At Bernhard, we take pride in our standing as the leading innovator in the U.S. energy services industry. While a significant part of that innovation resides within our engineering and construction divisions, our team is equally advanced in concepts related to tax, financing, commercial energy efficiency financing, and customer accounting. Our goal in each transaction is to craft a structure that best meets the customer’s key objectives and thereby delivers the most ideal outcome. This involves a robust technical plan coupled with the right financing strategy to deliver the lowest annual cost to the customer.
Bernhard has financed, facilitated, or assisted in the financing of all types of energy conservation and infrastructure renewal programs.
- Energy Savings Performance Contracts
- Energy Asset Concessions
- Public-Private Partnerships
- Cooperative Endeavor Agreements
- Energy Savings Agreements
- Power Purchase Agreements
Our Approach
As a result of our experience, we are intimately familiar with a variety of financing mechanisms including tax-exempt bonds, taxable bonds, certificates of participation, and lease financing arrangements including tax-exempt leases. We have learned that each of these funding mechanisms has its advantages and disadvantages, specifically interest rate or bond coupon, costs of issuance, underwriting fees, governance requirements, and debt service covenants.
The right financing method for a specific project is dependent on project specific circumstances and constraints including, statutory and regulatory requirements, credit rating, indentures, lender consent, Unrelated Business Income Subject to Taxation (UBIT), private use, and much more.
Selecting the most favorable method for a specific application requires a comprehensive, rigorous, and collaborative analysis by a multi-discipline team. Bernhard purposefully includes key individuals with the technical, legal, accounting, tax, and finance experience needed to ensure this project is financed in the most cost-effective manner. Effectively, our thoughtful approach incorporates the use of low rates.
Bernhard also privately funds infrastructure renewal projects for large building owners, using vehicles such as an energy asset concession arrangement or Design-Build-Finance-Own-Operate-Maintain (DBFOOM). These transactions typically involve a lease of public assets; a sale of the tax ownership of the underlying public assets; a design-build agreement; a performance guarantee; and a long-term service agreement.
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