The Clean Energy Finance Center provides information for stakeholders who are interested in energy efficiency and small-scale renewable energy financing in the building sector. The reports, policy briefs and white papers below come from leaders in this industry. We promote these reports regularly through our newsletter and news page. To contribute content for review and possible inclusion on this page, please e-mail info at cleanenergyfinancecenter.org.
Clean Energy Finance Reports
- Residential Energy Efficiency Financing
- Commercial Energy Efficiency Financing
- Government/Institutional Energy Efficiency Financing
- Solar Financing
- Data and Secondary Markets
- Clean Energy Bonds
- Broad Policy and Market Reports
Residential Energy Efficiency Financing
- Partnering for Success: An Action Guide for Advancing Utility Energy Efficiency Funding for Multifamily Rental Housing, National Housing Trust, May 2013.
- Home Energy Efficiency and Mortgage Risks, Institute for Market Transformation, March 2013.
- On-Bill Financing: Overview and Key Considerations for Program Design, Natural Resources Defense Council, August 2012.
- Recognition of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation: Considerations and Resources for Appraisers, 2nd Ed., Institute for Market Transformation and Appraisal Institute, May 2012.
- Extending Efficiency Services to Underserved Households: NYSERDA’s Assisted Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Program, Policy Brief, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, April 2012.
- Using Credit Enhancements to Leverage Existing CDFI Capacity: Indianapolis EcoHouse Project Loan Program, Policy Brief, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, April 2012.
- Alternative Underwriting Criteria – Using Utility Bill Payment History as a Proxy for Credit: Case Study on Clean Energy Works Oregon, Policy Brief, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, April 2012.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Replication Guidance Package for Local Governments, Sonoma County, March 2012.
- Scaling Energy Efficiency in the Heart of the Residential Market: Increasing Middle America’s Access to Capital for Energy Improvements, Policy Brief, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, March 2012.
- Recognizing the Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Multifamily Underwriting, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, January 2012.
- Austin’s Home Performance with Energy Star Program: Making a Compelling Offer to a Financial Institution Partner. Policy Brief, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, March 2011.
- Options for Raising Capital (and Leveraging Public Funds) for Residential Energy Loan Programs, UNC Environmental Finance Center, January 2011.
Commercial Energy Efficiency Financing
- Setting the PACE: Financing Commercial Retrofits; Johnson Controls
Institute for Building Efficiency, PACENow, and the Urban Land Institute; February 2013. - Underwriting Energy Efficiency Financing in the Innovative Connecticut PACE Program, Building Energy Performance Assessment News, January 2013.
- Lender Support Study Enhancing the Commercial Real Estate Lender Consent Process for PACE Transactions, PACENow, December 2012.
- Are Companies Under-Investing in Energy Efficiency?, Imperial College London Energy Futures Lab, September 2012.
- On-Bill Financing: Overview and Key Considerations for Program Design, Natural Resources Defense Council, August 2012.
- New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Report, PlaNYC, August 2012.
- Recognition of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation: Considerations and Resources for Appraisers, 2nd Ed., Institute for Market Transformation and Appraisal Institute, May 2012.
- Emerging Best Practice for Underwriting Commercially Attractive Energy Efficiency Loans, Buonicore Partners, April 2012.
- Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Replication Guidance Package for Local Governments, Sonoma County, March 2012.
- Energy Efficiency Retrofit Financing Options for the Commercial Real Estate Market, Buonicore Partners, February 2012.
Government/Institutional Energy Efficiency Financing
- Financing Energy Upgrades for K-12 School Districts: A Guide to Tapping into Funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Improvements, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, April 2013.
- Evolution of the U.S. Energy Service Company Industry: Market Size and Project Performance from 1990-2008, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, July 2012.
- A Survey of the U.S. ESCO Industry: Market Growth and Development from 2008 to 2011. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, June 2010.
Solar Financing
- Financing Energy Upgrades for K-12 School Districts: A Guide to Tapping into Funding for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Improvements, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, April 2013.
- Photovoltaic (PV) Pricing Trends: Historical, Recent, and Near-Term Projections, U.S. Department of Energy, November 2012.
- New Approaches in Renewable Energy Finance: Master Limited Partnerships, Real Estate Investment Trusts, and Crowdfunding, Environmental and Energy Study Institute, October 2012.
- The Rising Tide of State-Supported Renewable Energy Projects, Clean Energy States Alliance and Peregrine Energy Group, October 2012.
- A Guide to Community Shared Solar: Utility, Private, and Nonprofit Project Development, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, July 2012.
- Reconsidering the Economics of Photovoltaic Power, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, May 2012.
