ETI ALPHADIRECT MANAGEMENT SERIES

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1 ETI ALPHADIRECT MANAGEMENT SERIES DECEMBER 21, 2017 IN FOCUS: RENESOLA LTD AND ITS ROLE AS A PROJECT DEVELOPER AND INDEPENDENT SOLAR POWER PRODUCER. This report focuses on ReneSola Ltd (NYSE: SOL) and its role as a solar energy project developer and independent solar power producer in the smaller scale market. SOL Business Snapshot Founded: 2005 Headquarters: Shanghai, China Full Time Employees: 300 Ticker: SOL (NYSE) Stock Price: $2.91* Market Cap: $ M* Website: *As of December 20, 2017 Source: THE ENERGYTECH INVESTOR INSIGHT ReneSola was founded in 2005 and with its recent corporate restructuring, the Company is diversifying itself by being more focused in the downstream market with an emphasis on smaller scale projects in different jurisdictions, such as the China DG market as well as community solar in the United States. With overcapacity being an issue in the overall solar market, we believe that ReneSola has successfully repositioned itself and simplified its business model in order to provide higher returns and growth. The company has also successfully completed a spinoff transaction which should enhance ReneSola s ability to cost-effectively fund more downstream solar projects and drive more recurring revenue and cash flow. About AlphaDirect EnergyTech Investor EnergyTech Investor, LLC (ETI), a division of AlphaDirect Advisors, is a research and Investor Intelligence firm that creates and implements digital content and programs to help investors better understand a company s key drivers including industry dynamics, technology, strategy, outlook and risks as well as the impact they could have on the stock price. EnergyTech Investor s expertise encompasses a variety of sectors including Clean Transportation, Emerging EnergyTech, Energy Services, Smart Buildings, Solar, Water Value Chain and Industrial. EnergyTech Investor was founded by Wall Street veteran and research analyst, Shawn Severson, after seeing a significant shift in the investment industry that resulted in less fundamental research conducted on small cap companies and a significant decline in information available to all investors. ETI's mission is to bridge that information gap and engage companies and investors in a way that opens information flow and analytical insights. To learn more, visit: or follow us on LinkedIn or Twitter.

2 ABOUT RENESOLA LTD Participants Mr. Xianshou Li Chairman & Chief Executive Officer ReneSola Ltd Mr. Xianshou Li is the founder and has been the chief executive officer of ReneSola since March Mr. Li has served as the chairman of the board since March Prior to founding the solar power business in 2005, Mr. Li founded Yuhuan Solar Energy Source Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of solar cell and module products for both commercial and residential applications, and served as its chairman since its inception. Mr. Li also served as the general manager of Yuhuan County Solar Energy Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of mini solar panels and solar cell modules from 2002 to Prior to that, he worked as an official in the Yuhuan County Culture Bureau in Zhejiang Province from 1997 to Mr. Li received his bachelor s degree in industrial engineering management from Zhejiang Industrial University in Founded in 2005, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2008, ReneSola (SOL) is an international leading brand of solar project developer and operator. Leveraging its global presence and solid experience in the industry, ReneSola is well positioned to develop green energy projects with attractive return around the world. For more information, please visit Mr. Shawn Severson Founder and CEO EnergyTech Investor, LLC Mr. Severson is the founding partner and CEO of EnergyTech Investor, LLC. He has over 20 years of experience as a senior research analyst covering the technology and cleantech industries. Prior to founding ETI he led the Energy, Environmental and Industrial Technologies practice at the Blueshirt Group. Mr. Severson was frequently ranked as a top research analyst including one of the Wall Street Journal s Best on the Street stock pickers and multiple awards as Starmine s top three stock pickers.

3 Shawn Severson: First, I would like to thank you Mr. Li for taking the time to speak with us today. Before we dig into the business, could you start by giving us a brief introduction of yourself and what brought you to ReneSola? Mr. Li: Sure, Shawn. Compared with other competitors in the solar sector, ReneSola has a longer history than other companies in the industry. ReneSola was founded in 2005 and listed on the London AIM at first before we transferred to the New York Stock Exchange in We strategically evolved over time from a fully integrated solar company from polysilicon to modules and lately our company has simplified, and we are now considered a pure play downstream player. Shawn Severson: Can you provide us with a general overview of your business and your growth plan, meaning how should investors think about ReneSola from a strategic standpoint? Mr. Li: We used to cover everything in the solar industry, which made investors think of us as a mixed company. We wanted to be more focused on what we believe are the most attractive areas of our business, which led to our spinoff transaction. After the spinoff, we were primarily focused on the downstream market and on smaller-scale solar projects in diversified jurisdictions, such as the China DG market as well as community solar in the US as opposed to participating in the large-scale utility projects. We believe that this is the future of the industry and we are positioning ourselves to take full advantage of this trend. Shawn Severson: Is there something about the smaller scale market that is especially attractive relative to larger projects? Mr. Li: Let s take a look at Germany as an example when referring to the history of the solar power projects. In markets such as Germany, the UK and Italy, we used to see projects reach a certain scale before governments would cut the subsidies. We have witnessed similar trends in many other countries as well and have concluded that large scale projects would receive less support from government entities. On the other hand, when we see emerging markets such as Poland and Turkey, I believe that the governments in those countries will put a cap on the total size of the markets. For example, in Poland, the annual installation cap would be 100 megawatts, with each site not exceeding one megawatt. I expect this to be the government s strategy in emerging markets such as Poland. This strategy obviously favors small scale solar power projects. As a result, we see these markets as attractive targets with installation growth at a rational level. In addition, solar power has its advantages compared with other energy sources. For example, solar panels could be of a smaller size and built on rooftops without taking up land resources etc., which allows solar power to be transmitted to end users directly without transmission losses. Shawn Severson: The company recently spun off its manufacturing business and completely transformed from a cell and module manufacturer to a pure-play solar project developer and independent solar power producer (IPP). I know you ve touched on this a bit, but can you remind us of the business rationale behind that? Did you perceive that as a better business, a more profitable business, or better growth opportunities?

