The Clean Energy Future Blog
By Coalition for Green Capital
Press Release: June 21, 2019
US Representatives Jim Himes (D-CT) and 13 colleagues today introduced the US Green Bank Act of 2019, companion to a recent Senate bill of the same name introduced in May. The introduction builds momentum for the Green Bank proposal and demonstrates a broad base of support.
Like the Senate bill, the new bill establishes a US Green Bank. Green Banks are institutions that seek to achieve the greatest possible greenhouse gas reduction impact while reducing consumer energy costs. They achieve this by investing public dollars in ways that mobilize additional private capital.
The US Green Bank created by this bill would be capitalized with $50 billion, and would deploy those funds through the growing network of existing state and local Green Banks. There are currently 14 state and local Green Banks in the US, with more under development. These institutions have a demonstrated track record of success, and have mobilized sufficient private capital to more than triple the impact of each public dollar invested.
Representatives Himes said: “Thank you to the Coalition for Green Capital for their vital work and leadership on this issue. If we are really serious as a nation about creating a greener, more sustainable world, we need more than talk; we need investment. A national green bank will help states, municipalities and localities leverage their resources and ensure the future we create is a future we want to live in.”
As experts in Green Bank creation and operation, the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) has played a role in the creation of most of the operating Green Banks in the US, and has been a leading voice on Green Banks since the model was first proposed a decade ago. CGC also operates the American Green Bank Consortium, which convenes and connects US Green Banks to work together and share information.
Jeffrey Schub, Executive Director of CGC said: “The House introduction of the US Green Bank Act of 2019 shows that momentum and support for Green Banks continue to grow. This bill would deliver an influx of capital into Green Bank institutions, enabling them to supercharge their investments in critical areas like renewable energy, energy efficiency, and clean transportation.”
For more information on the US Green Bank Act of 2019, see Representative Himes’ Statement, Senator Murphy’s Statement on the Senate bill, and CGC’s Bill Summary. For more information on existing US Green Banks, see the American Green Bank Consortium’s Annual Industry Report.
ABOUT CGC
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) is a non-profit organization focused on accelerating the growth of clean energy through the creation of Green Banks.
CGC offers a unique and proven capacity as the leading creator, advocate, and expert on Green Banks since 2009 and works directly to support the formation of Green Banks with governmental and civil society partners. CGC also provides on-going consulting and guidance to operating Green Banks.
For more information visit coalitionforgreencapital.com/.
CONTACT
Alex Kragie
Director of the American Green Bank Consortium
By Coalition for Green Capital
The American Green Bank Consortium is a project of CGC. Launched in 2019, the Consortium is a membership organization enabling Green Banks, capital providers, developers and other clean energy supporters to work together.
The Consortium has now announced the date for the first U.S. Green Bank Summit. The Summit is a gathering of Green Banks, developers, capital providers, philanthropy policymakers and others eager to expand innovative clean energy investment with and through Green Banks, and will be held Wednesday July 10, 2019 in Washington, DC.
For details, including a tentative agenda and how to request an invitation, see the American Green Bank Consortium website.
By Coalition for Green Capital
Press Release: May 28, 2019
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) today released the first annual industry report of the American Green Bank Consortium, finding that cumulative investment caused by American Green Banks has exceeded $3 billion for the first time.
CGC supports the work of state and local Green Banks, as well as the formation of new Green Banks. The full report is available here: Green Banks in the United States: 2018 Annual Industry Report.
In total, the report finds that American Green Banks have caused $3.67 billion in clean energy investment, with $676 million of this investment taking place in 2018. The Green Bank concept was initially proposed in 2009, and there are now 14 Green Banks in the U.S. with more in development.
Green Banks are unique in that they use innovative finance solutions and incentives to facilitate private investment in clean energy projects that would otherwise struggle to find capital. The report finds that the impact of every dollar of direct public Green Bank investment was more than tripled by the private investment it attracted. The ratio of private to public investments generated by the American Green Banks was 3.4 to 1.
The report also reviews broader trends across Green Banks, finding a shift towards more diverse sources of capital to fund the Green Banks themselves, and an increased focus on the importance of energy storage technologies and climate resilience measures.
Bryan Garcia, president and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank, said: “We’re excited to be part of the American Green Bank Consortium and to have our work reflected in its first annual report. Industry-wide reporting on Green Banks has never before been produced on a consistent basis, and the increasing availability and depth of this reporting will be important to the growth and development of our industry.”
The report comes at a time when a national conversation is taking shape on how best to finance massive investments in infrastructure, and particularly in clean energy. Presidential candidates have recently released climate plans that have included the creation of a Green Bank, and legislation outlining a national Green Bank was also recently introduced in the Senate.
