Green REITs, MLPs and Up-Cs

Over the last several years, a confluence of political and market developments have made capital for renewable energy projects harder to come by, which has affected the ability of unregulated affiliates of public utilities (unregulated utilities) to finance or refinance new and existing renewable energy projects. As unregulated utilities search for capital, they are increasingly considering the use of tax-efficient public capital vehicles such as real estate investment trusts (REIT), master limited partnerships (MLP), and umbrella partnership C corporations (Up-Cs). These three vehicles have important similarities and differences, and they can play a helpful role in satisfying the current and future capital needs of unregulated utilities.