Originator
Bank / CIB
Underwrites on self-reported data
Arranger
Investment Bank
Packages into ABS
Rating Agency
Moody's / S&P
Rates on servicer-reported data
Buyer
Pension / Insurer
Trusts the rating
No rating agency requires continuous independent performance verification
post-closing for infrastructure ABS. They accept an independent engineer report
at origination, then rely on servicer-reported data for surveillance. The IE report
is a point-in-time estimate. What happens in year 3, 5, or 10 is unverified.
THE PROOF POINT
A major energy-as-a-service provider issued $216M in ABS backed by verified energy savings data and secured a $650M credit facility - both rated by KBRA. The difference: their data was verified internally. An independent third-party data layer would have commanded even tighter spreads, because the buyer doesn't have to trust the servicer.
EnergyPassport produces the exact data that would underpin a BESS ABS methodology: continuous, independent degradation curves and revenue verification - from a party with no financial interest in the outcome.
Verified performance data shrinks the haircut at every level of the chain. Banks apply 15-30% revenue haircuts at origination on merchant BESS. Those haircuts compound through securitization. The seller gets better pricing. The buyer gets better data. The rating improves because the inputs are independent.
$20B+
GPU-backed debt outstanding
50-70% LTV at origination
$8B
GPU ABS issuance (2025)
Projected $25B by 2028
40-60%
BESS leverage ratio
vs 80-85% for solar/wind
No BESS ABS methodology exists yet↓
Solar ABS is a $10B+ cumulative market. Rating agencies have published solar-specific
criteria and calibrated their models against a decade of fleet data. No equivalent
exists for battery storage. No rating agency has published a BESS-specific ABS
methodology. The data that would underpin it - continuous, independent degradation
curves and revenue verification - is what EnergyPassport produces. The opportunity
is to have that data embedded in the methodology from day one.
GPU collateral depreciates faster than any infrastructure asset↓
H100 GPUs went from ~$30,000 (2023) to ~$8,000 (2026) - a 73% decline in three years.
Economic depreciation is front-loaded at 30-40% in year one as next-gen hardware ships.
GPU ABS investors demanded 150 bps over Treasuries for the inaugural $1.1B deal (2025),
compressing to ~110 bps for repeat issuers. But no deal includes continuous independent
verification of the physical assets post-closing. CoreWeave's $8.5B facility was rated A3
by Moody's on contract quality, not physical performance.
Sources: PitchBook; Bird & Bird GPU Financing Report; SemiAnalysis; CoreWeave S-1.
ITC recapture and FEOC: the 10-year compliance tail↓
Some Canadian Clean Technology ITC claims may be selected for further CRA review.
Qualifying property can be subject to recapture for specified events in the acquisition year
or any of the preceding 10 calendar years. U.S. supply-chain requirements are a distinct regime.
Continuous performance records provide an additional source of technical evidence for lender review.
Source: CRA Clean Technology ITC guidance, reviewed May 2026. Consult tax counsel for program eligibility.
Tax equity buyers bear recapture risk they can't verify↓
Recapture allocation and transferability consequences depend on the applicable program
and transaction structure. A buyer or lender may nevertheless need operating evidence
beyond operator reporting. EnergyPassport supplies cross-referenced performance records
for review alongside tax and transaction documentation.
The secondary market liquidation problem↓
When cloud contracts expire, a wave of older hardware returns to the market. Multiple
borrowers finishing 3-year deals in 2026-2027 could flood the secondary market simultaneously,
depressing prices. In liquidation, lenders report accepting 20-50% haircuts depending
on urgency and chip generation. Pension funds and insurance companies holding data center
ABS discover their "safe" assets are correlated to the same technology cycle.
Third-party verification separates real performance risk from information-asymmetry risk -
the component buyers can actually price out.
Sources: GPU-Backed Credit 2.0; AI Realist; PitchBook Venture Debt Report.