Reed Hundt, CEO of CGC, said: “Green Banks need to exist in every state if we want to win the battle against climate change. They need to be partners with the national Green Bank when it is created. Green finance will move the country rapidly from the carbon to clean platform, while guaranteeing that customers are better off.”
For more details see the full report: Green Banks in the United States: 2018 Annual Industry Report.
ABOUT CGC
The Coalition for Green Capital (CGC) is a non-profit organization focused on accelerating the growth of clean energy markets through the creation of Green Banks.
CGC offers a unique and proven capacity as the leading creator, advocate, and expert on Green Banks since 2009 and works directly to support the formation of Green Banks with governmental and civil society partners. CGC also provides on-going consulting and guidance to operating Green Banks.
For more information visit coalitionforgreencapital.com/.
ABOUT THE AMERICAN GREEN BANK CONSORTIUM
The American Green Bank Consortium is a project of CGC. Launched in 2019, the Consortium is a membership organization enabling Green Banks, capital providers, developers and other clean energy supporters to work together.
The Consortium creates value for members through services including facilitating the sharing of knowledge among Green Banks, and working with potential capital providers to design blended clean energy investment vehicles that work at scale across the entire network of Green Banks.
For more information visit greenbankconsortium.org.
CONTACT
Alex Kragie
Director of the American Green Bank Consortium
U.S. Green Bank Act of 2019 Would Provide $10 Billion+ of Capital to State and Local Green Banks
By Coalition for Green Capital
U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) this week introduced the Green Bank Act of 2019. The bill would inject billions of dollars into the U.S. economy to accelerate clean energy deployment, grow clean energy businesses, and deliver affordable clean energy to all Americans. This bill provides a framework for a Congress that wants take a leadership role in the fight against climate change. There is growing consensus that the federal government must directly invest in the clean energy transition, and this bill shows how it can be done.
“Senator Murphy is drawing up a blueprint for winning the battle against climate change,” said Coalition for Green Capital CEO Reed Hundt. “That fight will establish American global leadership and create millions of jobs.”
The United States Green Bank (USGB) formed in this bill would deploy capital through the growing network of state and local Green Banks and related institutions. Those funds would be blended with private, philanthropic and local public funds to finance a range of clean energy, efficiency, and climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. The USGB would be capitalized with up to $50 billion and catalyze multiples of that using the proven Green Bank model.
The members of the global Green Bank Network and the American Green Bank Consortium have already shown that public investment in clean energy deployment drives greater total investment, job growth and lower energy costs.
“The Green Bank model of mobilizing private investment into clean energy and energy efficiency projects has proven successful in states, counties, and cities across the country,” said Bryan Garcia, President and CEO of the Connecticut Green Bank. “In Connecticut, we are seeing lower energy costs for families and businesses, more high-wage jobs, and a reduction in the emissions that cause climate change. Senator Murphy’s proposal to create a United States Green Bank would help replicate and amplify these positive outcomes nationwide.”
The bill creates a new USGB as a wholly owned corporation of the U.S. government, housed within Treasury. It would be capitalized through the issuance of federal Green Bonds. The USGB would then provide capital to qualifying state and local Green Banks, to finance a range of clean energy projects in partnership with private investors. This proposed USGB would not, itself, directly finance projects. Rather, much like the CDFI Fund in the Treasury, it would inject capital into a growing network of purpose-built, mission-oriented clean energy finance institutions around the country.
In addition, the USGB would establish a “New Bank Division” that would exclusively provide technical assistance to those locations seeking to form their own Green Banks. Those Green Banks in turn would be eligible to receive financing from the USGB.
Green Banks across the US, from Hawaii to Rhode Island, have driven over $3.5 billion of total clean energy already. But all of them face the same constraint – how to expand when capital is in short supply from their local government partners. And many more Green Banks are in the pipeline. The Coalition for Green Capital is in discussion with elected officials across the country who want to implement Green Banks to finance clean energy in their communities, but all struggle to find the vital capital to get started. Under this bill, those leaders could create and designate their own Green Banks to be capitalized by the new USGB.
“The Colorado Clean Energy Fund was just announced by Governor Hickenlooper as the state’s Green Bank in December, and we’re already seeing huge demand for mission-driven Green Bank financing that outstrips our current capital,” said Paul Scharfenberger, Executive Director of the Colorado Clean Energy Fund. “Capital from the USGB would be instrumental in meeting that demand and bringing the benefits of clean energy to Coloradans across the state.”
By using the existing and growing network of market-based lending institutions, the legislation ensures that USGB financing serves local market needs and meet economic, energy and climate conditions specific to every state in the country. State and local Green Banks play a vital role in their clean energy economy, connecting projects and developers to capital. They help structure transactions that meet the parties’ needs and deliver cheaper energy to the end user.
