Green Bank Act gets a second chance

The Green Bank Act of 2014 has been introduced in the House and Senate again.In 2009, it passed in the Housebut not the Senate. Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) has introduced it once more, this time with a companion Senate bill sponsored by Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).

It would create permanent, reliable, low-cost financing for clean energy and energy efficiency projects across the United States and provide seed funding for state Green Banks. President Obama included this in one of this budgets, and the United Kingdom has a nationalGreen Investment Bank.

In the absence of federal legislation, four states since have launched Green Banks: Connecticut,New York— capitalized at $1 billion -— Vermont and Hawaii, and 10 others are actively considering it, recently attending the firstGreen Bank Academy.

The federal legislation is modeled on Connecticut's Green Bank, called the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority. Connecticut was the first state to pass a green bank bill.

Like state green banks, the federal one would focus on "financing gaps," that is, creditworthy projects that can't get to scale for lack of reasonably priced financing in private capital markets. Not only would it spur private sector investment, it would cut the cost of clean energy and accelerate deployment. It also would catalyze development of more state green banks by offering low-interest loans of up to $500 million.

• Mission: advance vital national objectives of achieving energy independence, abating climate change, reducing the delivered cost of clean energy to consumers, and stimulating job creation through the manufacture, construction and operation of credit-worthy clean energy and energy efficiency projects.
• Initially capitalized with $10 billion inGreen Bondsissued by the Treasury, it could acquire $40 billion more in Green Bonds
• Fully paid for by eliminating a tax loophole that encourages companies to invest borrowed money abroad rather than in the U.S.
• Authorized to engage in a comprehensive range of financing support — loans, loan guarantees, debt securitization, insurance and other forms of risk management.
• 明确允许与美国建立的国家清洁能源融资实体数量不断增长，并成为低成本资本的来源
• Chartered for 20 years under independent governance by a Board of Directors comprised of five Cabinet Secretaries and six presidentially appointed members with relevant expertise.
• 强大的支出保障措施和公共披露要求，以确保最高水平的功效，问责制和透明度。

"Through public-private partnerships, Connecticut's Green Bank supports important clean energy efforts such as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) loans to help businesses improve their energy efficiency and competitiveness; crowdsources residential solar projects, and clean energy initiatives for schools, YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs such as the Campus Efficiency Now (CEN) program. We have a great opportunity to share the innovative model that's working here in Connecticut to help people around the country improve our economy and our environment," says cosponsor Rep. Elizabeth Esty.

州长丹尼尔·马洛伊（Dannel Malloy）说，康涅狄格州的绿色银行利用公共资金以10比1的优势吸引了私人资本。他说，如果康涅狄格州通过国家一级，将获得多达5亿美元的联邦资金，这些资金可以利用，以吸引大约50亿美元的私人资本，以使我们日益增长的清洁能源经济。

The legislation is co-sponsored by: Jim Himes (D-Conn.); Elizabeth Esty (D-Conn.); Jim Langevin (D-R.I.); Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.); Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.); Gerry Connolly (D-Va.); and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.).

New Jersey's energy resilience bank

Gov. Chris Christie希望使用2.1亿美元的桑迪救济资金来建立新泽西的能源弹性银行，该银行将支持基础设施来承受极端天气事件。像绿色银行一样，它将通过利用公共资金来吸引私人投资。

Low-cost loans and other kinds of financing would be used to build-out on-site, distributed energy for critical facilities such as hospitals, schools, water and wastewater plants, communications and transportation. The application says energy sources would fuel cells, combined heat and power, and solar with energy storageto form microgrids.

More than 800 requests for energy resiliency projects have been submitted by 425 towns, counties and other government entities.

These initiatives long have been recommended and money has been allocated in the state's Clean Energy Fund. But Christie突袭了该基金的10亿美元to close the state budget.

有趣的是，为了获得联邦援助，联邦政府现在需要确认气候变化和海平面上升，新泽西山脉俱乐部主任杰夫·蒂特尔（Jeff Tittel），told NJ Spotlight.

Top image of bank by丹尼斯·罗杰（Denis Roger）via Shutterstock