Report Outlines Best Practices for Establishing a Green Bank in the State
| Washington, D.C.— The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) applauds Minnesota Governor Tim Walz after he proposed the creation of a green bank that would finance clean energy projects in his state. The proposal comes just months after a CGC report outlined a path forward for the state of Minnesota to create the nonprofit financial entity. “With this proposal, Governor Walz is taking an important step to combat climate change,” said CGC Executive Director Jeffrey Schub. “CGC has been advocating for and working to create a Minnesota green bank since 2014 because it is a powerful and highly effective way to finance clean energy projects that may not receive funding from private investors–but are critical to meeting climate goals. We stand ready to support Minnesota as it seeks to join 22 other states in establishing a green bank.” The CGC report, “Minnesota Green Bank Capabilities and Implementation Path,” was released in October 2021 and noted that “a Minnesota green bank would fund projects including clean energy, building efficiency, grid infrastructure, industrial decarbonization, clean transportation, reforestation, regenerative agriculture, and climate-resilient infrastructure.” According to the report, a green bank could help address a lack of clean energy programs that are available to low to medium income communities in Minnesota and bring energy efficiency solar power and electric transportation options to these communities in particular. Green banks drove a record amount of clean energy investment in 2020, mobilizing $1.69 billion of total investment with $442 million of green bank funds, according to the American Green Bank Consortium’s annual reportreleased last May. In total, this brings cumulative green bank investment to $7 billion using $1.9 billion green bank funds. A green bank uses public capital to mobilize more private investment into underserved green and resilient financing markets to fill market gaps. Green banks have the ultimate goal of enabling private capital partners to enter clean energy markets at scale without green bank assistance. The mobilization ratio (overall investment/green bank investment) of American green banks was 3.7 to 1 as of the end of calendar year 2020, meaning that every green bank dollar invested resulted in $3.70 of overall investment in the American clean energy economy. |
| ABOUT COALITION FOR GREEN CAPITAL The Coalition for Green Capital (@CGreenCapital) is a non-profit with a mission to halt climate change by accelerating investment in clean energy technologies and by advocating for, creating and implementing green bank institutions. 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 level in the U.S. and in countries around the world. For more information, visit: https://coalitionforgreencapital.com/. |