Case study · 06

Making a Renewable Energy Pipeline Bankable

How an African renewable energy developer's stalled pipeline was triaged and rebuilt to reach financial close within eleven months, unlocking a nine-figure investment.

Sector: Renewable energy development
Engagement: Project finance advisory
Region: Africa

Eleven monthsTime to financial close

Nine-figure investmentCombined investment unlocked

Both priority projectsProjects reached financial close

01 The Problem

The operating constraint behind the numbers

An African renewable energy developer held a promising pipeline of solar and storage projects yet repeatedly stalled before financial close. Lender diligence kept surfacing the same gaps in land documentation, offtake certainty and construction contracting, and each failed process consumed a year.

02 The Evidence

The evidence leadership could act on

Time to Financial Close

Previous failed process~1 year (failed)

Priority projects (rebuilt)11 months (closed)

Source: each failed process consumed a year. ... Both priority projects reached financial close within eleven months, the developer's first, unlocking a combined nine figure investment, and development cost per project fell as late stage rework disappeared.

03 The Kingswell Response

What changed in the management system

Audit and triage the pipeline

The pipeline was audited against development finance lending standards and triaged into projects worth fixing, projects needing restructuring and projects to release.

Rebuild priority projects to lender requirements

The two priority projects were rebuilt to lender requirements across documentation, contracting structure and risk allocation.

Install a standard development playbook

A standard development playbook with document automation was installed for everything behind them.

04 What Remained

The management system installed

Standard development playbook

Document automation

05 The Result

What the organisation could do next

The pipeline was audited against development finance lending standards and triaged into projects worth fixing, projects needing restructuring and projects to release. The two priority projects were rebuilt to lender requirements across documentation, contracting structure and risk allocation, and a standard development playbook with document automation was installed for everything behind them. Both priority projects reached financial close within eleven months, the developer's first, unlocking a combined nine figure investment, and development cost per project fell as late stage rework disappeared.