Energy Exchange

Barriers to Clean Energy Financing Could Fall with EPA Plan

windows_378x235Considering installing solar panels or weatherization to go along with the remodeling project you’ve been thinking about? Energy bills would drop and your carbon footprint would shrink, a true win-win.

Whether it’s financially doable may depend on where you live, of course. Clean energy financing in the United States is a hodgepodge of public and private-sector programs that vary considerably across, and within, state boundaries.

What will it take?

Connecticut homeowners in some – but not all – cities can tap into the state’s Smart-E loans available from five- to 12-year terms at an interest rate that won’t exceed 6.99 percent, and with no equity down. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Clean Power Plan, Energy Financing, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

California Clean Energy Bill Could Open Door for Homeowners and Small Businesses

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Source: Flickr/constellationenergy

Governor Brown has the opportunity to make energy-saving upgrades possible for families and small business owners by signing Assembly Bill 1883 (Nancy Skinner- Berkeley). This bill would significantly lower the cost of Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE), a tool which enables property owners to take advantage of energy efficiency and rooftop solar PV for their homes or buildings with no money down, allowing them to pay off the investment over time through their property tax bill.

AB 1883 would streamline the PACE process and drive down the fixed transactional costs associated with commercial projects. Lowering these transaction costs is especially important for small businesses because high transaction costs can reduce the economic viability of the smaller energy upgrades that small business typically need. AB 1883 also incorporates new options for financing rooftop solar PV through PACE, which will enable a greater number of homeowners and small businesses to qualify for cost-saving solar PV contracts. Read More »

Posted in California, Clean Energy, Climate, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Grid Modernization, Renewable Energy / Comments are closed

Clean Energy Finance 101

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections.

Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Collections.

As innovative energy products and services come to market, so do new mechanisms to fund them. And existing funding options become more popular. This has resulted in a boom of finance jargon, especially regarding energy efficiency and renewable generation. Though many of the finance terms used in clean energy finance are similar to those used in traditional finance, it’s easy to get lost. We hope this glossary will help those in clean energy navigate the new and growing world of clean energy finance.

Asset Class: A grouping of similar types of investments that behave similarly in the marketplace and are subject to the same laws and regulations. Broad examples of asset classes include:

  1. Equities (also known as stocks) – assets that represent ownership of part of a company.
  2. Bonds – assets that guarantee a fixed payment stream.

Bonds are often further categorized based on structure or source of the payments. Examples of these subclasses include municipal, corporate and mortgage bonds. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Electricity Pricing, Energy Efficiency, Energy Financing, Grid Modernization, On-bill repayment, Renewable Energy / Read 2 Responses

On-Bill Repayment & Community Solar: Clean Energy Investments Underserved Californians Can Afford

This commentary originally appeared on EDF’s California Dream 2.0 blog.

It sounds like the opening line of a joke: What can finance do to reduce inequality?

However, this is exactly the question I tried to tackle during my presentation at the Clean Power, Healthy Communities conference last week. Hosted by the Local Clean Energy Alliance, this annual conference focuses on equitable, community-based clean energy solutions for the Bay Area.

In keeping with this theme, I took the opportunity to explain how On-Bill Repayment (OBR) can increase access to energy efficiency and distributed generation installations for low and middle-income families. By overcoming cost barriers, OBR can deliver energy savings, cost savings, jobs and more comfortable and healthy homes to underserved communities. In addition to these tangible benefits, it offers residents greater control over energy generation, as well as their energy consumption.

While I was able to share EDF’s finance work with community organizers and other environmental advocates, the conference was also a chance to hear about and discuss variety of other community-based solutions. One initiative that OBR has tremendous potential to support and complement is community-owned solar. Signed into law in September, California’s Senate Bill 43 allows for shared ownership of renewable generation. This means that individuals who are unable to install solar panels at their residences can invest in an off-site solar system, and receive credit on their utility bill for their share of the power generated.

Read More »

Posted in California, On-bill repayment / Tagged , | Read 1 Response