Filling the gap: Why demand for green banks is growing

对于寻求安装太阳能电池板或对建筑物进行能源效率改进的商业或住宅开发商，从传统银行融资通常可能是一个挑战。

这在很大程度上是因为初始启动成本，以及开发人员能够从该投资中获利的利润可能需要数年。

Enter thegreen bank：通过踩到支持可能从传统贷款人的项目等支持项目，帮助私人市场参与者减少温室气体排放的公私机构。Although a relatively new concept, green banks increasingly play a larger role in accelerating the transition to a clean energy economy at a time whenfederal level support对于如干净的力量和energy efficiencyis uncertain.

"Demand on the state and local level is through the roof," said Alex Kragie, a program director at the Coalition for Green Capital. "As leadership on these issues starts to pop up on the state and local level, people are taking notice and they are seeing the results of existing organizations."

State-formed green banks are creating new ways to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that previously have gone underserved.

One example is NY Green Bank,10亿美元的国家赞助实体，动员纽约州内的清洁能源投资和项目;该组织发布了两个新的提案要求(RFPs) in late March.

纽约绿银行的RFP，包括两个最近推出的投资征集，are an open invitation to private-sector capital providers and other clean-energy industry participants to propose transactions that could help finance clean energy projects in New York, according to NY Green Bank’s website.

One of the new solicitations,RFP 7,为向商业，工业和其他机构组织销售的太阳能项目开发商提供融资。另一方面，RFP 8，为商业和多家庭建筑业主提供融资，寻求进行可再生或能源效率的改进。

State-formed green banks are creating new ways to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects that previously have gone underserved.

这些RFPS由NY Green Bank还表明，尽管唐纳德特朗普总统对化石燃料项目的支持，但国家和市政府在进一步进一步清洁能源政策和减少温室气体排放方面发挥了更大的作用。此外，他们支持纽约州长Cuomo的清洁能源标准，要求50％的纽约电力来自2030年的可再生来源。

"We have found a couple of markets where there is large opportunity, but there seems to be a lack of activity, there’s little standardization and a high degree of fragmentation," said Alfred Griffin, president of NY Green Bank. "We want to facilitate standardization in the marketplace.”

What is a green bank?

Green banks use public dollars to encourage deeper private investment in clean energy. And they can provide financing in different ways, including through credit enhancements, directly investing in clean energy projects and even originating and financing loans through a process known as warehousing.

在康涅狄格建立第一个绿色银行e United States in 2011. Today there are six in states including Michigan, Hawaii, New York and Rhode Island.

Green banks exist to fill financing gaps in the clean energy marketplace that exist, in part, because of a lack of standardization in the process. That fragmentation, along with the relatively short track record for such investments, may make it difficult for traditional commercial banks to offer developers terms that are economically viable. This is where green banks step in and can provide financing.

MarshalSalant, global head of alternative energy finance at Citi, said that green banks also can help investors find opportunities to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency projects.

“当我们看看能源效率和可再生能源时，开发人员想做的有很多项目，他们需要资金的地方，”Salber说。“以同样的方式，有许多投资者想要投资，但不能总能找到投资的合适项目。”

根据这一点绿色资本联盟（PDF），a green bank may provide debt or equity in a project, which can then be paired with a private investment. For example, a green bank and a private investor could both take a 50 percent debt stake in a specific project or installation.

由数字

过去几年，绿色银行的整体需求和投资大幅增加。截至2016年底，源自美国的人代表了超过16亿美元的累积清洁能源投资 - 2015年的约10亿美元增加。

康涅狄格州绿色银行是最古老的国家成立的美国绿银，已经在国家的全部清洁能源投资中创造了超过10亿美元，使用少于2亿美元的公共资本进行项目投资。到2016财年结束时，绿银已在公共资本部署16490万美元，并杠杆占私人资本7.55亿美元。

在纽约，纽约绿银最近在2017年第一季度录得4060万美元的新交易，自2015年以来将其总额达到34610万美元。绿色银行项目最终将在10亿美元之间创造在10亿美元至1.4美元之间纽约州清洁能源项目的投资。

当我们看看能源效率和可再生能源时，开发人员想做许多项目以及他们需要资金的地方。

Griffin, the president of NY Green Bank, said that与“未定的商业交易对手”的太阳能部署有大量未开发的机会，这RFP 7 is designed to target this market.An unrated commercial counterparty could include a private businessthat has not been rated by a rating agency such as Moody’s orStandard & Poor's.

“我们已经提出了很多时间并思考构建了一个包装，我们将能够为这些类型的项目提供资金，”格里芬说。“只是因为他们是无关的，并不意味着他们不是一个很好的信誉。”

Green banks under Trump

The underlying question related to anything having to do with green investments or renewable energy is what the demand will look like over time under the presidency of Trump.

The Trump administration has expressed support for fossil fuel projects and previously has said that it intends to undo theClean Power Plan. Despite that uncertainty, in many cases, investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency are not being affected as negatively as one might expect.

These initiatives instead are being driven at a state and local level. One example is纽约清洁能源标准, which Cuomo established last year. It requires utilities and other energy suppliers to procure and phase in new renewable power resources starting with 26.3 percent of the state's total electricity load in 2017 and growing to 30.5 percent of the statewide total by 2021.

“我们一直看到纽约的加速需求，”格里芬说。“从我们的角度来看，这是一项巨大的活动，它才会增长，这是由国家和地方政策的推动。”