Module description:
The module deals with the construction of energy projects by looking at the planning of projects and specifically at environmental and social impact assessments and the financing of the projects. The module will demonstrate how these two issues interconnect by showing how risk attaching to the impact of the project will influence the financing structures. It will look at both institutional and commercial lending and review (for example) World Bank guidelines and the Equator Principles. The subject matter of this module may include Environmental impact assessment (EIA) and links to planning approval; screening of projects; environmental statements and their role and content; EIA and habitats; procedural elements of EIA; the financing of projects; types of and conditions in project agreements; loan documentation; commercial, regulatory and political risk; risk minimisation techniques; dispute resolution.
By the end of the module you should be able to:
- Critically review the role and effectiveness of environmental and social impact assessments in actively minimising project risks
- Analyse and assess the potential mechanisms for risk governance both in operational planning and in financing
- Analyse the legal construction of terms in loan and other agreements to give effect to due diligence in the project planning
- Identify and contrast the various forms of financial structure and the contexts within which they may be employed.