The Clean Energy Future Blog

By Coalition for Green Capital

By Maria GallucciJune 23, 2020

When the Obama administration entered the White House in January 2009, the previous year’s financial crisis had sent the U.S. economy spiraling. Unemployment was on its way to peaking at about 10 percent, and the new president and Democrat-led Congress’s first job was sparking an economic recovery. Their hope was to put people back to work — while also accelerating a transition to a clean energy economy.

One of the ideas Congress considered at the time was launching a national “green bank,” a nonprofit institution that would use public money to help cash-strapped businesses invest in solar panels, wind farms, and energy-efficiency building retrofits. Green bank legislation gained traction that year, but it and other climate-related initiatives — most famously a cap-and-trade bill — ultimately never passed.

So green bank advocates turned their efforts to the states. Soon Connecticut, Florida, and Hawaii had launched their own specialized banks, using seed funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to issue loans and bonds to local projects. Together, those programs have spurred billions of dollars’ worth of investments and supported tens of thousands of jobs, bank leaders say.

Today, as the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzes another economic meltdown — with an unemployment rate over 13 percent — the green bank concept is making a comeback. With nearly 600,000 clean energy positions lost in recent weeks, environmental advocates are among those again eyeing a recovery that includes significantly decarbonizing the American economy. And they say a federal green bank is a key element.

Sierra Club, for example, recently called for creating a National Climate Bank, as part of its green stimulus plan. The bank would invest $30 billion over its first five years to help boost renewable electricity capacity and add energy storage systems and transmission lines to the U.S. grid. At that scale, the bank could help create about 83,000 jobs per year, according to an estimate by the Political Economy Research Institute.

“We need to be investing for the long term,” said Ben Beachy, who directs Sierra Club’s living economy program. The bank, he explained, would fund various projects to improve poor air quality — which is tied to numerous health effects, like heart and lung disease, as well as complications from COVID-19. In addition, those investments would create “family-sustaining jobs and [help] us tackle the climate crisis,” Beach said.

The Sierra Club’s proposal builds on recent efforts by U.S. policymakers, as well as groups that advocate specifically for green banks, like the Coalition for Green Capital. A pair of bills in the House and Senate would, if passed, create a national bank that funnels money into regional projects and supports new and existing state banks. Democratic Representative Debbie Dingell of Michigan, who introduced the National Climate Bank Act in December, said she’s working to fold the bill into future rounds of stimulus spending — which to date has already totaled trillions of dollars. “It’s something that, as we restimulate the economy, could play a very critical part,” Dingell said earlier this spring.

Green recovery efforts almost certainly hinge on the Democrats winning at least the presidency in the upcoming election. President Trump has prioritized support for U.S. oil and gas companies. Meanwhile, in Congress, senior Republican leaders, like Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell, have so far stymied attempts to include environmental provisions in coronavirus relief bills.

The latest green bank initiatives aren’t simply copy-and-pasted from the previous economic downturn. Advocates and state leaders say they’re working intentionally to ensure that green banks do more to include low- and moderate-incomehouseholds and communities of color, which some state programs overlooked at first. That’s led to the new term, “climate bank,” which also reflects a more expansive view of the financial institution’s mission as one that includes restoring wetlands for climate adaptation or upgrading infrastructure that’s vulnerable to extreme weather events.

Over a dozen states and municipalities formed green banks after the last financial crisis. Connecticut was first out of the gate, launching its program in 2011.

At the time, many businesses were struggling to get financing or lines of credit from recession-wary lenders. The problem was particularly acute for developers of rooftop solar or green buildings — sectors that traditional investors at the time saw as risky and unproven. Green banks helped to fill some of those gaps. As nonprofit institutions they could reduce overall project costs by charging lower interest rates than commercial banks. By backing early-stage ventures, the banks aimed to offer a proof of principle, showing private lenders what’s possible so they would eventually warm to the investments.

The Connecticut Green Bank offered some of the first loans and leases for solar installations on homes and offices, a model that’s since proliferated nationwide. It established a financing program to help businesses install energy-efficient lighting and heating-and-cooling systems, upgrade leaky windows, and add renewable power. Recently, the bank began working to develop a “mini green bond” that allows residents to invest in local clean energy projects and receive returns of up to 5 percent.

