Clearway Energy, Inc.CWEN

Clearway Energy, Inc. Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosure

10-KFiled Feb 24, 20263 min read
Intangible Assets
Intangible Assets — The Company’s intangible assets as of December 31, 2025 and 2024 primarily reflect intangible assets established from its business acquisitions and are comprised of the following:
•PPAs — Established predominantly with the acquisitions of the Alta Wind Portfolio, Tapestry, Laredo Ridge, Carlsbad Energy Center, Agua Caliente, the Utah Solar Portfolio, the Capistrano Wind Portfolio, Tuolumne and Catalina. These represent the fair value of the PPAs acquired. These are amortized on a straight-line basis, over the term of the PPA.
•Leasehold Rights — Established with the acquisition of the Alta Wind Portfolio, this represents the fair value of contractual rights to receive royalty payments equal to a percentage of PPA revenue from certain facilities. These are amortized as a reduction to operating revenue on a straight-line basis over the term of the PPAs.
•Emission Allowances — These intangibles primarily consist of SO2 and NOx emission allowances established with the El Segundo, Walnut Creek and Carlsbad Energy Center acquisitions. These emission allowances are held-for-use and are amortized to cost of operations, with NOx allowances amortized on a straight-line basis and SO2 allowances amortized based on units of production.
•Other — Consists of a) the acquisition date fair value of the contractual rights to a ground lease for South Trent and to utilize certain interconnection facilities for Blythe as well as land rights acquired in connection with the acquisition of Elbow Creek; b) development rights related to certain solar business acquisitions; c) purchased software for certain solar facilities; d) RECs acquired in connection with the acquisition of the Utah Solar Portfolio; and e) favorable land leases acquired in connection with the acquisition of the Utah Solar Portfolio.
The following tables summarize the components of intangible assets subject to amortization:
Year ended December 31, 2025PPAsLeasehold RightsEmission AllowancesOtherTotal
(In millions)
January 1, 2025$3,265 $86 $17 $19 $3,387 
Acquisitions (a)
351 — — — 351 
Other— — — 4 4 
December 31, 20253,616 86 17 23 3,742 
Less accumulated amortization(1,322)(46)(6)(8)(1,382)
Net carrying amount$2,294 $40 $11 $15 $2,360 
(a) The weighted average life of acquired intangibles was 14 years for PPAs.
Year ended December 31, 2024PPAsLeasehold RightsEmission AllowancesOtherTotal
(In millions)
January 1, 2024$3,265 $86 $17 $15 $3,383 
Other— — — 4 4 
December 31, 20243,265 86 17 19 3,387 
Less accumulated amortization(1,140)(42)(5)(7)(1,194)
Net carrying amount$2,125 $44 $12 $12 $2,193 
The Company recorded amortization expense of $189 million, $184 million and $186 million during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively. Of these amounts, $183 million, $178 million and $181 million during the years ended December 31, 2025, 2024 and 2023, respectively, were related to the amortization of intangible assets for PPAs and were recorded to contract amortization expense, which reduced operating revenues in the consolidated statements of operations. The Company estimates the amortization expense for its intangibles for each of the next five years will be $200 million.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2025Feb 24, 2026Showing above
2024Feb 25, 2025
2023Feb 22, 2024
2022Feb 23, 2023
2021Feb 28, 2022
2020Mar 1, 2021
2019Mar 2, 2020
2018Feb 28, 2019
2017Mar 1, 2018
2016Feb 28, 2017
2015Feb 29, 2016

About Goodwill & Intangibles Disclosures

Goodwill and intangible asset disclosures reveal the premium paid in acquisitions and how management assesses whether that premium retains its value. Since goodwill is no longer amortized under US GAAP, the annual impairment test is the only mechanism that adjusts carrying values downward — making the assumptions behind that test critically important for investors.

Key signals: a history of goodwill impairments suggests management consistently overpays for acquisitions. Watch the gap between reporting unit fair value and carrying amount — when fair value exceeds carrying amount by less than 10-20%, a small decline in business performance could trigger a write-down. For finite-lived intangibles, examine useful life assumptions across customer relationships, technology, and trade names; aggressive estimates inflate near-term earnings. Compare total intangibles-to-total-assets ratios against peers to assess acquisition dependency. Rising goodwill as a percentage of equity can signal balance sheet fragility.

Other Available Disclosures

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