Clean Energy Loan Program
The Clean Energy Loan Program is a state law currently being proposed by District 3A Delegate Sue Hecht to the Maryland General Assembly. If passed, this law would enable all municipalities around the state to set-up renewable energy and/or energy efficiency loan programs, providing homeowners and businesses with the necessary funding to make their residence or place of work more ecologically friendly. It would mandate an initial energy audit of the building to identify opportunities for structural improvements and/or technological innovation. The property owner would see the expense as a surcharge on their property bill and the property owner would repay the loan over a 10-15 year period. This bill would permit College Park to set up this kind of a program, which UMD for Clean Energy pushed in the elections last fall.
Call your state delegate's and senator's office today to speak in support of the Clean Energy Loans Bill: House Bill 1014, Senate Bill 720!
Check out the Clean Energy Loan Program bill here:
House version: http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/hb1014.htm
Senate version: http://mlis.state.md.us/2010rs/billfile/sb0720.htm
Don't know who your state representative are? Find out here: http://mdelect.net/
Media:
Organizational Director Laura Calabrese has an op-ed in the Diamondback on the Clean Energy Loans legislation our group is pushing in Annapolis!
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/guest-column-paying-the-bill-1.1223022
"Helping Communities Go Green", A PG Gazette letter to the editor which describes the connection between College Park's talks of passing a loan fund and action in Annapolis. Also refers to other relevant green initiatives.
http://www.gazette.net/stories/02252010/prinlet144255_32555.php
UMD for Clean Energy Hosts City Councilmember at meeting to discuss energy efficiency loan fund
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/news/wojahn-advocates-energy-efficiency-fund-1.628548
UMD for Clean Energy directly talks with the College Park City Council about setting up an energy efficiency loan fund.
http://www.diamondbackonline.com/opinion/guest-column-a-seat-at-the-table-1.524975
Resources:
What Berkeley Can Teach Us About Taking Clean Energy Programs to Scale
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-03-01-what-berkeley-can-teach-us-about-taking-clean-energy-programs-to/
"PACE works. When the City of Berkeley announced this innovative idea to encourage property owners to go solar, nobody had ever tried the approach before. It worked. Participants installed solar and are repaying the costs through their property tax bills. Larger programs in Boulder County, Colo., and Sonoma County, Calif., have shown that administering PACE programs at a larger scale is not only possible, but can reduce administrative and financing costs. Across the country, more than 2,000 property owners have now taken advantage of PACE programs."
How Innovative Financing is Changing Energy in America
http://www.grist.org/article/2010-01-26-how-innovative-financing-is-changing-energy-in-america
"Property Assessed Clean Energy, or PACE, has taken off like wildfire since the concept was first introduced in Berkeley, Calif. in October ‘07. PACE allows private property owners to pay for energy efficiency and renewable energy projects through an addition to their property tax bill, overcoming the high upfront costs that prevent most property owners from investing in such retrofits.
Counties Take Steps to Build a New Energy Economy
http://www.hcn.org/wotr/counties-take-steps-to-build-a-new-energy-economy
"Its approach is simple: Local governments create programs so that homeowners and businesses can apply for long-term, affordable loans that pay the upfront costs of renewable energy and efficiency improvement projects. The loans are paid back through a special assessment on the property tax of property owners who choose to participate in the program. The loans are tied to the property, and they transfer to the new property owner(s) upon sale. The terms of these types of loans mean that monthly energy savings may be enough to cover the cost of the loan payment."
San Francisco Launches Nation's Largest Pace Program
http://www.greenerbuildings.com/news/2010/02/10/san-francisco-launches-nations-largest-pace-program
"PACE programs have been hailed as a way for property owners to avoid the barrier of high upfront costs. More than a dozen states now have PACE programs in place, while Renewable Funding said it is currently developing additional programs for more than 100 communities in several states."
Green New York Investment
http://apolloalliance.org/category/apollo-productions/weekly-updates/
San Francisco Green Finance Overview
https://greenfinancesf.org/systems/energy/content/san_francisco_overview
The Power of Energy Efficiency Loan Funds
http://madrad2002.wordpress.com/2009/09/14/the-power-of-energy-efficiency-loan-funds/