4 Mr. Li: The main reason for the spinoff is to reposition ourselves based on our belief that the industry is facing a serious issue of overcapacity. We used to be a fully integrated solar company and our story was very mixed and we were seen as a highly leveraged company with a low profitability business model. After the spinoff transaction, the new ReneSola is no longer liable for the approximately RMB 3 billion of bank borrowings related to the manufacturing business. I provided a personal guarantee to the lenders to get their consent. Our business model will be simplified and we will provide more visibility to investors in terms of our valuation and profitability. Another reason for the spinoff is that the transaction will enhance our financing ability to fund the solar downstream projects. Shawn Severson: In your view, is this the sort of industry trend that you re seeing on a broader scale? In other words, do you anticipate more and more tier-1 or tier-2 solar manufacturers moving in a similar direction as ReneSola? Mr. Li: I think that s a very likely scenario. We have seen various cases for example such as Jinko Solar, which has spun off their project business, while keeping their solar manufacturing business in the US market. Another example is First Solar and SunPower who founded a JV for project business. There are different reasons for a spinoff and after many years I have witnessed that companies in the solar industry tend to be more specialized in their own field, especially in a niche market, rather than being a fully integrated story. Shawn Severson: Thank you. Let s dig into your business model a bit more. ReneSola s BT (Build and Transfer) model has been an important strategy for you, but it looks like you are already positioning yourself to be an IPP, or independent power producer. Help us understand what these two models mean for ReneSola and what s advantageous to each of these models. Mr. Li: I think that the BT business model was more of a transitioning phase for ReneSola. We used to have the solar manufacturing business and the BT business model as an extension of the manufacturing business - we sell the solar modules, then provide EPC service, and then sell the project. On the other hand, the solar power projects are not an easily replicated resources, so we d rather retain the valuable project assets. Also, the spinoff transaction enhances our financing ability to hold assets. We currently still have some BT contracts on hand, but the long-term strategy for the company is to hold valuable assets that provide us with recurring revenue and a steady cash flow. Shawn Severson: Let s discuss your project development business a bit. What type of projects and which geographic regions do you focus on? Can you also give us a bit of color on the typical size and economics of those projects? Mr. Li: Geographically, we will remain focused on developed regions such as China, Europe, and North America because we will be able to manage the projects in those countries very well, taking into consideration the operation and maintenance service as well. For example, for a 200 megawatt-sized DG project, there could be 200 projects with each megawatt, whereas for a utility project, 200 megawatts could be just one project.

5 Regarding the overall return, we look at the projects with equity IRR of over 10%. In large scale projects, the PPA price could be only two or three cents. So, unless you get very competitive with the financing, you won t be able to reach such high equity IRR. These projects are more attractive to companies such as state-owned power companies, since they are able to get lower financing costs. For the same reasons, we choose not to do large scale projects. In regards to emerging markets, we still see risks such as policies, financing and exchange rate fluctuations. We need to observe the markets for a while before entering. Shawn Severson: So, in the markets where you re operating, what are the key drivers for growth - is it subsidies or straight economics? What are the real drivers that are growing the demand for these types of projects and are there any specific competitive dynamics related to these projects that investors should consider? Mr. Li: In regards to the dynamics for the DG market, even after grid parity has been achieved, there will be issues such as land as well as transmission costs for large scale projects, which is not a very attractive business to us. On the other hand, there is a trend of subsidies going down in countries such as Canada as well as in the European markets. The government places a lot of effort into supporting large scale projects, so we don t focus on these projects. Solar energy plays a supplementary role to the overall energy industry and in the long run, solar energy should be provided to end user markets such as community solar. We see gigawatts of new installation per year for small scale projects and that accounts for approximately 30% of annual installations of solar energy. Shawn Severson: What do you think are the biggest risks or challenges for ReneSola today? Could you address that both in terms of the company as well as the overall industry? Mr. Li: Overall, the biggest challenge the market is currently facing is the issue of overcapacity as I mentioned earlier. Going forward I see demand from the industry being flat or even declining, while on the manufacturing side the capacity could grow up to 30% or even 40%. The overcapacity issue reduces the profitability for everyone in the industry. We now see a gross margin overall for the industry at approximately 10% with the net profit of only 1%. That is a very unfavorable factor for the whole industry and the banks will likely be more cautious towards the industry in the future. As a downstream player we will be negatively affected as well. Secondly, everyone in the market sees oversupply in the manufacturing business, so everyone wants to go downstream, which will pressure the government to provide subsidies resulting in a serious issue for subsidy payment delay as well. Lastly, with more and more companies focusing on the downstream market, the government will accelerate the process of cutting subsidies. These are the three main issues or challenges that I believe the industry and ReneSola are currently facing. Shawn Severson: Lastly, one area of interest currently to the investment community is the distributed generation opportunity in China. How large is the opportunity for ReneSola over the next several years? Also, how are you going to capture and fund those projects in China?