The Connecticut bank’s funding comes primarily from a small surcharge tacked onto ratepayers’ monthly electric bills, as well as proceeds from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade initiative between 10 East Coast states. Private foundations and investors also contribute. While the state itself offers grants and rebates, too, the bank is intended to serve as a revolving pool of money; once loans are repaid, the replenished funds can support different ventures.

So far, the bank has mobilized nearly $1.7 billion of investments into the state’s economy, attracting seven private dollars for every public dollar it disburses, and helping create over 20,000 jobs, according to its own data.

Similarly, in Florida, the Solar and Energy Loan Fund, or SELF, provides microloans for residents who otherwise couldn’t get financing for sustainable home improvements due to barriers such as low credit scores. The program has financed over $12 million in projects, helping some 4,000 people install solar water heaters and solar panels or put hurricane shutters over windows. SELF is currently expanding to include affordable multi-family housing units in South Florida and to help homeowners replace aging septic and sewage systems.

“Many folks do not have access to traditional financing, so they’re forced to suffer the consequences or to rely on predatory lenders,” Doug Coward, the bank’s executive director, said on a recent conference call hosted by the Coalition for Green Capital. “The level of demand for access to affordable financing is significant,” he added, “and that was before the current crisis that we’re in now.”

Up north, Michigan’s green bank primarily helps residents to renovate homes and office buildings to reduce water and energy use — and thus costs. Michigan Saveshas supported over $200 million in clean-energy financing in the last decade and served over 14,000 customers, according to the bank.

Mary Templeton, president and CEO of Michigan Saves, said she’s proud of the bank’s achievements, which includes supporting about 4,400 full-time jobs. But more work is needed to expand the program’s reach. “We see several gaps in affordable, accessible financing — especially for those who need it most, many of whom are in low-income communities and communities of color,” she said on the Coalition for Green Capital call.

Connecticut identified similar shortcomings around 2015, when the state’s green bank found that 80 percent of its solar loans were going to residents in wealthier communities.

“Those who are struggling with energy burden — where energy costs are [a higher percent] of your household’s budget — were the least likely to get residential rooftop solar,” Robert Klee told Grist. Klee was commissioner of Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection from 2014 to 2019 and also vice chairperson on the bank’s board.

To address the gap, Connecticut Green Bank partnered with the solar company PosiGen to develop more accessible financing models and deploy sales teams in underserved areas, including majority black and brown neighborhoods. Today new solar installations are more evenly divided among zip codes above and below the state’s median income.

“To me it was an important evolution. It’s not only figuring out how to get the private capital markets comfortable in a new technology, a new space,” Klee said. “Once it’s established for those people with perfect credit, can the green bank leverage its public money to help derisk the riskier pool?”

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Green bank proponents say that, despite all the investments and projects, states are ultimately limited in what they can achieve on their own.

Bank directors report needing significantly more funding to help meet their state’s climate and energy targets. Yet many state governments have been strapped for cash in recent years, and now all 50 are facing reduced tax revenue due to the COVID-19 crisis. Such budget issues not only limit funding for clean energy but also leave programs vulnerable to the whims of policymakers. For instance, Connecticut’s legislature recently took nearly half the green bank’s operating budget to help balance a massive deficit in the state’s general fund.

A national green bank that funnels money into states could insulate programs somewhat from such budgetary pressures, according to Klee. “Having that national commitment would provide the right signal to the market, because markets actually get scared when governments raid things,” he said.

But taking the model nationwide will undoubtedly raise fresh questions about which types of energy projects to support, and how.

In 2009, a Senate green bank bill drew criticism from anti-nuclear advocates, who said the provisions failed to limit loan guarantees for building new, expensive nuclear power plants. Meanwhile, budget watchdogs criticized a provision to remove loan decisions from regular Congressional oversight, a move they said would put taxpayer dollars at risk.

