Author: Gary Decker

By Demetrius Dillard, Special to the AFRO

Two Washington, D.C.-based organizations have announced their contribution in facilitating a green economy as the city transitions to running completely on renewable energy while creating a sustainable environment for its residents.

On May 17, DC Green Bank and Flywheel Development announced the closing of a $3.2 million partnership to finance the installation of solar panels at six condominium communities in Southeast Washington.

The Fairfax Village community will host most of the solar installations, in addition to other low-to-moderate income individuals residing in Wards 7 and 8. This solar energy initiative will not only reduce a considerable financial burden, but will also create job opportunities for residents of Southeast Washington, said DC Green Bank CEO Eli Hopson.

Read the Full Article Here

By Aja Beckham, DCist

In Southeast D.C., officials hope newly installed solar panels will help to lower electric bills for hundreds of residents.

This week, DC Green Bank and Flywheel Development announced the closing of a $3.2 million deal to install solar panels on six Fairfax Village condos that are home to 230 residents. They say the deal will cut residents’ electric bills by half.

DC Green Bank, a District initiative that finances clean energy projects, helped to fund the project through $1.7 million in construction loans. Flywheel, a company that installs renewable energy products, is providing $600,000 for the project, and District of Columbia Sustainable Energy Utility allocated $900,000 from the Solar for All funding.

Read the Full Article Here

DC Green Bank and Flywheel Development today announced the closing of a $3.2 million partnership to finance the installation of solar panels at six condominium communities in Southeast Washington. D.C. Once completed, these installations will cut electricity bills in half for nearly 230 low- to moderate-income (LMI) residents in the District as part of the District’s Solar for All program. The portfolio of projects is expected to generate as much as $2.3 million in electricity savings for DC LMI residents over the next 15 years. In addition to solar capacity, the financing will also support roof replacements on 11 residential buildings, improving the energy efficiency and durability of the buildings. In total, the projects are expected to reduce nearly 1,000 tons of CO2-equivalent annually and are also projected to create 19 jobs during the construction phase. 

Read the full release below.

The American Green Bank Consortium and the Coalition for Green Capital have just published a report outlining the state of green banks in the United States. In total, the report finds that American Green Banks have caused $7.0 billion in clean energy investment since 2011, with $1.69 billion of this investment taking place in calendar year 2020. The green bank concept was first proposed in 2009, and there are now 21 green banks in the U.S., with more in development.

A green bank uses public capital to mobilize more private investment into underserved green and resilient financing markets to fill market gaps. Green banks have the ultimate goal of enabling private capital partners to enter clean energy markets at scale without green bank assistance.

The mobilization ratio (overall investment/green bank investment) of American green banks was 3.7 to 1 as of the end of calendar year 2020, meaning that every green bank dollar invested resulted in $3.70 of overall investment in the American clean energy economy.

The green bank impacts presented in this report are the result of information gathering performed by the Coalition for Green Capital (CGC). Key metrics were collected from the public reports issued by each green bank as well as direct information provided to CGC by various green banks upon request. Data is from calendar year 2020.

Read Full Report