The equity IRR is a very important part of making an investment decision. If you look at a project and just want to determine the value of the project itself, i.e. how much cash it throws off and at what risks without considering the debt/equity strcuture, then look at it as a project. That isn't what soap is saying IMO.

It is also very important to figure out how much equity you have at risk. If no equity is at risk and if you can pull of a non-recourse financing arrangement, then an investor might be in a great position to put in no equity and not really have any downside risk. This is not impossible and would certainly be an option an investor should know about.