At the state level, local energy experts have pushed back against green bank proposals that favor loans over cash rebates and grants, which can be distributed quickly and often appeal to homeowners and businesses that don’t want to take on debt. An early effort in Rhode Island to join existing clean energy initiatives under a new green bank raised concerns among environmental leaders, who worried the one-stop-shop approach would wind up destroying or undermining otherwise successful programs.

Even if a national green bank proposal does succeed, it would still represent a tiny fraction of the level of spending required to reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions and meet global climate targets, said Robert Pollin, co-director of the Political Economy Research Institute.

Pollin was lead author of the report accompanying Sierra Club’s green stimulus plan, which had called for $30 billion in initial climate bank funding. Economists estimated the U.S. government should spend at least $600 billion annually over the next decade to transform the nation’s energy systems, upgrade infrastructure, and stimulate private-sector investment.

The $30 billion in proposed bank funding would come as “a nice, supportive down-payment” on taking on that transformative work, Pollin said: “Having a devoted climate bank is very valuable, and it enables us to build capacity and to have the wherewithal to understand projects.”

By Alex Kragie

Green Banks in the United States have generated more than $5 billion of total investment since 2011, according to the 2020 US Green Bank Annual Industry Report. 

The report was produced by the American Green Bank Consortium – a project of the Coalition for Green Capital.

The report found that 2019 was the biggest year for US Green Banks ever, with over $1.48 billion in investment caused last year alone. Other key findings from the report include:

• A Clean Energy Jobs Fund, as envisioned in the National Climate Bank Act of 2019 and supported by 7 out of 10 US voters, would create over 5 million new jobs by capitalizing an independent, nonprofit Clean Energy Jobs Fund with $35 billion
• Since 2011, every dollar of public investment in green banks has resulted in $3.60 of total investment into local clean energy economies
• The three major growth areas for green banks in the United States are low- and moderate-income lending, resilience lending, and energy storage lending

View the full report here

By Coalition for Green Capital

The Coalition for Green Capital released the following statement in light of the police murder of George Floyd and calls for the United States to root out systemic racism. 

Over the past weeks we have once again seen the dehumanization and devaluation of Black lives in America. The systemic violence and inequality in this country are intolerable, and this must stop. The entire CGC organization stands with the Black community and protesters. We will work with them to end this injustice. 

CGC was founded to build a better future. That is why, particularly at this moment, CGC is committed to listening, learning and working to become a more equitable and inclusive organization. These values are central to what we advocate for and how we must reverse the impacts of climate change. In this way, we hope to do our part to bring justice to our world.

By Coalition for Green Capital

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) report released yesterday forecasts energy prices are not expected to recover soon with WTI oil prices staying below $50/barrel until end of 2021. Energy players are looking at all options to forge ahead. Oil giant BP announced earlier this week that it will cut 10,000 jobs to reduce costs. Not surprisingly, all energy companies have been looking to cut spending as oil prices have swooned in recent years beginning with a slide in 2015 from over $100/barrel to below $50/barrel. In the last 5 years, oil prices have remained volatile, gyrating from below $30/barrel in 2016 to almost $80/barrel in 2018 and then crashing to near zero earlier this year, before rebounding to $38/barrel yesterday.

This volatility has shaken up the industry and many energy companies are taking the predictable path of reducing expenses and deferring capital expenditures. Meanwhile others are looking at unexpected saviors, from private equity and competitors, financial investors and lenders, to utilities and corporate consumers, from hedging with Wall Street banks to public funds from Congress.

Read the full piece.

By Jeffrey Schub

A new expert report from Vivid Economics, a leading strategic economics consulting firm with expertise in energy and public investment, finds that the Clean Energy Jobs Fund will create 5.4 million job-years in five years by investing in clean energy projects across the U.S. (Economists use the term job-year to measure the amount of work of a period of time. One job for one year is one job-year.)

The Clean Energy Jobs Fund (CEJF) is a nonpartisan nonprofit that, with a $35 billion deposit from Congress, would drive nearly $500 billion of total investment across a range of sectors, the report found. The analysis also found that over a 20-year period the fund would drive nearly $2 trillion of investment.

