Funding

Amortize Costs of Solar

Source: CPUC

Amortizing Costs

A new technique has recently come to light that removes the upfront cost to purchase energy-efficient and renewable energy technologies. Local governments can use city-backed loans to fund upgrades such as energy-efficient devices and solar panels for residential and commercial buildings. Residents and businesses pay back the loans through property tax assessments. In many cases, cost savings generated by the drop in energy bills should offset the cost of repaying the loans. The City of Berkeley has elected to use this financing technique to help citizens realize savings on their energy bill and to help fight climate change.

Funding Energy-Efficient Technologies With Fiscal Savings

Amortize Costs of Solar

Bill Clinton addresses U.S. mayors at the Climate Protection Summit in Seattle (Photo: U.S. Conference of Mayors)

As local governments embark on energy conservation programs, they can use the monetary savings generated by these programs to fund invetsment in new energy-efficient technologies. As the movement to mitigate climate change gains momentum, large discounts on energy-efficient technologies are becoming available. For example, the Clinton Climate Iniative will be offering deep discounts on energy-efficient technologies for cities throughout the United States. Products with discounts will include energy-efficient indoor lighting, traffic and street lighting, building products, water system components, alternative energy technologies, clean vehicles and advanced waste management technologies. These and other products will be offered by 25 manufacturers to municipal governments at discounted prices ranging from 5% to 15% below current levels for commodity items and from 15% to 70% below current levels for non-commodity items.

Other Funding Options

The following list represents a few of the funding options available to local governments for energy-efficiency projects: