Michigan Saves

Michigan Saves, the nation’s first nonprofit green bank, makes energy improvements easier for Michigan energy consumers by stimulating and supporting investment in clean energy improvements in Michigan homes, businesses, and public buildings. Established in 2009 through a grant from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) and supported by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Michigan Saves envisions a future in which consumer demand for efficient homes, businesses, and communities transforms the building and remodeling industries. Michigan Saves is part of this transformation by offering financing solutions and a contractor network that make clean energy improvements easy and affordable and by advancing a more energy-conscious culture in Michigan.

Michigan Saves is not a lender. Rather, Michigan Saves uses public funds, which have been endowed or granted to the organization by the State of Michigan and the DOE, as a credit enhancement to leverage private capital from a network of authorized lenders for clean energy improvements. Michigan Saves’ credit enhancement is in the form of a loan loss reserve fund that reduces each lender’s default risk, allowing them to offer below-market rates, expanded underwriting criteria, and greater access than they otherwise would have through traditional financing products. Michigan Saves’ credit enhancement uses public funds to leverage private capital at a rate of at least $30 to $1, which may be the highest leverage rate in the nation. To date, Michigan Saves has facilitated over $425 million in clean energy investments. While more than half of the residential lending has been in low- to moderate-income communities, Michigan Saves expects to accelerate the development of financing solutions that resolve race- and income-related energy equity disparities.

Michigan Saves is a 501(c)(3) organization with eleven staff members and a 13-member board of directors. The board also includes a non-voting board member appointed by the chair of the MPSC.