Building a Sustainable Finance Program – Step 1

clock September 8, 2011 04:23 | commentComments (0)
Our last post outlined the three key pieces to creating a sustainable finance program, namely: Prove clean energy finance as a profitable line of business for financial institutions. Arrange additional sources of funds. Build the secondary market for energy efficiency (EE) and renewable energy (RE) loan portfolios. This post will tackle the first of those three strategies in detail: Prove that EE/RE finance is a profitable line of business for financial institutions. Achieving sustain... [More]
Categories: Best Practices | Financing | Permalink
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Where Do We Go from Here? (More Importantly, How Do We Pay for It?)

clock July 28, 2011 05:48 | commentComments (0)
Recently, much of our work on the financial technical assistance team has been focused on the question of how to sustain programs after ARRA funding is exhausted.  Some units of government have developed financing programs such as loan funds that require ongoing management. Others hope to continue making energy efficiency (EE) upgrades on government facilities. Still others are looking for ways to continue staffing their sustainability offices. While their goals for the future may differ,... [More]
Categories: Energy Planning & Policy | Energy Savings Performance Contracting | Financing | Program Design & Implementation | Permalink
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Building a Sustainable Finance Program (Series Intro)

clock July 25, 2011 10:20 | commentComments (0)
Clean energy finance programs primarily support investments in clean energy projects and fill a major financing gap in the market. Backed by funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), these programs serve another important purpose: they create finance models that are not only commercially sustainable and scalable, but that will also continue when ARRA grant funds are spent. Recipients who have been awarded these grants only have a limited amount of time to allocate thei... [More]
Categories: Best Practices | Financing | Permalink
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Philadelphia Public-Private Partnership Structure—Biogas Cogeneration Plant

clock July 6, 2011 04:02 | commentComments (0)
Several years ago, the Philadelphia Water Department realized that it needed additional heat to operate its wastewater processing facility. To address that need, the city designed a facility that generates electricity and heat using methane gas derived from wastewater sludge. The city originally planned to finance the facility by issuing tax-exempt bonds. It also expected to own and operate the facility, because generating biogas, electricity, and heat would be tightly integrated with the op... [More]
Categories: Financing | Renewable Energy | Water & Wastewater | Permalink
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A Winning Team: Staffing a Successful Finance Program

clock June 9, 2011 05:30 | commentComments (0)
Every good coach knows that finding the right players can mean the difference between success and failure. As it turns out, building a program to finance clean energy projects is no exception. A few key players can be instrumental in successfully designing and implementing the financing for any program of this sort. This blog post provides a list of key positions that can ensure success in running energy efficiency and renewable energy (EE/RE) programs. The roles and responsibilities listed b... [More]
Categories: Best Practices | Financing | Loan Loss Reserve Funds | Outreach/Marketing | Permalink
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