Today marks the launch of the American Green Bank Consortium, a new collaborative effort with partners across the U.S. designed to increase the impact and total clean energy investment made by Green Banks.
Green Banks will form the core membership of the Consortium, with a large cast of supporters also invited to join. Developers, investors, service providers, NGOs, foundations, policymakers and other actors eager to support and participate in Green Bank investment will all be engaged through the Consortium. The Consortium will also play an active role in any federal legislative efforts to combat the climate crisis.
Green Banks are dedicated clean energy finance organizations designed to catalyze greater public, private and mission-driven investment into clean energy markets. Green Banks in the U.S. have caused nearly $3 billion of total investment, expanding access to cost-saving clean energy solutions for businesses and households. The new Consortium is a first-of-its-kind membership organization, bringing together public, quasi-public, and non-profit Green Banks in the U.S. for the express goal of using their combined scale to raise more and new capital, develop and share common knowledge, and build a stronger Green Banking community. The Consortium will serve the needs of its members through representation, advocacy, fundraising, and networking. The collective goal of the Consortium is to add value for its members which will ultimately enable them to increase their investment in clean energy technologies in their local economies.
Founding members of the Consortium include the Baltimore Climate Access Fund, the Connecticut Green Bank, the Florida Solar Energy Loan Fund, the Hawaii GEMS financing program, Inclusive Prosperity Capital, the Maryland Clean Energy Center, Michigan Saves, the Montgomery County Green Bank, the Nevada Clean Energy Fund, the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation, and the Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank.
The Consortium is being launched with the generous philanthropic support from a number of Foundations. The Energy Foundation, ClimateWorks Foundation, Bay & Paul Foundations, and Bellwether Foundations have all helped seed the new initiative.
The Consortium will lead a number of different activities and events, all focused on creating value for its members. Some of these activities include:
- Annual Green Bank Summit – A multi-day gathering that will address industry-wide topics of interest.
- Industry Working Groups – Consortium working groups will tackle big questions relevant to members, such as “The ITC Phase-out: Opportunities and Challenges for Green Banks”
- American Green Bank Consortium Advocacy – The Consortium will assist with Green Bank advocacy and education efforts on the federal, state, and local level.
- Access to Capital – Members will be afforded opportunities to access capital raised by the Coalition for Green Capital and its partners.
- Members-only Calls – A set of regularly scheduled, off-the-record talks with between members.
- Peer-to-peer Mentoring Network – A Member-to-Member support system for Green Banks.
- Deals for Members – Discounted packages of goods & services.
- Program Creation and Replication Assistance – Consortium will facilitate the transfer and creation of programs between Members across the country.
- Standardized Documents – A library of standardized documents for member use.
The Consortium is actively recruiting more members to join, either as Green Bank members or as supporters who are eager to join the community and scale up clean energy investment activity with Green Banks.