What should you check before investing in a solar or wind project through crowdfunding?

Key documents and what to look for:
- Permits: construction permits fully issued, not conditional or under appeal.
- Grid connection: an agreement that confirms capacity, connection date and cost.
- Power purchase agreement (PPA): the buyer's creditworthiness, the term and how the price is indexed.
- Production estimate: whether it is P90 (conservative) or P50 (median), and whether grid constraints or curtailment are included.
- Contracts and insurance: performance guarantees in the construction (EPC) contract, the operations contract and the insurance policies.
- Independent engineer report: its age (reports older than 18 months deserve caution), method, and whether its author has commercial ties to the sponsor.
- For operating assets: actual production compared with the forecast.
- Your position: whether you hold a real security interest, and where you sit in the cash-flow waterfall.
Also check that the platform holds an EU crowdfunding licence and that the project has a key investment information sheet. Capital is at risk: crowdfunding investments are not covered by deposit guarantee schemes, can lose part or all of their value, and may be hard to sell before the end of their term.