Scaling Private Energy Efficiency Financing

Making EE Financing a Standardized Asset Class

The opportunity exists today to finance $150 billion per year in energy efficiency projects that yield double-digit financial returns. Within 10 years, investment at this level would save American businesses and households $200 billion annually and create more than 1 million new full-time jobs. This level of funding represents a more than five-fold increase from current levels of about $20 billion per year, and would cost-effectively make the American economy more competitive, enhance national security, and help slow the impacts of climate change.


In the fall of 2010, the Energy Foundation engaged Capital E to better understand the existing and potential mechanisms to scale private energy efficiency financing and to help lay out a critical path to enable dramatically expanded deployment of private capital in the space.

Capital E worked with five of the ten largest banks in the U.S. as well as major real estate and industry organizations, to map out how the private sector can rapidly and cost-effectively expand private investment in energy efficiency. Findings informed the report “Energy Efficiency Financing: Models and Strategies” which contains succinct, structured descriptions of existing and emerging models and strategies as well as links to best available documents.

CO2 to EE

ACCESS RESOURCES referenced in this reportSite/Energy_Efficiency_Financing_Resources.htmlSite/Energy_Efficiency_Financing_Resources.htmlshapeimage_1_link_0
VIEW AGENDA AND PARTICIPANTS for the Energy Efficiency Financing WorkshopEnergy_Efficiency_Financing_files/EE%20Financing%20Workshop%20Agenda-W.pdfEnergy_Efficiency_Financing_files/EE%20Financing%20Workshop%20Agenda-W_1.pdfshapeimage_2_link_0

CO-DESIGN/REFINE SELECTED FINANCING MECHANISMS

As part of this year’s ACEEE Energy Efficiency Finance Forum in May, Capital E coordinated and facilitated a highly-structured meeting of 25 representatives from banks, investors, regulators, project developers and industry organizations to co-design new mechanisms for energy efficiency financing.

CO-DEVELOP NEW MECHANISMS

Capital E has been co-developing new EE financing mechanisms with select groups of investors, regulators, industry organization leaders, entrepreneurs and consultants. The goal is to scale one or two of these mechanisms to $1 bil+ in additional annual private-sector efficiency financing within three to five years.


Mechanisms being co-developed as of January 2011 include:

ANALYSIS AND SUMMARY OF EXISTING MODELS AND STRATEGIES