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<br />For comparison, it is assumed that both sites are <br />financed with 80 percent debt at 13 percent interest <br />(tax free industrial development bonds) for 30 years. <br />Project A has gross revenues of $438,000. If a royalty <br />of ten percent of gross revenues ($43,800) is paid to <br />the owner, $394,200 remains to service the debt and <br />pay operating and maintenance costs. Debt service is <br />$373,500, leaving $20,700 to pay taxes, insurance, and <br />maintenance which normally total about one percent <br />of project costs, or $35,000. Revenues may not be <br />sufficient to cover all these costs and some renegotia- <br />tion of the royalty may be needed. In Project B, there <br />clearly is not sufficient cash flow even to pay both <br />debt service and operating and maintenance costs. <br />For this project to be profitable, royalty payments and <br />costs must be delayed until utility buy-back rates rise <br />high enough to provide the needed revenues. <br /> <br /> <br />Generally, only the most attractive projects can <br />support a royalty payment of ten percent or above. <br />These sites will have low costs per installed kW and <br />provide enough initial cash flow to pay all costs in <br />addition to the royalty. Every site factor must be <br />favorable. The site must have a high head, substantial <br />flow, an existing powerhouse with a dam in good <br />condition, minimum environmental problems, clear <br />access for electrical transmission, and be located in a <br />utility service area heavily dependent on oil with high <br />buy-back rates. Most sites however, don't meet all of <br />these criteria and thus can't support payment of a <br />royalty above ten percent. <br /> <br />In fact, most developments may require some form of <br />deferred or reduced royalty payments during the ini- <br />tial years until buy-back rates rise sufficiently to <br />cover costs. The only other alternative is to increase <br />the equity contribution and reduce the debt level to <br />bring yearly debt service requirements in line with <br /> <br />16 <br />