Building the Case7 / 12
Financial Structures (CAPEX, OPEX, ESCO)
On-balance vs off-balance options; ESCO trade-offs; blended cost of capital.
10 min read · Jacob Willis, Net Zero Lead · Last reviewed July 2026
How an energy project is funded shapes its appeal as much as the savings it delivers. The financial structure - whether it sits on the balance sheet, is funded from operating budgets, or is financed externally - determines who bears the cost and risk, and often whether the project happens at all.
In this lesson
- 01Why structure matters
- 02CAPEX versus OPEX
- 03On-balance-sheet versus off-balance-sheet
- 04Funding routes
- 05The cost of capital
- 06Matching structure to circumstance
- 07From structure to presentation
- 08Sources and further reading