- The Solarize Guidebook: A Community Guide to Collective Purchasing of Residential PV Systems, U.S. Department of Energy, May 2012.
- Will Securitization Help Fuel the U.S. Solar Power Industry?, Standard & Poor’s, January 2012.
Data and Secondary Markets
- Energy Efficiency Loan Pool Securitization: Real World Status Report, Clean Energy Finance Center and U.S. Green Building Council – Los Angeles Chapter, February 2013.
- Making Better Use of Energy Usage Information: Lessons from the Credit Reporting Industry, Natural Resources Defense Council, September 2012.
- New York City Local Law 84 Benchmarking Report, PlaNYC, August 2012.
- Energy Efficiency, Data, and the Capital Markets, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, June 2012.
- Recognition of Energy Costs and Energy Performance in Real Property Valuation: Considerations and Resources for Appraisers, 2nd Ed., Institute for Market Transformation and Appraisal Institute, May 2012.
- Will Securitization Help Fuel the U.S. Solar Power Industry?, Standard & Poor’s, January 2012.
- Recognizing the Benefits of Energy Efficiency in Multifamily Underwriting, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, January 2012.
Clean Energy Bonds
- Clean Energy Bond Finance Model: Bond-Backed Investment Authorities, Clean Energy and Bond Finance Initiative, May 2013.
- Clean Energy Bond Finance: Morris Model, Clean Energy and Bond Finance Initiative, January 2013.
- Clean Energy Bond Finance Model: Industrial Development Bonds (IDBs), Council of Development Finance Agencies, January 2013.
- Clean Energy and Bond Finance Initiative (CE+BFI): An Action Plan to Access Capital Markets, Clean Energy Group and Council of Development Finance Agencies, August 2012.
- Qualified Energy Conservation Bond (QECB) Update: New Guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, July 2012.
- Using Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds for Public Building Upgrades: Reducing Energy Bills in the City of Philadelphia, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, July 2012.
- Using QECBs for Street Lighting Upgrades: Lighting the Way to Lower Energy Bills in San Diego, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, July 2012.
- Qualified Energy Conservation Bonds, Energy Programs Consortium, June 2012.
Broad Policy and Market Reports
- Risk Mitigation Reference Guide for New Energy Financing, Energi, May 2013.
- Overcoming Market Barriers and Using Market Forces to Advance Energy Efficiency, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, March 2013.
- Financial Regulation – Biased against Clean Energy and Green Infrastructure?, Bloomberg New Energy Finance, February 2013.
- Energy 2030: Doubling U.S. Energy Productivity by 2030, Alliance Commission on National Energy Efficiency Policy, February 2013.
- Green Revolving Funds: An Introductory Guide to Implementation & Management, Sustainable Endowments Institute & Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, January 2013.
- State Clean Energy Finance Banks: New Investment Facilities for Clean Energy Deployment, Brookings-Rockefeller Project on State and Metropolitan Innovation, September 2012.
- Evolution of the U.S. Energy Service Company Industry: Market Size and Project Performance from 1990-2008, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, July 2012.
- Keeping It in the Community: Sustainable Funding for Local Energy Initiatives, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, May 2012.
- Beyond Boom & Bust: Putting Clean Tech on a Path to Subsidy Independence, Breakthrough Institute, Brookings Institution and World Resources Institute, April 2012.
- United States Building Energy Efficiency Retrofits – Market Sizing and Financing Models, Rockefeller Foundation and Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors, March 2012.
- The Long-Term Energy Efficiency Potential: What the Evidence Suggests, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, January 2012.
- Leveraging State Clean Energy Funds for Economic Development, Brooking Institution and Rockefeller Foundation, January 2012.
- On-Bill Financing for Energy Efficiency Improvements: A Review of Current Program Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, December 2011.
- Energy Efficiency Financing – Models and Strategies: Pathways to Scaling Energy Efficiency Financing from $20 Billion to $150 Billion Annually, Capital E, written for the Energy Foundation, October 2011.
- What Have We Learned From Energy Efficiency Financing Programs?, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, September 2011.
- Energy Efficiency Financing in California – Needs and Gaps – Preliminary Assessment and Recommendations, Harcourt Brown & Carey, Inc., written for the California Public Utilities Commission, July 2011.
- A Roadmap to Energy Efficiency Loan Financing, Memorandum to U.S. Department of Energy, Progressive Energy Group, April 2011.
- State Support for Clean Energy Deployment: Lessons Learned for Potential Future Policy, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, April 2011.
- State Clean Energy Financing Guidebook. National Governors Association, Center for Best Practices, January 2011.