The CEJF uses the green bank model and is described in the National Climate Bank Act of 2019, which was introduced by Sens. Van Hollen and Markey, and Rep. Debbie Dingell. Nearly 100 organizations are now pushing for inclusion of the und and $35 billion to get it started as part of the House’s planned infrastructure and clean energy package.

The Vivid analysis considered a range of factors in its analysis, primarily focusing on the track record of existing national, state and local green banks, and what investments can be practically deployed in the near future. “The investment portfolio for the CEJF considered in this analysis sets out an allocation of investment capital to support an executable investment plan for the CEJF,” the report stated.

The analysis assumes that the $35B capitalization will be leveraged with borrowing at a conservative 2-to-1 ratio. This would provide the CEJF $105B in investment capacity. Investments would then be allocated across projects in the renewable, building efficiency, industrial decarbonization, clean transportation, grid infrastructure and sustainable agriculture sectors. CEJF investment would leverage private co-investment, and it would also be repaid to allow for recycling and further investing. (Climate resilience is also an eligible sector for investment and will be included in follow-on analyses from Vivid.)

Depending on the portfolio allocation and assumed private sector leverage, the analysis found the range  level of job creation could range from 3.4M up to 8.7M job-years over the five year-period: 

In the central case of the analysis (the middle scenario), the net result over a five-year period would be $118B of total CEJF investment combined with $381B of private co-investment for a total of $498B of investment. This in turn would create 3.28M direct jobs and 2.15M indirect jobs, for a total of 5.43M jobs created. (Induced jobs were not considered as part of the analysis).

And new jobs are needed more than ever.

At the end of May, 21.5M Americans filed continued claims for unemployment insurance, which means the CEJF would put 1 in 4 of those Americans back to work.

The CEJF will be authorized to directly finance projects of national or regional scale. However, it is expected the majority of financing activity will happen with and through state and local green banks. The CEJF is meant to both build new green banks where they don’t exist, and then to fund those new and existing green banks to support clean energy, resilience and climate-related projects in communities across the country. 

The experience of state and local green banks already operating in the U.S. today has shown that most activity, investment decisions, contractors and community engagement are best served by a more local-entity. Existing green banks in the U.S. have now mobilized over $5B of total investment, leveraging $2.60 of private investment for each green bank dollar deployed. The greatest barrier to the growth of state and local green banks is the necessary public seed capital. The CEJF is meant to remove that barrier to let local investment flourish across the U.S.

Polling conducted last month by CGC found that 4 out of 5 voters nationally want Congress to invest in clean energy job creation. The same poll found that voters in competitive U.S. House districts and Senate races—the voters that will determine which party controls Congress—also strongly support a Clean Energy Jobs Fund.

Rarely do the numbers add up in politics. But for the Green Energy Jobs Fund, they do. Voters say so, and now so does Vivid Economics.

By Coalition for Green Capital

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2020
press@coalitionforgreencapital.com

Nearly 100 Groups Mobilize to Push Congress for Clean Energy Jobs Fund in Infrastructure Bill 

Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, NRDC, League of Conservation Voters, Solar Energy Industries Association join effort

Geographically broad groups span industry, environment, labor

 

WASHINGTON—Nearly 100 organizations today sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leaders requesting future economic recovery legislation include $35 billion for a nonprofit Clean Energy Jobs Fund to put 5 million Americans back to work. 

With more than 40 million American jobs lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic so far and studies showing that up to 42 percent of those jobs will not return, the groups argue that Congress must urgently make long term investments that create jobs and build a cleaner future. 

“The United States will be battling the health crisis for the foreseeable future and immediate relief is critical. But it is not enough,” the groups wrote. “Congress should respond by depositing $35 billion into the nonprofit, nonpartisan Clean Energy Jobs Fund to create 5 million new jobs.”

The letter, spearheaded by the Coalition for Green Capital, was signed by a diverse group of industry, trade and environmental advocacy groups, along with state and local officials. Large environmental organizations include the Sierra Club, Environmental Defense Fund, National Resources Defense Council, League of Conservation Voters, Union of Concerned Scientists, Climate Reality Project and Appalachian Voices. 

