Energy Efficiency Financing Mechanisms

In many cases, the upfront costs of energy efficiency (EE) projects and significant retrofits are a major barrier to implementation for the business, commercial, industrial and residential sectors.

To help remove this barrier, several financing mechanisms have been developed over the years to help minimize upfront costs to encourage organizations and individuals alike to proceed with EE improvements and retrofits. These mechanisms have been deployed by a variety of stakeholders interested in financing EE projects for different reasons, including utilities, governmental institutions, energy service companies (ESCOs), and more recently private equity firms.

In this training course, participants will learn about the mechanisms and successes of EE financing, as well as their respective complexities and challenges. In order to re-enforce these learnings, the course features a number of practice financing scenarios and design case exercises.  

Key Learning Objectives

Through this course, participants will:

• Explore common EE mechanisms, including on-bill financing, property tax financing, PACE programming, energy service performance contracting, and energy efficiency mortgages
• Learn about energy performance contracts and pricing structures
• Understand what the economic indicators are for EE project and retrofits, and how to make them attractive to investors (selling of EE)
• Learn how to identify financing options for EE projects
• Gain knowledge of how to link projects to the validation of energy savings through the principles of measurement and verification

Audience

• Program managers/coordinators in government agencies
• Energy consultants
• Retrofit and EE program administrators
• Professionals working with utilities
• Professionals in the construction industry