{"id":4130,"date":"2013-05-08T19:42:46","date_gmt":"2013-05-08T19:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=4130"},"modified":"2013-05-08T22:22:16","modified_gmt":"2013-05-08T22:22:16","slug":"hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/","title":{"rendered":"Hawaii Passes Bill To Democratize Clean Energy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Last week, Hawaii passed a landmark bill, SB 1087, which will allow the state to create and issue a \u201cGreen Infrastructure Bond<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 This bond structure will secure low-cost financing for a variety of clean energy installations, with a focus on reaching populations that cannot afford or do not have access to these energy saving improvements today.\u00a0 The bond proceeds will be used to fund an on-bill program currently under development at the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (PUC). \u00a0The on-bill program, which is very much in line with EDF\u2019s recommendations for on-bill repayment (OBR)<\/a>, will provide access to low-cost financing for clean energy projects for residential and small commercial customers.<\/p>\n

The bill\u2019s intent is to use this low-cost capital to expand access to affordable clean energy for all of Hawaii\u2019s consumers, acknowledging<\/a> that \u201cExisting programs and incentives do not serve the entire spectrum of the customer market, particularly those customers who lack access to capital or who cannot afford the large upfront costs required-thus creating an underserved market.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>Funding projects with a focus on serving populations that do not have access to other means of financing is especially important in the Aloha State, where electricity rates are the highest in the nation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

The state will issue the bonds and then repay bondholders with funds collected from a utility surcharge, providing a secure form of repayment. \u00a0The framework enables a portion of the existing Public Benefits Fee<\/a> (PBF), currently charged to customers, to be redirected so that overall customer bills are not expected to increase.<\/p>\n

Raising low-cost capital secured by utility surcharges is not a new concept \u2013 in fact, it is a tried and true structure. \u00a0Often referred to as \u2018rate reduction bonds,\u2019 or RRBs, this form of financing has enabled utilities to recover the costs of \u2018stranded\u2019 or \u2018uneconomic\u2019 assets over time, at a funding rate lower than the utilities\u2019 cost of funds (thus benefitting customers).\u00a0 To date, U.S. utilities have issued over $40 Billion<\/a> in RRBs.<\/p>\n

What sets Hawaii\u2019s new \u201cGreen Infrastructure Bond\u201d apart from other RRBs is the fact that the low-cost capital will exclusively provide financing for distributed, clean energy projects like installing solar panels and energy efficiency upgrades. \u00a0Providing this funding, while at the same time laying the foundation<\/a> for a successful on-bill financing program, results in a powerful combination that will expand access to underserved markets without leaving the State asking, \u201cIf we build a program, will the lenders come?\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, through the deployment of this innovative program and financing structure, Hawaii can collect performance data to help private capital evaluate the opportunity to participate. \u00a0Ultimately, scalable private capital would be able to offer clean energy financing even further down the credit spectrum, providing the upfront costs that would enable widespread adoption of clean energy.<\/p>\n

Mainland states, many of whom are considering their own forms of clean energy financing, are looking to Hawaii to get it right. \u00a0At the end of the day, don\u2019t we all want to live in a clean energy paradise<\/a>?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Last week, Hawaii passed a landmark bill, SB 1087, which will allow the state to create and issue a \u201cGreen Infrastructure Bond.\u201d\u00a0 This bond structure will secure low-cost financing for a variety of clean energy installations, with a focus on reaching populations that cannot afford or do not have access to these energy saving improvements …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8612,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[254,55217],"tags":[40309,40263],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-4130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy-efficiency","category-on-bill-repayment-2","tag-hawaii","tag-hawaii-puc"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHawaii Passes Bill To Democratize Clean Energy - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hawaii Passes Bill To Democratize Clean Energy - Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Last week, Hawaii passed a landmark bill, SB 1087, which will allow the state to create and issue a \u201cGreen Infrastructure Bond.\u201d\u00a0 This bond structure will secure low-cost financing for a variety of clean energy installations, with a focus on reaching populations that cannot afford or do not have access to these energy saving improvements ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Energy Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-05-08T19:42:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2013-05-08T22:22:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/Jessica-Feingold-200x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"\",\"@id\":\"\"},\"headline\":\"Hawaii Passes Bill To Democratize Clean Energy\",\"datePublished\":\"2013-05-08T19:42:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-05-08T22:22:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/\"},\"wordCount\":510,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/wp-content\/blogs.dir\/38\/files\/2013\/05\/Jessica-Feingold-200x300.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Hawaii\",\"Hawaii PUC\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Energy Efficiency\",\"On-bill repayment\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2013\/05\/08\/hawaii-passes-bill-to-democratize-clean-energy\/\",\"name\":\"Hawaii Passes Bill To Democratize Clean Energy - 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