Imagine you have a great project. Deep down, you know it’s a winner, with a clear path to accelerating production. It’s still too early to take to a bank to finance, and partnering with a private-equity or industry player would likely involve serious dilution and operating control issues.

What alternative financing could you turn to? The answer is what some call mezzanine capital, and others call structured capital or project finance, meaning the financing is specific to a certain asset or project to be developed.

Mezzanine monies are an intermediate ...