Community Solar Project Pro Forma
An institutional-grade project model for community and shared solar: subscriber revenue, anchor offtake, ITC with adders, debt sized to your DSCR, and returns you can defend to a lender or buyer.
What it answers
Built around the decisions developers and analysts at small and mid-size community solar companies actually make.
- Go or no-go. Whether the project clears your hurdle rate at today's capex and bill credit rates.
- Debt capacity. How much debt the project supports at your target DSCR and tenor.
- Tax credit value. What each ITC adder is worth to returns, and what transferability pricing does to cash.
- Subscriber economics. How much discount, churn and bad debt the project can absorb.
- Pricing a sale. What to ask or bid for the project at NTP or COD.
What's inside
Sixteen tabs, every one built from formulas. Inputs in blue, no macros, no circular references, and a checks tab that ties everything out.
- Inputs
- Every assumption in one place, with units, valid ranges and notes: size, production, subscriber mix, bill credit and post-program rates, costs, tax credits, depreciation, debt and valuation.
- Production
- Capacity, inverter loading ratio and annual net production after degradation, availability, curtailment and an optional P90 haircut.
- Revenue
- Residential, LMI and anchor subscriber revenue, bad debt, unsubscribed energy, REC revenue and post-program revenue.
- Operating costs
- O&M, asset management, insurance, property tax or PILOT, land lease, subscriber management and churn, inverter replacement and decommissioning.
- Capex
- Project cost by line item in $/W-DC and $/W-AC, with sources and uses.
- Tax credits
- Base credit plus adders, eligibility tested against the dates and deadlines you enter, and transfer pricing and timing.
- Depreciation and tax
- MACRS with bonus, basis reduction, and income tax unlevered and levered, with or without loss carryforward.
- Debt
- Term debt sculpted to your target DSCR and capped by gearing, in closed form.
- Cash flow
- Annual waterfall from revenue to project and equity cash flow.
- Outputs
- Project and equity IRR, NPV, nominal and real LCOE, DSCR, payback, sources and uses, and two charts.
- Sensitivities
- Equity IRR grids for project cost against bill credit rate and production against subscriber discount, credits on and off at three transfer prices, and NPV across discount rates.
- Checks
- Fourteen integrity checks with one master flag that turns green only when all pass.
Built for
- Developers screening and pricing community solar projects
- Analysts who need a clean, documented base model
- Investors checking a seller's numbers
Not built for
- Residential solar
- Tax equity partnership flips
- Utility-scale merchant projects
Build it, hire it, or buy it
| Build from scratch | Hire a consultant | Hillcrest model | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Your time | $5,000 to $15,000 | $499, or tailored from $2,500 |
| Time to first answer | 1 to 3 weeks | 2 to 6 weeks | Same day |
| Documentation | Rarely | Varies | Full user guide and sample case |
| You can audit every formula | Yes | Sometimes | Yes, fully unlocked |
Questions
Which versions of Excel does it work in?
Microsoft 365 and Excel 2019 or later, on Windows or Mac. There are no macros. It is built for Excel; Google Sheets is not supported.
What tax credit assumptions does it use?
Credit rates, adders and transferability pricing are inputs, so you set them to current law and your deal. The user guide explains each one and where to confirm it.
Can I use it for more than one project?
Yes: unlimited projects within one company, for up to three named users. Larger teams are covered by a Professional engagement, which includes an organization-wide license.
Do I get updates?
Yes, free for 12 months. We email a new version when inputs or structure change.
What if something is wrong?
Email us. If there is an error we cannot fix within 14 days of purchase, we refund you in full. See the terms.
Can you tailor it to my deal?
Yes. Professional engagements set the model up on your first deal and train your team, from $2,500. Institutional builds tailored to your structure start at $7,500. See team and institutional options.
Community Solar Project Pro Forma
Underwrite a community solar project from subscriber revenue to equity returns.