Letter comes after inclusion in White House American Jobs Plan
Number of groups supporting concept doubles from last year
NRDC, EDF, SEIA and other large groups sign on
WASHINGTON—Nearly 250 groups today sent a letter to congressional leaders urging them to include a $100B Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator in the upcoming infrastructure bill to serve as a national green bank after President Joe Biden recommended the effort in his American Jobs Plan in March. The number of groups backing the idea has more than doubled since last summer when the U.S. House passed $20 billion for a national green bank as GOP support for the idea has increased with backing from Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) and Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska).
“Though we have a vaccine, the United States will be battling the health crisis well into 2021. Immediate relief is critical, but it is not enough. Congress should respond by depositing $100 billion into the independent nonpartisan, nonprofit Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that the President included in his American Jobs Plan to mobilize nearly half a trillion dollars of investment and create 4 million new jobs in 4 years,” the groups wrote.
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, Black Owners of Solar Services and Appalachian Voices.
Other key clean energy industry groups— Solar Energy Industries Association, Energy Storage Association, Vote Solar, Advanced Energy Management Alliance, Renewable Energy Alaska Project and Alaska Power and Telephone Company—added their voices.
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. Their support signals that this proposal is an effective way to put people to work and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The bank would mobilize private investment into distributed energy resources; retrofits of residential, commercial and municipal buildings; and clean transportation. At least 40 percent of its investments would go to disadvantaged communities that have not yet benefited from clean energy investments.
“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,” wrote the groups. “States across the U.S. are now developing or considering their own green banks, including states like Alaska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin.”
Earlier this year, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) introduced S. 283 and H.R. 806 to create a national green bank. The idea is also included in the U.S. House Energy & Commerce Committee’s comprehensive CLEAN Future Act.
The National Academies of Science has recommended that Congress fund an institution based on the green bank model. In its report, it wrote, “Private sources of capital are unlikely to be sufficient to finance the low-carbon economic transition, especially during the 2020s when the effort is new. To ensure industrial competitiveness and quality of life, the United States should establish a Green Bank to mobilize finance for low-carbon infrastructure and business in America.”
Green banks currently exist in over 14 cities and states across the country and have supported over $5 billion in investment in clean energy projects in their states and local communities, and much of this investment has been targeted toward low- and moderate-income households and communities. View a list of projects that have been supported by already existing state and local green banks.
Read the letter and full listing of groups that signed it below.
Dear Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, and Minority Leaders McConnell and McCarthy:
We write at this critical time with recommendations to support your efforts to respond to the ongoing economic crisis. Though we have a vaccine, the United States will be battling the health crisis well into 2021. Immediate relief is critical, but it is not enough. Congress should respond by depositing $100 billion into the independent nonpartisan, nonprofit Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator that the President included in his American Jobs Plan to mobilize nearly half a trillion dollars of investment and create 4 million new jobs in 4 years.
Millions of Americans are still collecting unemployment benefits. Labor force participation is at its lowest levels in nearly 50 years. And long-term unemployment is now at 4.25 million workers, the highest level in recorded history other than the peak of the Great Recession. The U.S. is still struggling through a historic jobs crisis, and the shifts in the labor market are now becoming permanent. Service industries, dining, entertainment and travel continue to shed jobs, with many of those positions being permanently eliminated. Returning to full employment requires creating new jobs in new sectors. That means it is essential for Congress to help create new jobs for Americans.
In national polls 7 out of 10 voters, including majorities from both parties, agree that investing in clean energy infrastructure is a great way to accomplish two critical objectives – create jobs and mitigate the impacts of climate change. And 2 out of 3 voters nationally want Congress to fund the non-profit independent Clean Energy Accelerator to create those jobs.
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. This is in addition to the pressing need to build resilient infrastructure in communities across America.
The Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator is the ideal vehicle for this investment. The Accelerator 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 and storage, industrial decarbonization, clean transportation, reforestation and sustainable agriculture 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. Legislation to fund the Accelerator has already passed the House twice in 2020, first as part of the Moving Forward Act and again as part of the Clean Economy Jobs and Innovation Act. The Accelerator –introduced in H.R. 806 by Representatives Dingell and Fitzpatrick and as the National Climate Bank Act in S. 283 by Senators Markey and Van Hollen and– has been reintroduced as a stand-alone bill and as part of the CLEAN Future Act with a $100 billion capitalization.
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, often created with bipartisan support, have driven over $5 billion of investment into clean energy, and for each public dollar invested, 2.6 dollars of private investment has followed. States across the U.S. are now developing or considering their own green banks, including states like Alaska, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maine, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
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. Forty percent 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.
A national green bank like the Accelerator is supported by the House Climate Crisis Committee and the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis. It was co-sponsored and endorsed by Vice President Kamala Harris during her time serving as a Senator, and aligns with President-Elect Biden’s clean energy plans. Polling also shows it is supported by Republican voters in swing states and fossil fuel-dependent states like West Virginia, Alaska, North Carolina and Florida.
There is broad support for this kind of clean and resilient infrastructure investment to put Americans back to work. 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 act, and to do so by funding the Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator.