“Michigan Saves commends Sen. Murphy for introducing the United States Green Bank Act of 2019, which, like us, seeks to create a clean energy landscape that everyone can benefit from,” said Mary Templeton, president and CEO of Michigan Saves, Michigan’s Green Bank.
The new legislation enters a growing national policy conversation in Washington and on the campaign trail around Green Banks and related investment structures. Heading into the 2020 election, there is growing recognition that proactive federal investment in the clean energy transition is now essential, and that tax credits and mandates alone will not address the climate crisis quickly enough. Unlike in past policy generations where federal investment was focused on R&D, or applied with strict limitations to commercial technologies, new approaches must be larger and deployment-focused. And, importantly, they must be designed to expand clean energy to all communities by delivering lower energy costs.
The New Consensus, architects of the Green New Deal, advocate for a federal Green Bank. Presidential candidates are calling for “a new dedicated finance authority” to channel $3 trillion of climate investment. At the same time, Green Bank action is spreading across the country at the state and local level, the laboratories of democracy. Legislation to form Green Banks has been introduced in Massachusetts and Maine. A new initiative is underway in Cuyahoga County Ohio to form a new county-level Green Bank. The Nevada Clean Energy Fund is about to commence operations. Local leaders from Hawaii to Florida are creating or expanding their Green Banks.
And existing Green Bank leaders are on the move, as well. Connecticut and New York Green Banks and the New York City Energy Efficiency Corporation (NYCEEC) are all seeking to serve new geographies to bring capital and best practices to new markets. The new American Green Bank Consortium was launched at the start of 2019 to support the growth and effectiveness of the Green Bank field. And the U.S. Climate Alliance, representing 24 state governors, launched a Green Bank initiative to support Green Bank formation in more states.
Today’s legislation marks the beginning of a multi-year effort to ensure that clear and defined Green Bank financing mechanisms are central to federal climate change investment plans. Click here to read CGC’s one-page framework for a federal Green Bank. To learn more about Senator Murphy’s legislation, read Senator Murphy’s statement and read CGC’s bill summary.
By Coalition for Green Capital
Today Washington Governor and 2020 Democratic Presidential Candidate Jay Inslee presented his $9 trillion “Evergreen Economy Plan.” The plan includes the creation of a $90 billion federal Green Bank called the Clean Energy Deployment Authority (CEDA).
Governor Inslee is the first presidential candidate to formally propose the creation of a federal Green Bank to catalyze greater total clean energy investment using public capital. Supporters of the Green New Deal and other presidential candidates have said that a Green Bank or related federal investment vehicles are crucial to addressing climate change. Governor Inslee is the first candidate to provide a blueprint for what federal investment in clean energy deployment would look like in 2021. As outlined in his plan, the Green Bank is not only a tool to address climate change. It would establish America’s economic and clean energy leadership and create jobs across the country.
Modelled on the CEDA legislation Governor Inslee first introduced in Congress in 2009, the federal Green Bank would provide low-cost loans and guarantees to accelerate clean energy deployment. The plan calls for the creation of CEDA as an independent non-profit federal financing authority outside of government.
It would finance all technologies that enable clean energy deployment and can accelerate the clean energy transition. It would work directly with state and local intermediary finance organizations. This includes state and local Green Banks, infrastructure finance authorities, CDFIs and others. This ensures that local clean energy market needs are met with federal financing and local expertise. In addition, CEDA will provide investment support to expedite the retirement of coal plants and other fossil fuel infrastructure. This is consistent with the Governor’s climate plan presented earlier this month.
Governor Inslee’s Green Bank plan provides the essential policy blueprint for turning large climate ambitions and targets into reality. It is built on a proven Green Bank model and works in concert with existing actors so capital can flow quickly. $90 billion of public capital can catalyze multiples of that in total investment, leveraging private and philanthropic investment to address underserved clean energy market segments.
Read CGC’s Framework for a National Green Bank policy for more information, and stay tuned for more analysis on this and other federal Green Bank plans.
By Coalition for Green Capital
The Energy Foundation, one of the Coalition for Green Capital’s key partners, has published an overview of CGC’s impact on the development of Green Banks in the US:
In fact, CGC was instrumental in establishing the Connecticut Green Bank—the nation’s first state-level green bank—by partnering with state government and public and private investors. CGC helped conceive of, design, advocate for, and implement the bank. Staff members also helped build broad support among industry and lawmakers, and ensured the bank would be funded with tens of millions of dollars per year. Additionally, the organization helped launch green banks in New York, Maryland, Colorado, and Nevada.
We are grateful for the support of organizations like the Energy Foundation to advance clean energy innovation. Read the full profile here.
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