BY The Climate Reality Project Staff, — 08/27/2021
Over a dozen states have reaped emissions-cutting, job-creating benefits of green banks, and lawmakers are now seeing the massive potential for one at the national scale. A green bank is a financial institution that uses limited public funding to attract private investment in clean energy, energy-efficient housing, and other green projects. By providing financing opportunities, they make green projects more affordable and accessible to consumers, ultimately increasing their uptake. As Congress starts working on the massive budget bill that represents major climate legislation in the US, green banks and specifically a national climate bank will to be part of the package.
The article can be found here.
Here is an excerpt that features SELF:
2020 was a big year for Florida’s Solar & Energy Loan Fund (SELF), an independent non-profit green bank. It saw its lending activity increase by 84% and surpassed $5 million annually for the first time.
SELF grew by 393% over the last three years and completed 2,000 green home improvement projects totaling $18 million — crucially, with 74% of the lending activity in underserved markets. What’s more, its default rate was below 2%.
Connecticut Green Bank and SELF are just two examples, but around the US, the story is much the same: green banks are ramping up their work, and in the process, bringing big climate impact and economic development to the table.
The article can be found here.