Sincerely,
Environmental Nonprofit Organizations
350 Maine
Acadia Center
Appalachian Voices
Arcadia Center for Sustainable Food and Agriculture
Belfast, ME Chapter Citizens Climate Lobby
Bethesda Green
Center for Ecological Living and Learning
Center for an Ecology-Based Economy
Central Illinois Healthy Community Alliance
Chesapeake Climate Action Network
Clean Energy Economy for the Region
The Climate Center
The Climate Reality Project
Climate Resolve
Coalition for Green Capital
Coastal Youth Climate Coalition
Community Office for Resource Efficiency
Earthjustice
Energy Outreach Colorado
Energy Resource Center
Energy Smart Colorado
Environmental Defense Fund
Environmental & Energy Study Institute
Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
Grid Alternatives
Institute for Market Transformation
Institute for Sustainable Communities
League of Conservation Voters
Maine Climate Table
Maine Mountain Collaborative
Maine Ocean and Coastal Acidification Partnership
Maine Youth for Climate Justice
Maryland League of Conservation Voters
Michigan Environmental Council
Natural Resources Council of Maine
Natural Resources Defense Council
New Jersey League of Conservation Voters
Renewable Energy Alaska Project
Sierra Club
Sitka Conservation Society
Spark Northwest
Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Conservancy
Sustain Mid-Maine Coalition
Union of Concerned Scientists
Urban Land Institute
Urban Sustainability Directors Network
Wells Reserve at Laudham
Zocalo Permaculture Center
Trade and Industry Associations
Advanced Energy Management Alliance
American Green Bank Consortium
Americans for a Clean Energy Grid
Black Owners of Solar Services
Carolinas Clean Energy Business Association
Coalition for Community Solar Access
Colorado Solar and Storage Association
DC Capital Connector
Energy Efficiency Alliance of New Jersey
Energy Storage Association
Fuel Cell and Hydrogen Energy Association
Hawai’I Solar Energy Association
Inclusiv
Keystone Energy Efficiency Alliance
Maryland Building Performance Association
Michigan Energy Efficiency Contractors Association
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Neighborhood Restaurant Group
North Carolina Sustainable Energy Association
Northeast Clean Energy Council
Resource Recovery Coalition of California
Silicon Valley Leadership Group
Solar Energy Industries Association
Solar United Neighbors
Southern Renewable Energy Association
Vote Solar
Financial Institutions
Amalgamated Bank
Atmos Bank
City First Bank of DC
Clean Energy Trust
Climate Access Fund
Colorado Clean Energy Fund
Connecticut Green Bank
DC Green Bank
Delaware Sustainable Energy Utility
The Engine
Finance New Orleans
Florida Solar & Energy Loan Fund
Generate Capital
Greenworks Lending
Growth Opps
Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority
Inclusive Prosperity Capital
Latino Economic Development Center
Main Street Launch
Maryland Clean Energy Center
Michigan Saves
Morgan Stanley Wealth Management
Montgomery County Green Bank
NYCEEC
Raise Green
Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank
Sungage Financial LLC
Clean Energy, Water, and Sustainability Companies and Utilities
4P Foods
About Saving Heat
Agents for the Built Environment
Alaska Power and Telephone Company
Ameresco
Amicus Strategic Environmental Consulting
Amperon
Aris Energy Solutions, LLC
Atlas Home Energy Solutions
Aurora Energy
Banyan Infrastructure
Bicky Corman Law, PLLC
BlocPower
Build Efficiently, LLC
CertainSolar
Chart House Energy, LLC
Christensen Global Strategies
Clean Energy Works
CMTA, Inc.
DC Solar – Washington, DC
DC Water
Delorean Power
Dietel & Partners
Dollaride
eCAMION USA
Elevate Energy
Elevation Lighting Services Company
Energy Efficiency Experts, LLC
Energy Hub
Energy Tech
Enervee
Enerwealth Solutions
Envoy Technologies, Inc.
First Cast Communications
Flywheel Development, LLC
Foresight Management
Form Energy
Fresh Energy
The Friendly Ewe
Gardner Real Estate Group
Gordian Knot Strategies
Green Compass
Green Generation
Green Projects Group
Greentown Labs
Ground Loop Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc.
Hawaiian Electric Company
Holu Hou Energy
Holy Cross Energy
Hunt Consulting
Insight Power Partners
Integro, LLC
Inter-Island Solar Supply
Invest Sou Sou
Ipsun Solar
Law Offices of Leslie M. Lava
LewLew Energy
Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator
Maalka
Mission Energy LLC
Mortensen
Mountain View Wind and Solar
Moya Design Partners
Neighborhood Sun
Photonworks Engineering, LLP
Posigen, Inc.
Powerhouse
Recurrent Innovative Solutions, LLC
RER Energy Group
Rivermoor Energy
Sioneer
Solar Stewards
Solstice
South San Francisco Scavenger Company
Sustainable Capital Advisors
Sustainable Real Estate Solutions
Undaunted K12
Valley Green Fuels
Vanguard Energy Partners, LLC
Westhof, Cone & Holmstedt
WexEnergy
Winrock International
Zefiro Waste
Zero Foodprint
Zinc8 Energy Solutions
State and Local Governments
Bay Area Air Quality Management District
California State Treasurer Fiona Ma, CPA
City of Aspen, Colorado
City of Belfast, ME Climate Change Committee
City of Jackson, Mississippi
Franklin County, Maine Climate Change Coalition
Hawai’i State Energy Office
Maine State Treasurer Henry Beck
Nevada Governor’s Office of Energy
Philadelphia Energy Authority
Other Nonprofit Organizations
Berggruen Institute
Christensen Fund
City First Enterprises
Confluence Philanthropy
Flora Family Foundation
Good Community Foundation
Groundswell
Illinois People’s Action
National Housing Trust
Park City Community Foundation
Partnership for Southern Equity
Prentice Foundation
Third Way
Wallace Global Fund
cc:
The Honorable Tom Carper
The Honorable Shelley Moore Capito
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
The Honorable Cathy Castor
###