EDF’s Investor Confidence Project, PG&E Team Up on Efficiency Finance Pilot
Largest U.S. utility to offer zero percent financing for ICP-certified building retrofits
(SAN FRANCISCO – April 11, 2016) Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project (ICP) today announced Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), the largest utility in the United States, is launching a new pilot to accelerate energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings by providing interest-free loans to energy performance contractors who use ICP’s Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ (IREE) certification. ICP’s IREE certification brings rigorous measurement and verification metrics to energy efficiency retrofit projects, standardizing the way such projects are developed and brought to market — and making them more attractive to investors and building owners alike.
Once approved by the California Public Utilities Commission, the PG&E pilot could unleash a wave of private investment in energy efficiency retrofits across California, and provide a model for similar efforts in other states. The pilot will help implement the energy efficiency provisions of recent California state legislation (AB 802).
“ICP and PG&E are welcoming a new era of market-driven energy efficiency performance,” said Matt Golden, Project Director for EDF’s Investor Confidence Project. “By establishing a series of benchmarks and best practices for the retrofitting of existing buildings, ICP slashes transaction costs, accelerates project timelines, and shows a clear path to profitability for the finance and performance contracting sectors.”
The interest-free loans will be provided under a pilot in PG&E’s existing On-Bill Financing (OBF) program, giving qualifying energy efficiency projects in existing commercial and multifamily buildings access to up to $100,000 at zero percent interest. Under the terms of the program, qualifying projects will show positive cash flow for building owners – meaning loan payments will be less than bill savings.
“PG&E’s new pilot with EDF’s Investor Confidence Project helps take things to the next level,” said Gavin Purchas, EDF Director, California Clean Energy. “By creating a robust market for the financing of energy efficiency retrofits, PG&E is at the cutting edge of a true transformation in how we use, value and securitize energy savings.”
EDF’s ICP is also running a pilot through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), and is the standard for property-assessed clean energy loans (PACE) in the state of Texas. Additional ICP programs for building owners, investors, and performance contractors exist in a half-dozen other states in the U.S. and across the European Union. The addition of PG&E’s OBF Pilot is a significant milestone for ICP, which came to fruition in 2014.
For more information on the Investor Confidence Project, visit www.EEperformance.org.
One of the world’s leading international nonprofit organizations, Environmental Defense Fund (edf.org) creates transformational solutions to the most serious environmental problems. To do so, EDF links science, economics, law, and innovative private-sector partnerships. With more than 3 million members and offices in the United States, China, Mexico, Indonesia and the European Union, EDF’s scientists, economists, attorneys and policy experts are working in 28 countries to turn our solutions into action. Connect with us on Twitter @EnvDefenseFund
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