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Financing at the Grid Edge

The chapter discusses legal impediments and solutions for customer, community, and third-party financing of behind-the-meter and community-scale clean generation, storage, and energy efficiency. Current levels of investment by utilities and independent power producers fall well below levels needed to meet deep decarbonization goals. Investments at the “grid edge” driven by customers and communities not only contribute to clean energy goals, but also reduce energy prices and improve the resilience of the power supply. These linked incentives can help attract the new investment we need. To unleash investment at the grid edge, legal reforms are needed to permit ownership of local energy resources and sales of energy and other services by customers, communities, and their local suppliers; to encourage utilities and regional transmission organizations (RTOs) to foster transparent markets for services from grid-edge resources and make direct purchases of such services; to provide better information on the usage of customers and the needs of the grid; and to adapt and reuse existing finance markets and create new institutions that support grid-edge finance. These reforms will permit customers and communities to structure creditworthy projects that qualify for financing.

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102 resources

Resource Congress

Proposed American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009

The American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009 would have created a national green bank. It passed the House but failed in the Senate.
Example States and State Governments

Maine C-PACE Legislation

This bill establishes commercial property assessed clean energy (C-PACE) programs to finance energy savings improvements related to energy efficiency, weatherization, or the installation of renewable ...
Example States and State Governments

California’s Electric Coop Law

California’s coop statute permits a group of adjacent customers in any area to establish their own generation and distribution system.
Example States and State Governments

Rhode Island Community Choice Aggregation

R.I. General Laws §96-H8124B established Rhode Island’s Community Choice Aggregation program. The Act was amended in 2002 by House Bill 7786 to give municipalities the ability to set up “opt out” prog...
Example Local Governments

Scituate, MA Municipal Aggregation Plan

The town of Scituate, MA submitted a 2019 petition to DOER for approval of their municipal aggregation plan, with the goals of providing long term price stability, lower cost power and more renewable ...
Example Public Utilities

PJM’s demand response markets

PJM, a Regional Transmission Organization serving several Midwestern states, solicits demand response managed by curtailment service providers, which is integrated into the wholesale markets and used ...
Resource Private Entities

Renew Financial

Renew Financial administers CaliforniaFIRST, which provides affordable financing for home upgrades to more than 27 million Californians. CaliforniaFIRST has funded millions of dollars worth of project...
Example Local Governments

DC Green Bank

The District of Columbia Green Finance Authority Establishment Act of 2018 made Washington, DC the first city in the United States to establish a green bank. The DC Green Bank aims to attract private ...
Resource Congress

Proposed Green Bank Act of 2014

The proposed Green Bank Act of 2014 (HR 4522) would have established a Green Bank as a federally-owned independent corporation with a 20-year charter. It would have authorized an initial capitalizatio...
Resource Public Utilities

RAP reports on Utility Reform and Integrated Planning

The Regulatory Assistance Project has prepared a report, Leading Utility Regulatory Reform, highlighting key elements of a successful reform process (including scoping, creative process elements, stak...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Model Law: Legislation Enabling Guaranteed Conservation Performance Contracting for Public Entities

Employing energy-efficiency retrofits can improve the energy-efficiency of existing buildings by approximately 30-50%. One model for financing and installing such retrofits is the guaranteed energy sa...
Example Local Governments

Model Community Choice Aggregation Ordinances

MCE, a California-based Community Choice Aggregator, has compiled a number of ordinances establishing CCA from among its member communities.
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey C-Pace Legislation

A-2374 requires the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA) to establish a Garden State Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (“C-PACE”) Program to facilitate the financing of C-PACE pro...
Example Public Utilities

NY REV Proceeding

Under New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding, the Commission ordered New York utilities to develop methodologies for assessing distribution system needs and the potential value of DER solut...
Resource States and State Governments

Report, Massachusetts Microgrids

Harvard’s 2014 report, Massachusetts Microgrids: Overcoming Legal Obstacles, surveys the laws surrounding extending distribution systems and selling power to neighboring customers in Massachusetts. In...
Example Local Governments

Ohio Community Choice Aggregation

Ohio was among the first states to authorize CCA (called Governmental Electricity Aggregation there) as part the Energy Choice Act of 1999 (SB3). More than 250 communities in Ohio have switched to mun...
Example States and State Governments

Wisconsin Green Bank Exploratory Order

In April 2023, Wisconsin’s Governor signed EO 195, creating the Green Ribbon Commission on Clean Energy and Environmental Innovation to advise on establishing the Green Innovation Fund, which would be...
Example Local Governments

Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund

The Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund (PCEF) provides dedicated funding for climate action that advances racial and social justice. PCEF was created by local ballot measure #26-201 in Nove...
Example Public Utilities

CAISO ancillary services markets revisions

In 2016, the California Independent System Operator filed proposed revisions to its Open Access Transmission Tariff with FERC to facilitate participation of aggregations of distribution-connected or d...
Example States and State Governments

Washington’s SB 5116

Washington’s 2019 SB 5116 grants the Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) the authority to shift utilities from a return-on-capital business model to a performance-based model. Rather than pr...
Example States and State Governments

Illinois Community Choice Aggregation

Illinois’ Power Agency Act established community choice aggregation in the state.
Example Public Utilities

Hawaii Performance-Based Regulation and Integrated Grid Planning proceedings

On April 18, 2018, the Public Utilities Commission of Hawaii (PUC) opened a Performance-Based Regulation proceeding to investigate the economic and policy issues associated with performance-based regu...
Resource Private Entities

Clean Power Exchange

CPX serves as a California-focused hub of information, resources, and conversation for communities interested in or considering a Community Choice Energy program, and those already serving customers.
Example States and State Governments

