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November 4, 2022
From the Executive Director, Daniel Bresette
Now that Congress has delivered $369 billion in historic climate investments, here comes the really hard part: quick, equitable, and effective implementation.
Much of this will fall on federal agencies to get the “money out the door” to eagerly-awaiting states and local governments that will put these funds to good use.
But Congress has a critical role to play to ensure these investments are made as intended and promises of environmental justice are fulfilled.
You are making possible educational resources to help policymakers (and the public, including you) track different initiatives and document successes from across the country.
Already, you helped highlight the massive commitment embedded in the Inflation Reduction Act to boosting energy efficiency, electrifying homes and commercial buildings, and encouraging people to buy electric vehicles.
EESI’s interactive Beneficial Electrification Toolkit, which just launched in June, is already helping utilities, states, and local governments design programs and offer inclusive on-bill financing to further leverage the new funding.
We have to get this right. Even though it will not be easy—and it might get a little messy at times—the urgency of climate change demands it. You are making invaluable resources available right from the start and all the way through to timely and equitable implementation.
Thank you for your commitment to advancing climate change solutions.
On July 25, 2022, EESI hosted the 25th annual Congressional Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Policy Forum.
At our first in-person event on Capitol Hill since February 2020, influential figures in energy policy and industry discussed their work to mitigate climate change, improve the economy, build resilience, and protect our security interests—and how the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law helps.
The Policy Forum featured an interview with Senate Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Caucus Co-chairs Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Mike Crapo (R-Idaho).
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Buildings and Workforce panel included Paula Glover, Jason Walsh, Curt Rich, and Jeannie Salo.
EESI’s on-bill financing initiative helps households and businesses make renewable energy and energy efficiency upgrades through programs that provide low-cost financing based on good bill payment history rather than credit scores.
An example of this work in action is the Green Energy Money Saver (GEM$) program, which launched in Hawaii in April 2019 with EESI’s advice for program design and implementation. With funding from Hawaii’s green bank, GEM$ is available to all Hawaiian Electric Company customers, which is about 95 percent of residents of the state.
GEM$ has successfully increased access to and ownership of solar energy for renters, homeowners, businesses, and nonprofits. So far, GEM$ has financed 400 projects (mostly rooftop solar, as pictured above in the GEM$-funded microgrid in Kahauiki) totaling $18 million, preventing 106,294 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently, the U.S. Department of Agriculture awarded GEM$ the first zero-percent loan for a green bank. The $20 million loan will help finance battery storage, EV charging stations, community and on-site solar, energy efficiency, and more.
The new Inflation Reduction Act provides $27 billion towards the creation of a national climate bank, which will in turn direct money to state and local green banks to develop new inclusive financing programs like GEM$. This will supercharge green banks’ ability to support rural cooperatives and utilities as they build and evaluate their own inclusive on-bill financing programs.
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