The situation mirrors the "runaway production" phenomenon, where many movies and television shows are shot outside of California due to generous tax credits elsewhere.
For von Tobel, her experience since taking her first outside dollar in 2009 has been positive, something she credits to her relationship-minded approach to finding the right investors.
Evolution, perhaps the world's largest vendor of credits for the suppression of carbon dioxide, sells them to polluters outside the U.S. that have agreed to help curtail carbon emissions.