Washington, D.C. — The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), today announced its first network investment. CGC will commit a line of credit to Spruce Root, a Certified Native Community development financial institution based in Southeast Alaska, to advance the deployment of clean energy and lower energy costs throughout tribal communities.
CGC also announced a call for communities to accelerate their net zero plans. Successful proposals will demonstrate how they can implement their plans in a faster, cheaper, and more inclusive manner with our support.
Spruce Root also was the first to sign new network partner agreement, joining the consortium. This marks the first step in building CGC’s national network of self-sustaining green lenders in every state and meeting its commitment to the EPA.
In its partnership, CGC and Spruce Root have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) outlining CGC’s intent to provide Spruce Root with up to $10 million in a committed line of credit to facilitate clean energy projects such as the transition from high-emission diesel generators and oil heating to energy-efficient, zero-emission electric heat pumps in tribal communities. This effort builds on a previous $2.5 million grant from the Department of Energy that supported heat pump adoption throughout Alaska’s Prince of Wales Island, reducing emissions while delivering cost savings to these communities.
In addition to CGC’s first network investment, CGC launched its Community Net Zero Accelerator, calling on communities with existing net-zero and clean energy transition plans to accelerate implementation, enabling faster, cheaper, and more inclusive efforts to decarbonize whole communities, meet national climate goals and avoid climate catastrophe.
CGC will issue an official call for proposals in December 2024 and will consider communities with populations between 50-600,000 people who are taking a ‘whole community approach’ that engages community organizations, green lenders in the American Green Bank Consortium, labor, businesses, utilities, and renewable energy developers. Selected proposals will receive support through a combination of investments and up to $90 million in grants, the initiative will deploy CGC’s toolkit of loans, credit enhancements, and securitizations, to support clean energy adoption, energy storage, public transportation electrification, new building codes, and workforce training.
CGC’s Chief Executive Officer Reed Hundt said, “Our green banking business is underway: building a network, serving low-income communities, battling against climate catastrophe.”
CGC’s CGC’s Chief Network Officer Stephen Brown said, “We’re excited to launch this new phase of the American Green Bank Consortium to deliver on the promise of establishing at least one self-sufficient green bank in every state. Our NCIF award now offers us the tools we need to eliminate green financing deserts and ensure that every community has access to the resources needed to impactfully reduce emissions while facilitating economic development.”
CGC’s Chief Impact Officer Jessie Buendia, “A net-zero economy is not possible without net-zero communities. Midsize communities with decarbonization plans can catalyze a fast, cheap, and inclusive energy transformation. Our accelerator will help unleash significant investments that lead to meaningful change for millions of Americans, helping the nation meet its decarbonization goals while lifting up disadvantaged communities and fostering an inclusive green energy transition. We look forward to issuing the call for proposals, selecting the first cohort, and entering a contracting process to accelerate the clean power platform in every community.”
The EPA awarded CGC $5 billion in seed funding from the National Clean Investment Fund (NCIF) to invest in qualified projects and establish a national network of self-sustaining green lenders, including green banks, CDFIs, and CDCUs, to accelerate the transition from carbon to clean.
ABOUT COALITION FOR GREEN CAPITAL
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC), doing business as the American Green Bank Consortium, is a 501(c)(3) chartered specifically to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of air pollution and redress climate and energy-related environmental injustice. Green banks are a proven finance model that uses public and philanthropic funds to mobilize private investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and other decarbonization technologies. For over a decade, the Coalition for Green Capital has led the Green Bank movement, working at the federal, state, and local levels in the U.S. and countries around the world. For more information, visit: https://coalitionforgreencapital.com.