Other key clean energy industry groups— Solar Energy Industries Association, Energy Storage Association, Vote Solar, and Advanced Energy Management Alliance—added their voices backing the proposed Clean Energy Jobs Fund. 

State green banks and funding agencies, innovative start-ups and larger corporations, clean tech investors, utilities and regional advocacy groups—from Alaska to Hawaii, Florida to Michigan, Colorado to Pennsylvania and dozens more states—all signed on to support the clean energy jobs fund. Their support signals that this proposal is an effective way to put people to work and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The fund, as envisioned in H.R. 5416 and S. 2057, would use the green bank model to pair each public dollar with multiple private ones to build a range of clean energy projects throughout the U.S. This includes renewable power, building efficiency, grid infrastructure like transmission, industrial decarbonization, clean transportation, reforestation and climate-resilient infrastructure. Because the dollars are repaid over time, they can be recycled to make additional investments in the future. 

Twenty percent of the funds must go to low-income and climate-impacted communities, many of which have also been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The groups added: “Each project financed by the Fund will require Americans with all kinds of skills and backgrounds. Today, half the jobs in the clean energy sector are in sales, administration and management. These are roles that can be filled quickly by those laid off from other sectors with matching skill sets.”

Recent national polling shows eight out of 10 Americans want Congress to create clean energy jobs and seven out of 10 support depositing $35 billion into a fund to achieve this. The groups concluded: “Voters across parties want Congress to invest in clean energy job creation to put Americans back to work.”

 

Read the letter and full listing of groups that signed it below. 

We write at this urgent time with recommendations to support your efforts to respond to the unfolding economic crisis. The United States will be battling the health crisis for the foreseeable future and immediate relief is critical. But it is not enough. Today, 4 out of 5 voters nationally want Congress to create new jobs to build clean energy infrastructure. Congress should respond by depositing $35 billion into the nonprofit, nonpartisan Clean Energy Jobs Fund to create 5 million new jobs.

Over forty million people so far are out of work because of the coronavirus and ensuing economic shutdown. The shutdown, new consumer habits and changed behavior due to Covid-19 have led to structural changes in the U.S. economy and its workforce. Millions of Americans in the retail, dining, entertainment, travel sectors, among others, will not be able to quickly return to their old jobs. That means it is essential for Congress to help create new jobs for Americans.

In national polls 4 out of 5 voters want Congress to invest in new jobs to build clean energy infrastructure, like wind turbines, solar panels, power lines, and EV charging. And 69% say the U.S. government should deposit $35B in the nonpartisan, nonprofit Clean Energy Jobs Fund to achieve that objective.

The opportunity to build the infrastructure to generate, move, store and use clean and efficient energy is nearly boundless. Trillions of dollars of investment is needed to build clean energy infrastructure that will put millions back to work, strengthen communities, reduce pollution, improve public health, lower energy costs, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Clean Energy Jobs Fund (as envisioned by Sens. Markey and Van Hollen (S.2057) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (H.R.5416) in the National Climate Bank Act of 2019) is an excellent vehicle for this investment because it will pair each public dollar with multiple private ones to build a range of clean energy projects. This includes renewable power, building efficiency, grid infrastructure like transmission, industrial decarbonization, clean transportation, reforestation and climate-resilient infrastructure. Each public dollar invested will be repaid and preserved by the Fund, which means dollars can be recycled to cause even more private investment in the future.

The Fund will use the green bank model that has been proven at the state and local level in the U.S. There are already successful green banks in states like Michigan, Florida, Connecticut and Hawaii, and new ones in place in Colorado, Ohio, and Nevada. These green banks have driven over $5 billion of investment into clean energy, and for each public dollar invested, 2.6 dollars of private investment has followed.

Each project financed by the Fund will require Americans with all kinds of skills and backgrounds. Today, half the jobs in the clean energy sector are in sales, administration and management. These are roles that can be filled quickly by those laid off from other sectors with matching skillsets.

