Author: Gary Decker

DC Green Bank Board Member Priya Jayachandran, along with partners at the Urban Institute, recently published an article about Preserving and Expanding the Supply of Affordable Rental Housing.

The authors wrote about:

Making sure that families remain housed during the pandemic and related economic downtown is critical. But longer-term effects could reduce the supply of rental units affordable to people earning low incomes and prevent additional affordable units from coming online. Our patchwork system for preserving and expanding the affordable rental housing supply is inefficient. Improving it will take more capital and accelerated production facilitated by reforming policies and practices. We offer recommendations to improve the effective use of capital, to expand capacity (including supporting mission-driven owners), and to streamline and coordinate activity across government agencies and stakeholders. We also suggest ways to build trust among market actors to improve how the entire system functions.

Read the Full Article Here

On April 21, DC Green Bank General Counsel Sandy Paik joined the In-House Influence podcast to talk about her role with DCGB and how she came to be who she is today.

In-House Influence “features interviews on the ‘how’ behind each guest’s path toward leadership – with a focus on their youth during the ages of 7-17. Each podcast, divided into 10-minute sections, highlights four different trailblazers in the legal community from various industries, including government contractors, health care, real estate, technology, and financial services. Guests reflect on hardships, mentorship and early life decisions that helped mold them into the leaders they are today.”

Jay Lurie, DC Green Bank’s Chief Investment Officer, recently engaged in a conversation with Global Finance Magazine about climate change, finance sector, and DC Green Bank’s role in building the Clean Economy.

Here is an excerpt from the interview, and click below to read the full conversation –

Global Finance Magazine: What are your target sub-sectors and how do you manage to foster private capital in these areas?

Lurie: DC Green Bank focuses on solar energy and storage, such as on rooftops and parking canopies; green buildings driven by compliance needs, as they are responsible for the majority of carbon emissions in the District; stormwater resilience; and clean transport, such as electric vehicles. The size of projects depends on the location and context: rooftop solar projects in DC require smaller financing commitments compared to much larger solar or wind projects in rural New York State.

Green banks may also play a role in financing the expansion of DERs, or distributed energy resources, such as micro-grids, which are designed to reduce the need for large transmission lines. Costs of solar and batteries keep coming down, which accelerates the trend.

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Read Interview in Global Finance Magazine

DC Green Bank is excited to announce the launch of a pre-development loan in DC to support customized design of sustainable improvements for commercial buildings, community-based nonprofit organization buildings, and multifamily or mixed-use properties. The product was developed by and will be offered in partnership with Inclusive Prosperity Capital, a mission-driven nonprofit investment fund specializing in clean energy, energy efficiency, and resiliency.

The pre-development loan, named Navigator, can be used to fund costs required to design high quality energy savings projects, including energy audits and benchmarking, design, engineering, bidding work, and other sustainable design costs. Navigator loans will range from $10,000 – $250,000 or more on a case-by-case basis and fill a critical gap in the District’s sustainable funding landscape, particularly for affordable housing development.

“Through our engagement with District residents, contractors, developers, property owners, engineers and beyond, we have identified pre-development loans as a crucial missing piece in the city’s clean energy puzzle,” said DC Green Bank CEO Eli Hopson. “We’re excited to be partnering with Inclusive Prosperity Capital to fill this financing gap and make sure that DC has investment offerings at each stage of the renewable energy and energy efficiency project lifecycle.”

The Navigator product provides an on-ramp for District building owners as they consider financing options to upgrade their energy systems, decrease their environmental footprint, save money, and meet DC’s emerging Building Energy Performance Standards (BEPS). With 75% of the District’s emissions emanating from the building sector, these standards are designed to help the city bring emissions down by 50% by 2032 and to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Navigator provides financial resources needed for building owners and operators, District contractors, and DC Green Bank to come together to think holistically about the evaluation and design phase of building projects.

“The Navigator loan allows building owners to access financing for early-stage audits, benchmarking, and design for clean energy projects, which can often be a challenge,” said Kerry O’Neill, CEO of Inclusive Prosperity Capital. “DC has a proven track record of leadership on climate and energy issues, and this collaboration with DC Green Bank has the potential to unlock millions of dollars to accelerate action and climate impact.”

The Navigator product is available now, and the DC Green Bank team is ready to initiate discussions to close the first round of deals. Additional information on the remainder of DC Green Bank’s loan and financing products can be found at https://dcgreenbank.wpengine.com/products/.

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About DC Green Bank
DC Green Bank was established by the District’s Green Finance Authority Establishment Act of 2018. DC Green Bank develops innovative financial solutions to support District businesses, organizations, and residents in the journey to a cleaner future. DC Green Bank invests in solar energy systems, energy efficient buildings, green infrastructure, and transportation electrification in line with its values of Sustainability, Clean Economy, and Inclusive Prosperity.

About Inclusive Prosperity Capital (IPC)
Inclusive Prosperity Capital is a mission-drive nonprofit investment fund designed to deliver financing solutions to communities that need it most. IPC invests in clean energy and resilience in partnership with local initiatives and organizations to provide energy security, climate justice, and economic growth. Inclusive Prosperity Capital everyone should have access to the benefits of clean energy and resilience.
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CONTACT:

Gary Decker

External Relations Partner

DC Green Bank
gdecker@dcgreenbank.com

202-301-8306

Madeline Priest

Senior Manager, Market Development

Inclusive Prosperity Capital

madeline.priest@inclusiveteam.org

860-257-2891