The start of Better Data for Project Finance
This week, the SunSpec Alliance and XBRL US announced the launch of a 30-day public review period for the initial draft of their Orange Button taxonomy for solar financing.
The taxonomy, developed as part of the U.S. Department of Energy SunShot Initiative’s Orange Button program aims to make it easier to aggregate and share data about proposed and operating solar facilities. Providing accurate, timely and comparable information in structured form should lead to more efficient and cost-effective financing of energy projects.
“Standardizing data collection is a critical means to reduce the soft costs of solar financing,” said Tom Tansy, Chairman of SunSpec Alliance.
XBRL was chosen for Orange Button because it is a free, open-access global standard, uniquely suited to handling financial data.
XBRL US has led the development of the taxonomy.
From XBRL International’s perspective, the project is important because it demonstrates the benefits of cross industry collaboration that makes it possible to drive down data management and collection costs. Rather than regulatory data, the Solar Button project demonstrates the way that investors can make finely calibrated project finance decisions with enhanced, structured and digital information.
This is an initial draft of the taxonomy. It is likely that additional concepts and more detail will be added going forward.
Investors, developers, and software providers are encouraged to participate, review and comment on Orange Button – more here. Access the Orange Button taxonomy – more here. Read the press release here.
