Water Wise Solar: building the capital strategy for floating solar in the West

Client

Water Wise Solar Solutions

Sector

Floating solar on reservoirs, ponds and other water sites

Region

Utah and the Intermountain West

Engagement

Development and financial advisory, 2026

Alpen practice

Secure the license to build

Water Wise Solar puts solar arrays on reservoirs and ponds, conserving water by cutting evaporation and avoiding the cost of land. As a new developer in the asset class, it needed a financing structure investors would underwrite, a financial model that would hold up to scrutiny, and introductions to capital partners and power buyers.

Alpen stress-tested and rebuilt the project financial model, including the tax credit treatment, debt schedule, reserves, land lease and development fees, and built an investor waterfall. We compared two deal structures and found that transferring the tax credit produced a cleaner waterfall than a tax equity partnership flip.

We then tested the model in conversations with equity investors, lenders, utilities and project finance practitioners, and turned what we heard into an insights report covering return expectations, debt limits, pricing benchmarks and the objections a buyer or lender is likely to raise.

Water Wise adopted Alpen’s recommended structure: a dedicated LLC for each project to attract near-term capital and build a track record, with developer fees funding corporate overhead. Alpen introduced the team to capital partners, utilities and potential power buyers, generating deal opportunities that Water Wise went on to secure.