Before you circulate a project finance model to lenders, it pays to know what the credit team will test first.
Structure & transparency
Lenders expect a clear separation of construction, operations, and financing tabs; documented macros; and a cash waterfall that ties to the term sheet.
We recommend a short assumptions memo alongside the model — especially for production, degradation, and O&M escalation.
Assumptions that get challenged
Production P50/P90, curtailment, merchant tail assumptions, and tax equity structure are scrutinized on every deal.
Outputs to include
- Project IRR, equity IRR, and DSCR profiles
- Sensitivity tables on production, capex, and rate
- Drawdown schedule aligned to EPC milestones
- Covenant headroom under base and downside cases
Next steps
An independent model audit or a quick pre-review can surface issues before the lender does.