To strengthen communities in every corner of America, the Fund will help form new regional, state or local green banks across the U.S. and then provide the funding necessary for them to invest. This will build a network of local institutions designed expressly to meet the employment, energy, development and environmental needs of that community. The Fund will also help fund the expansion of those green banks that already exist and are showing others how to lead the way.

No community will be overlooked. 20% of the Fund’s investment must go to frontline, low-income and climate-impacted communities. Existing green banks have already proven the possible, delivering clean energy and health benefits to communities that have historically been left behind. This ensures good clean energy jobs are formed throughout the U.S.

The Fund is the evolution of the Clean Energy Deployment Administration (CEDA), introduced in Congress in 2009. CEDA enjoyed broad bipartisan support, passing the House Energy & Commerce Committee with a 51-6 vote and then the entire House. And it passed the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee with a 15-8 bipartisan vote.

This kind of broad support still exists. Immediate relief is essential in this crisis, but so too is providing a livelihood for the millions of American families and households out of work. Voters across parties want Congress to invest in clean energy job creation to put Americans back to work. And to do this, voters want Congress to fund the Clean Energy Jobs Fund.

Sincerely,

 

Environmental Non-Profit Organizations

Appalachian Voices

Chesapeake Climate Action Network

The Climate Reality Project

Energy Efficiency Alliance of New Jersey

Environmental Defense Fund

Fresh Energy

League of Conservation Voters

Maryland League of Conservation Voters

Natural Resources Defense Council

New Jersey League of Conservation Voters

Sierra Club

Union of Concerned Scientists

Vote Solar

 

Trade and Industry Associations

Advanced Energy Management Alliance

American Green Bank Consortium

Americans for a Clean Energy Grid

Coalition for Community Solar Access

Coalition for Green Capital

Energy Storage Association

Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association

Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance

Maryland Building Performance Association

Michigan Energy Efficiency Contractors Association

North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association

Northeast Clean Energy Council

Renewable Energy Alaska

Silicon Valley Leadership Group

Solar Energy Industries Association

Southern Renewable Energy Association

 

Financial Institutions and Funds

Atmos Bank

Climate Action Fund

Colorado Clean Energy Fund

Community Office for Resource Efficiency (CORE)

Connecticut Green Bank

DC Green Bank

Delaware Sustainable Energy Authority

Energy Resource Center, Colorado

Energy Outreach Colorado

Florida Solar Energy Loan Fund

Generate Capital

Greenworks Lending

Hawai’i Green Infrastructure Authority

Inclusive Property Capital

Maryland Clean Energy Center

Michigan Saves

Montgomery County Green Bank

Neighborhood Sun Benefit Corporation

New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation

Park City Community Foundation

Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank

Spark Northwest

 

Clean Energy Companies and Utilities

AboutSavingHeat.com

Ameresco

Amperon

Aris Energy Solutions, LLC

Atlas Home Energy Solutions

Bicky Corman Law PLLC

BlocPower

Build Efficiently, LLC

CertainSolar

Dollaride

eCAMION, USA

Elevation Lighting Services Company

Energy Efficiency Experts LLC

EnergyHub

The Engine

First Cast Communications

Form Energy

Green Generation

Greentown Labs

GRID Alternatives

Ground Loop Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.

Hawaiian Electric

Hunt Consulting

Integro, LLC

Maalka

Main Street Launch

Mortenson

Mountain View Solar and Wind

PosiGen, Inc.

Powerhouse

Raise Green

Recurrent Innovative Solutions, LLC

RER Energy Group

Rivermoor Energy

Solar United Neighbors

Solstice

Sustainable Real Estate Solutions, Inc.

WexEnergy

Zinc8 Energy Solutions

 

State and Local Governments

California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, CPA

Hawai’I State Energy Office

 

                                                                                   

 

cc:

The Honorable John Barrasso

The Honorable Tom Carper

The Honorable Chris Van Hollen

The Honorable Ed Markey

The Honorable James Clyburn

The Honorable Steny Hoyer

The Honorable Peter DeFazio

The Honorable Sam Graves

The Honorable Frank Pallone

The Honorable Debbie Dingell

 

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