Visit the DC Green Bank website to sign up for updates.
On July 2, 2018, Mayor Bowser signed the District's Green Finance Authority Establishment Act, officially making the District the second city in the country to establish a Green Bank.
DC Green Bank is an innovative policy tool that will use public purpose funding to attract private investment. Our goal is to expand renewable energy, lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create green jobs, and enhance resilience.
Background
In the spring of 2017, as part of an initiative to research innovative tools for financing clean energy projects in the District, the Coalition for Green Capital recommended the creation of a “green bank” as a key mechanism to accelerate the deployment of affordable private and public capital for clean energy projects. The study identified $1.8 billion dollars of investment necessary to achieve the goals of the District’s Clean Energy DC Plan, the strategic plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2032.
Green Banks are institutions that states and countries are using to finance projects that will create green jobs, expand solar power, lower energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and meet sustainability goals. DC Green Bank will be capitalized with limited public funds to attract private capital investment, which are then used to offer loans, credit enhancements, and other financing services to close funding gaps for energy focused retrofits, clean energy installation, clean transportation, green infrastructure, and sustainable development projects.
The goal of the green bank is to accelerate energy efficiency improvements and the deployment of clean energy technology by leveraging private investment, removing upfront costs, and increasing the efficiency of public dollars. Other green banks in the United States — including those in Connecticut, New York, and Michigan — have shown impressive success in using smaller amounts of public capital to leverage billions of dollars of private sector funding.
Specifically, the DC Green Bank aims to:
- Attract private capital at a ratio of at least 5 private dollars to every 1 dollar of public investment;
- Use bonding authority to increase capacity, accelerate lending, and recapitalize funds;
- Become a go-to resource for District residents, small business owners, building owners and operators, and commercial developers interested in energy efficiency improvements, clean energy installations, transportation electrification, and construction of green infrastructure; and,
- Be a breakeven entity, where the revenues earned from financing activity covers its operating costs.
Please see the links below to access informational materials on DC Green Bank and the full report and presentation from the Coalition for Green Capital. Read about Mayor Bowser’s recent announcement about her plan to make the District of Columbia the first city in the nation to establish a Green Bank.
For more information, please visit the DC Green Bank website or contact [email protected].
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