Green banks that traditionally supported renewable energy projects with federal funding have reconsidered their role in financing solar projects after the Trump administration cut the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund last year. With the $20 billion allocated to build green banks for U.S. renewable energy deployment gone, a coalition of green banks working across market scales formed U.S. Green Bank 50 (GB 50).
GB 50 members have shifted from traditional financing to becoming project partners responsible for certain early planning processes and for assisting lenders.
“Our mission to make community-scale and residential-scale energy projects affordable for everyday Americans is clearer than ever,” said Dan Adler, executive director of GB 50. “From rooftop solar on affordable housing to high-efficiency heat pumps for local non-profits, we are proving to the market that these are smart, reliable, cost-saving investments. Our members are doing the heavy lifting to organize these projects and standardize the process. This creates a repeatable playbook that attracts institutional investors to step in and provide capital at the scale these communities need.”
GB. 50’s member companies are still producing projects. DC Green Bank worked with DC Sustainable Energy Utility to bring a $775,000 solar plus storage array and high-efficiency HVAC system to the historic Howard Theatre near Howard University. The Clean Energy Fund of the Carolinas and Solar and Energy Loan Fund lent $1.25 million to build solar plus storage projects on low-to-moderate income homes affected by Hurricane Helene.
“As the GB 50 enters its second year as a unified voice for the industry, the organization is focused on strengthening its membership network and integrating community lenders into a cohesive national network built to withstand the boom and bust cycles of federal policy. By decoupling community progress from political volatility, green banks are ensuring that the future of American energy is built on a foundation of permanent, market-driven growth,” the group wrote in a press release.
News item from GB 50
