Mailing AddressCalCEF Innovations
5 Third St. Suite 1125
San Francisco, CA 94103
Phone NumbersP: 415 957 0167  F: 415 957 0177
E-Mail Addressgeneral info: info@calcef.org
News

Flex Your Power Energy, Megan Toth - February 24, 2010

New Report Evaluates No-First-Cost Financing Strategies for Saving Energy

CalCEF Innovations, a branch of the California Clean Energy Fund, recently released its second white paper in its Energy Efficiency series: “Energy Efficiency Paying the Way: New Financing Solutions Remove First-Cost Hurdles.” The paper uses case studies to evaluate newly deployed no-first-cost financing options available to businesses and other entities looking to make energy-saving improvements. Intended for policy-makers, regulators, and private sector firms, the paper analyzes six programs including (among others):

Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE): Government programs, such as the highlighted Palm Desert, CA initiative, offer property owners 20-year loans for Energy Efficiency that are repaid through property tax assessments.

On-bill Financing: Loans for energy efficiency can be re-paid through the customer’s regular utility bill. San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) offers on-bill financing.

These programs help customers overcome the initial financial barriers to otherwise cost-efficient upgrades. Paul Frankel, managing director of CalCEF Innovations explains, “We’ve uncovered a critical gap in the energy efficiency sector, where the deployment of retrofits is not at pace with the large potential for profits—both economical and environmental—due to a perceived cost-prohibitive barrier to entry. Energy efficiency can pay back three or four times on its investment in a relatively short time frame when strategic financing and aggregated deployment strategies are implemented.”