6 Mr. Li: Regarding our DG market, we built 180 megawatts in the first half of the year and we sold parts of the project to a state-owned enterprise. In the second half of the year, we expect to build another 100 megawatts, totaling around 300 megawatts annually. We don't consider our strategy for production of 300 to 350 megawatts annually to be aggressive. We would rather be very selective on good projects and see risk management as a key to the success of the business. We now have a development team as well as a technology team of a few hundred people, focusing on only the most developed areas in China which brings us very good, low risk clients and end-users and resolves the pressure on financing as well. We are now working with over ten financial institutions; primarily leading financing companies and they are very flexible when compared to traditional banks. In conclusion, we are doing very well on the financing side of our business. price is above 20 cents in Canadian dollars and for the community solar projects in the US, our PPA price is over 10 cents as well, making 10% of equity IRR very achievable. Shawn Severson: Thank you, Mr. Li, that will conclude our conversation today and I look forward speaking to you again. Mr. Li: Thank you, Shawn. Shawn Severson: You mentioned 10% IRR target earlier. Do you think that will be the case in China as well or should we expect different returns? Mr. Li: When we mentioned 10% of equity IRR we meant globally. We have obtained a very attractive PPA. For example, in Poland, our PPA price is over 10 cents in Europe, and in Canada, our FIT3 and FIT4 projects, the PPA

7 SHAWN SEVERSON FOUNDER AND CEO Mr. Severson founded EnergyTech Investor in 2016 after seeing a significant communication and information gap developing between small and micro-cap companies and the financial community. Mr. Severson has over 20 years of experience as a senior research analyst covering the technology and cleantech industries. Previously, he was Managing Director at the Blueshirt Group where he was the head of the Energy, Environmental and Industrial Technologies practice. Prior to the Blueshirt Group, Mr. Severson was at JMP Securities where he was a Senior Equity Research Analyst and Managing Director of the firm s Energy, Environmental & Industrial Technologies research team. Before joining JMP, he held senior positions at ThinkEquity, Robert W. Baird (London) and Raymond James. He began his career as an Equity Research Associate at Kemper Securities. He was frequently ranked as a top research analyst including one of the Wall Street Journal s Best on the Street stock pickers and multiple awards as Starmine s top three stock pickers. DISCLOSURE ETI is a research and publishing organization, not a licensed broker, broker dealer, market maker, investment banker, or underwriter. This report is published solely for informational purposes and is not to be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any security in any state. This is not a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any company, industry or security. ETI may offer its opinions in its articles, reports and interviews concerning featured companies, or the business spaces and market segments in which they operate. Any opinions are provided solely for the general opinionated discussion of its readers and viewers, and therefore should not be considered to be complete, precise, accurate, or current investment advice, and all investment decisions are solely the responsibility of the reader. A fee has been paid for the sponsored material contained herein (the Sponsored Materials ), in either cash or restricted stock, by the indicated Company. Additionally, ETI may perform consulting or advisory services for Companies that ETI produce and publish Sponsored Materials for. The Sponsored Materials are not and should not be construed as an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to purchase or subscribe for any investment. No information in the Sponsored Materials should be construed as individualized investment advice. A licensed financial advisor should be consulted prior to making any investment decision. ETI makes no guarantee, representation or warranty and accepts no responsibility or liability as to its accuracy or completeness of the Sponsored Materials. ETI assumes no warranty, liability or guarantee for the current relevance, correctness or completeness of any information provided. Furthermore, we assume no liability for any direct or indirect loss or damage or, in particular, for lost profit, which you may incur as a result of the use and existence of the information, provided within the Sponsored Materials. We may distribute our reports through other organizations or companies. This article contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is used in the federal securities laws, about the advantages of ReneSola products and parts; reduction of operating costs, geographic and market diversification; revenue growth in emerging markets; benefits from ReneSola Finance and related financing solutions; growth of aftermarket and factory protection plan revenue; and increased margins. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as "expects," "objective," "intend," "targeted," "plan" and similar phrases. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties described in ReneSola's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission that may cause ReneSola's actual results to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied in such statements. ReneSola cautions readers not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. ReneSola undertakes no obligation, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.