The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI)’s Executive Director, Daniel Bresette, testified before Congress on the importance of energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, create a clean energy economy, promote climate adaptation and resilience, and save Americans money.

Read More

On April 8, Hawaii Governor David Ige formally announced the Green Energy Money $aver (GEM$) on-bill financing program, a statewide initiative to make clean energy more affordable for homes and small businesses. The culmination of more than seven years of work by Hawaiian authorities, the program provides easy-access financing for cost-effective rooftop solar panels and other renewable distributed energy systems, as well as energy efficiency upgrades. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has provided assistance to the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA), the GEM$ administrator, since 2017.

Read More

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) congratulates the City of Fort Collins, Colorado, for being one of nine winners in Bloomberg Philanthropies' 2018 U.S. Mayors Challenge. Fort Collins’s EPIC Loan program for residential energy upgrades was awarded a $1 million prize from Bloomberg Philanthropies. Its innovative, on-bill financing-based approach aims to provide health and equity benefits for low- and moderate-income renters by improving the energy efficiency and indoor air quality of rental homes.

Read More

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) commends the Farm Bill conferees and the House and Senate Agriculture Committees for their tireless commitment to produce a Farm Bill, the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, this year. In a year when farmers, ranchers, and rural communities are struggling, and the agricultural economy is down nearly 50 percent compared to 2014, finalizing the Farm Bill is more important than ever. According to EESI Policy Associate Jessie Stolark, “Whether it’s producing a greater variety of renewable and bio-based products from forestry residues and agricultural resources, helping farmers and rural communities adapt to climate, or further supporting energy efficiency programs that help rural residents save energy and money, the Farm Bill could be doing even more to deliver economic development, climate adaptation and mitigation tools to rural America."

Read More

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) officials celebrated on Wednesday a $13 million USDA no-interest loan to a group of seven South Carolina electric cooperatives to make energy-savings improvements to approximately 1,300 co-op member homes. "The Environmental and Energy Study Institute welcomes this funding and Congressman Clyburn's continued support for energy efficiency initiatives. We have been working closely with South Carolina cooperatives—and cooperatives throughout the United States—to help their members reduce their energy use and bills, while improving their home comfort," said EESI Executive Director Carol Werner.

Read More

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) and the National Cooperative Business Association CLUSA International (NCBA CLUSA) today announced their new Partnership for Advancing an Inclusive Rural Energy Economy. The Partnership will put more money in the pockets of people in rural communities by supporting rural electric cooperatives (co-ops) in developing on-bill financing programs for energy efficiency upgrades, community projects in solar, and clean energy storage.

Read More

Home energy efficiency improvements will get a boost thanks to the loans announced today, May 10, by USDA's Rural Utilities Service for the new Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP). These loans will result in reduced energy costs for many rural households across the country.

Read More

The Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) welcomes the announcement of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new Rural Energy Savings Program (RESP), which was published in today's Federal Register. The now-operational program represents a major milestone for EESI's exhaustive and ongoing efforts in these policy areas, from the inception of RESP and the "Help My House" on-bill financing program in South Carolina to more recent work in Iowa, Michigan and other states.

Read More

The Minneapolis-based McKnight Foundation has awarded a two-year $150,000 grant to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) to support the development of energy efficiency and renewable energy financing programs for households throughout Iowa and Minnesota. EESI will partner with rural electric cooperatives and municipal utilities in both states to help them set up on-bill financing programs for their customers. On-bill financing allows households to pay for energy improvements with loans that are paid back through their energy bills.

Read More

EESI is proud to announce the expansion of its on-bill financing initiative into a national effort to significantly improve the energy efficiency of homes served by rural electric cooperatives (co-ops) and public utilities, thanks to a grant from The JPB Foundation. Over the past five years, the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI) has helped to demonstrate and build support for on-bill financing, in which loans for energy efficiency retrofits are repaid through participants’ utility bills. Utilities that adopt this approach will cut energy consumption and emissions while improving home comfort and energy affordability for their customers and members.

Read More