Will 2021 Witness the Creation of More State Green Banks?
With the incoming Biden Administration, the President elect has announced his new environmental plan “To Build a Modern, Sustainable Infrastructure and Equitable Clean Energy Future.” Among the various policy points discussed in the plan, one interesting initiative describes the development of “innovative financing mechanisms that leverage private sector dollars to maximize investment in the clean energy revolution.” This last sentence reminds me of what happened in Connecticut with regards to their Green Bank.
The Connecticut Green Bank is the first green bank in the country. According to the Bank’s website “Established by the Connecticut General Assembly on July 1, 2011 as a part of Public Act 11-80, Connecticut Green Bank supports the Governor’s and Legislature’s energy strategy to achieve cleaner, less expensive, and more reliable sources of energy while creating jobs and supporting local economic development. The Connecticut Green Bank evolved from the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund (CCEF) and the Clean Energy Finance and Investment Authority (CEFIA), which was given a broader mandate in 2011 to become the Connecticut Green Bank.
Our mission is to confront climate change and provide all of society a healthier and more prosperous future by increasing and accelerating the flow of private capital into markets that energize the green economy.
Our green bank model upended the government subsidy-driven approach to clean energy by working with private-sector investors to create low-cost, long-term sustainable financing to maximize the use of public funds. We continue to innovate, educate and activate to accelerate the growth of green energy measures in the residential (single and multifamily), commercial, industrial, institutional and infrastructure sectors.”
With the incoming Administration’s intent to push into green energy and region’s like New England that have so many industries relying on a stable environment, it will not be surprising to see states create green banks like Connecticut’s in order to jumpstart local economies.
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