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Hawaii: Green Energy Money $aver On-Bill Program
The Hawaii Green Investment Authority administers and funds an on-bill program for all Hawaiian Electric (HECO) customers to finance solar rooftop PV panels, solar water heaters, and energy efficiency, which is repaid through their utility monthly bill. — Click for more
Hawaii Governor David Ige and the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA) launched its Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) On-Bill Program in April 2019. GEM$ is an on-bill repayment program aimed to help renters, low-to-moderate income households, nonprofits, and small businesses save on their electric utility bills by financing eligible clean energy improvements. Participating Hawaiian Electric Companies (HECO) customers can conveniently pay back the cost of installing a solar photovoltaic (PV), solar water heater, or other eligible clean energy improvements through their monthly utility bill, with no upfront costs.
Read the full case study here.
Washington: Orcas Power and Light Cooperative Switch It Up! On-Bill Program
Serving the San Juan Islands in Washington, OPALCO’s program allows members to finance the replacement of propane-powered space and water heating equipment with air-source heat pumps and heat pump water heaters. The program also finances electric vehicle charging stations. Launched in April 2019, the program is capitalized by a $21 million zero-interest Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP) loan. — Click for more
Orcas Power and Light Cooperative (OPALCO), an electric cooperative (co-op) serving the San Juan Islands in northwest Washington, launched the “Switch It Up!” on-bill program in April 2019. The program provides debt-free financing to the co-op’s members for the replacement of fossil-fueled residential and commercial equipment with electric equipment. The program also finances electric vehicle (EV) charging stations for both residential and small businesses. Program participants repay OPALCO for these measures as a line item on their monthly bill. The program’s goal is to finance 100 projects per year for the next 10 years. This program is part of OPALCO’s “This Electric Life” initiative to reduce the San Juan Islands’ reliance on fossil fuels by transitioning to all-electric buildings and vehicles (including island ferries).
Michigan: Holland On-Bill Loan Program
The Holland On-Bill Loan Program was launched in late 2016. Over the program’s first three years, Holland invested more than $2 million into 116 homes with the goal to help city residents overcome the barrier of high initial costs of energy efficiency investments, with the goal of increased access to energy upgrades and deep energy savings. — Click for more
In 2011, the City of Holland in southwest Michigan published a comprehensive, long-range Community Energy Plan as a pathway to becoming a leader in energy security, affordability, sustainability, and efficiency. The Holland Energy Fund, Inc. was incorporated as a nonprofit corporation to facilitate and finance aspects of the plan, including a project to substantially increase the energy efficiency of Holland’s 7,400 single-family homes. To accomplish this goal, the Holland Energy Fund partnered with the Holland Board of Public Works and the nonprofit Michigan Saves to create the Holland On-Bill Loan Program.
South Carolina: Help My House Model
“Help My House” was designed to address the special challenges and opportunities facing rural communities to save energy, cut household utility bills, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, all while supporting high-skilled jobs and keeping more dollars in the local economy. — Click for more
The “Help My House” pilot, implemented in 2011 and early 2012, produced very encouraging results among the 125 participating homes. Participants' energy bills were cut by 34 percent, saving an average of $288 per home per year after loan payments. Loan capital for the pilot came primarily from a U.S. Department of Agriculture loan, supplemented by South Carolina co-op funds. Thanks in part to the success of the pilot, federal programs have been created to help co-ops around the country to develop similar programs.
Colorado: Fort Collins Utilities Epic Homes Program
Launched in 2018, the Epic Homes Program uses an integrated approach that includes an on-bill financing option to help customers finance residential energy upgrades. Under Epic Homes, customers can receive a loan for energy efficiency and clean energy upgrades, including solar PV, and repay the loan via their monthly utility bill. — Click for more
Fort Collins Utilities launched Epic Homes in mid-2018 with help from a $1 million grant as winners of the 2018 Bloomberg Philanthropies U.S. Mayors Challenge, and a $200,000 grant from the Colorado Energy Office. From August 2018 through December 2019, the program issued $540,500 across 44 loans to support energy efficiency upgrades in Fort Collins homes. This included five loans for rental properties. Since inception in 2013, on-bill financing programs operated by Fort Collins Utilities have issued 211 on-bill loans, totaling $2,284,400 in energy efficiency investments, with no defaults.
The Environmental and Energy Study Institute’s Access Clean Energy Savings program is an ongoing initiative aimed to help utilities develop programs that empower their members/customers to reduce energy use, cut energy bills, and improve home comfort -- all with no upfront costs. EESI accomplishes this by working with utilities to establish “on-bill financing” programs.
Please click on the following case studies for more information on the various EESI-supported on-bill financing programs.
Click on a case study to see more information.
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