investments and the residual assets in securitized financial assets that are carried on our balance sheet at fair value as of December 31, 2022, the carrying value of our remaining assets and liabilities are calculated as of a particular point in time, which is largely determined at the time such assets and liabilities were added to our balance sheet using a cost basis in accordance with GAAP, adjusted for income or loss recognized on such assets. Other than the allowance for current expected credit losses applied to our commercial and government receivables, our remaining assets and liabilities do not incorporate other factors that may have a significant impact on their value, most notably any impact of business activities, changes in estimates, or changes in general economic conditions, interest rates or commodity prices since the dates the assets or liabilities were initially recorded. Accordingly, our book value does not necessarily represent an estimate of our net realizable value, liquidation value or our fair market value.

Credit Risks

Interest Rate and Borrowing Risks

Our senior term loan is a variable rate loan with an outstanding balance of $383 million, and our revolving credit facilities are variable rate lines of credit with approximately $50 million outstanding as of December 31, 2022. Increases in interest rates would result in higher interest expense while decreases in interest rates would result in lower interest expense. As described above, we may use various financing techniques including interest rate swap agreements, interest rate cap agreements or other financial instruments, or a combination of these strategies to mitigate the variable interest nature of these facilities. A 50 basis point increase in benchmark interest rates would increase the quarterly interest expense related to the $431 million in variable rate borrowings by $538 thousand. Such hypothetical impact of interest rates on our variable rate borrowings does not consider the effect of any change in overall economic activity that could occur in a rising interest rate environment. Further, in the event of such a change in interest rates, we may take actions to further mitigate our exposure to such a change. However, due to the uncertainty of the specific actions that would be taken and their possible effects, the analysis assumes no changes in our financial structure.

We record certain of our assets at fair value in our financial statements and any changes in the discount rate would impact the value of these assets. See Note 3 to our audited financial statements in this Form 10-K.

Environmental Risks

Our business is impacted by the effects of climate change and various related regulatory responses. We discuss the risks and opportunities associated with the impacts of climate change in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Impact of climate change on our future operations. This discussion outlines potential qualitative impacts to our business, quantitative illustrations of sensitivity as well as our strategy and resilience to these risks and opportunities.

Our ongoing active asset management and portfolio monitoring processes provide investment oversight and valuable insight into our origination, underwriting and structuring processes. These processes create value through active monitoring of the state of our markets, enforcement of existing contracts and asset management. As described above, we engage in a variety of interest rate management techniques that seek to mitigate the economic effect of interest rate changes on the values of, and returns on, some of our assets. While we have written off only two transactions, amounting to approximately $19 million (net of recoveries) on the approximately $10 billion of debt and real estate transactions we have originated since 2012, which represents an aggregate loss of approximately 0.2% on cumulative transactions originated over this time period, there can be no assurance that we will continue to be as successful, particularly as we invest in more credit sensitive assets or more equity investments and engage in increasing numbers of transactions with obligors other than U.S. federal government agencies. We seek to manage credit risk using thorough due diligence and underwriting processes, strong structural protections in our agreements with customers and continual, active asset management and portfolio monitoring. Additionally, we have a Finance and Risk Committee of our Board which discusses and reviews policies and guidelines with respect to our risk assessment and risk management for various risks, including, but not limited to, our interest rate, counter party, credit, capital availability, and refinancing risks. As it relates to environmental risks, when we underwrite and structure our investments the environmental risks and opportunities are an integral consideration to our investment parameters. While we cannot fully protect our investments, we seek to mitigate these risks by using third party experts to conduct engineering and weather analysis and insurance reviews as appropriate. Weather related risks are at times managed in cooperation with our clients where they buy offsetting power positions to mitigate power market disruptions or operational impacts. Once a transaction has closed we continue to monitor the environmental risks to the Portfolio. We further discuss our strategy to managing these risks in Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations - Impact of climate change on our future operations.

HANNON ARMSTRONG SUSTAINABLE INFRASTRUCTURE CAPITAL, INC.

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME

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CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY

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