How Insurance Companies Can Lead the Clean Energy Transition
Sunwealth’s rooftop solar project for the Dorchester Bay Economic Development Corporation in Dorchester, Massachusetts.
As the world accelerates toward a low-carbon future, the role of the insurance industry in driving the clean energy transition cannot be overstated. With their capacity to manage risk, deploy capital, and influence market behavior, insurers hold the key to fostering a resilient and sustainable economy. At Sunwealth, we see this potential firsthand through our work financing impactful community-based commercial solar-plus-storage projects. To scale solutions like ours, the involvement of insurance companies is not just desirable—it’s essential.
The Opportunity for Insurers
The recently published Ceres 10-Point Plan for the Insurance Industry outlines a roadmap for insurers to align with climate goals. It calls on insurers to integrate climate considerations into their underwriting, risk management, and investment strategies. By directing their financial resources toward clean energy infrastructure, insurers can play a pivotal role in de-risking renewable energy investments and catalyzing widespread adoption.
At Sunwealth, our Solar Tax Equity offering demonstrates how impactful these partnerships can be. By partnering with Sunwealth, insurers receive access to a diversified portfolio of community-based solar-plus-storage projects that deliver both financial returns and measurable environmental benefits. Insurers’ participation can amplify the impact, leveraging their financial strength and expertise to help us reach underserved markets and scale community-based clean energy solutions.
Why Community-Based Solar?
Investing in community-based solar-plus-storage offers insurers a unique opportunity to align their portfolios with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) objectives. These projects directly benefit local businesses, schools, and nonprofits while providing predictable returns and mitigating climate risk. At Sunwealth, our focus on small- to medium-scale solar installations has proven that clean energy can be inclusive, profitable, and scalable—an ideal fit for insurers seeking both impact and stability.
How Insurers Can Get Involved
Capital Deployment: Invest via Tax Equity and capitalize on solar tax credits, depreciation benefits, and steady cash flows, achieving an after-tax IRR of 20% or higher.
Risk Management: Solar has proven to be a safe investment with a historical default rate below 1%. Sunwealth has a proven 10 year track record with no defaults.
Achieve Sustainability and Community Impact Goals: 57% of Sunwealth’s portfolio contributes to low-to-moderate income communities.
A Call to Action
The clean energy transition is not just a challenge, it’s a trillion-dollar opportunity. Insurers have a critical role to play in mobilizing the capital needed to build a sustainable future. By partnering with organizations like Sunwealth, insurance companies can align their portfolios with climate goals, support underserved communities, and drive meaningful impact.
The time to act is now. Together, we can illuminate the path to a cleaner, more equitable future.
About Sunwealth
Sunwealth is a clean energy investment firm working to change who has access to renewable energy by changing the way we invest in it. Combining deep experience in solar development and finance with roots in community and impact investing, Sunwealth invests in commercial solar plus projects delivering clean energy and energy savings to communities while providing strong financial returns to investors and community partners. Since 2014, the company has invested over $256 million in 766 community-based solar projects nationwide; the company has delivered targeted returns to investors for over 9 years with no defaults. For four consecutive years, Impact Assets named Sunwealth to its IA50, a leading list of impact fund managers; Environmental Finance awarded Sunwealth its 2023 Award for Innovation – Bond Structure (Social Bond) and named Sunwealth’s Solar Impact Fund its ESG Fixed Income Fund of the Year. Learn more at www.sunwealth.com.