Virginia Community Choice Aggregation

Virginia has permitted CCA since 1999, but no current programs are in operation. In 2003, the state passed legislation to spur the adoption of CCA programs through state-run pilots.
Resource Private Entities

LEAN Energy US

The Local Energy Aggregation Network is a broad network of CCA and energy market experts dedicated to the accelerated expansion and competitive success of clean energy CCA nationwide. They work in par...
Resource Private Entities

CAL-CCA

The California Community Choice Association is an organization that a represents the interests of California’s community choice electricity providers in the legislature and at state regulatory agencie...
Resource Congress

Proposed Green Bank Act of 2016

The proposed Green Bank Act of 2016 (HR 5802) would have established a U.S. Green Bank that provides financial support to assist regional, state, and local institutions finance clean energy or energy ...
Example States and State Governments

Utah’s HB 411 (2019)

Utah’s HB 0411 (2019) provides cities with mechanisms to establish and achieve a community goal to source net-100% of electric energy from renewable resources by 2030. Through this legislation, cities...
Example Local Governments

DC’s PACE program

DC’s PACE program is designed to function through the issuance of pooled bonds under the National Capital Energy Fund.
Example States and State Governments

Vermont PACE program

Vermont authorized PACE financing in 2009 with House Bill 446. There is currently no program operating.
Example Local Governments

Cape Light Compact

The oldest and largest CCA example in Massachusetts is the Cape Light Compact, which buys electricity and runs energy efficiency programs for all the towns on Cape Cod plus Martha’s Vineyard. The Comp...
Resource Local Governments

Illinois Community Choice Aggregation Network

The Illinois Community Choice Aggregation Network provides member communities with access to independent, experienced and affordable resources that place local governments and their residents and busi...
Resource Congress

Report, Accelerating Job Growth and an Equitable Low-Carbon Energy Transition

This January 2021 report examines the potential of a federally authorized Clean Energy and Sustainability Accelerator. This new nonprofit corporation, which would catalyze but not compete with private...
Example States and State Governments

New York Community Choice Aggregation

CCA in New York was authorized through the Public Service Commission in 2016.
Resource States and State Governments

NREL report: State Considerations for Designing Community Solar Policy

The National Renewable Energy Lab published a 2018 report on State Considerations for Designing Community Solar Policy analyzing the impacts of program caps, project size caps, subscriber location req...
Resource Congress

Proposed National Green Bank Act of 2019

The proposed National Green Bank Act of 2019 would establish a U.S. Green Bank to finance climate change mitigation and adaptation projects at the state and local level by capitalizing regional, state...
Resource Local Governments

Report, CCA in Massachusetts

The UNH Sustainability Institute’s report, CCA in Massachusetts, analyzes case studies, the use of RECs for CCA, size and cost considerations, and the political tensions and process that animates the ...
Resource Executive Branch

CoBank

CoBank is a special purpose federal financial institution that provides financing to electric cooperatives.
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey rules for electric/thermal distribution

New Jersey’ Rev. Stat. §48.3-77.1 permits ownership of distribution wires by local suppliers to service customers to whom they also deliver thermal energy services.
Example Executive Branch

FERC demand response orders

FERC Order 745 ordered RTOS to open their markets to demand response. FERC Order 755 ordered RTOs to provide frequency regulation compensation to third parties. FERC Order 784 eases the barriers for t...
Example States and State Governments

Oregon Senate Bill 978

Senate Bill 978 created an open investigation into multiple aspects of the regulatory structure, including rate design, revenue regulation, grid modernization, integrated resource planning, and others...
Model Law States and State Governments

LPDD Memorandum on State “Public Utility” Definitions

This memorandum sets forth the statutory definitions of “public utility” currently in use in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The document is designed to assist legislators and others as th...
Example States and State Governments

New Hampshire’s Group Net Metering program

New Hampshire’s Group Net Metering program (2013) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, non-utility owned DG system up to 1 MW, using solar, wind, or certain other renewables defined by l...
Example States and State Governments

California PACE Loan Loss Reserve

California operates a loan loss reserve for PACE loans generated in-state. The PACE Loss Reserve Program’s goal is to increase availability of residential PACE financing by making first mortgage lende...
Resource States and State Governments

IREC Shared Renewables Resources

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council hosts a variety of resources related to shared renewables, including Model Rules for Shared Renewable Energy Programs, a National Shared Renewables Energy Score...
Example Public Utilities

New York’s Community Distributed Generation program

New York’s Community Distributed Generation program (2015) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, non-utility-owned DG system up to 5 MW, using solar, wind, or certain other renewables def...
Example States and State Governments

California CLEEN Center

In 2014, California Green Bank legislation was introduced by Senator Kevin De Leon, and led to Governor Brown’s creation of the new California Lending for Energy and Environmental Needs (CLEEN) Center...
Resource States and State Governments

AFFORD Tool

The AFFORD tool (America’s Federal Funding Opportunities and Resources for Decarbonization) helps state, local, non-profit, and community organizations identify eligible funding, tax credits, and othe...
Resource Local Governments

Rural Electric Co-Op Bylaws

Co-oplaw.org catalogs electric co-op bylaws from around the country.
Resource Private Entities

ELPC handbook on Community Wind Financing

The Environmental Law and Policy Center has prepared a handbook on Community Wind Financing, guiding project champions and developers through best practices on financing community wind projects, inclu...
Resource States and State Governments

Illinois’ Climate and Equitable Jobs Act

This 900-page energy and climate bill, passed in September 2021, covers a variety of subject areas, listed below: On electricity: The bill raises the renewable portfolio standard to require 40 percent...
Example States and State Governments

Energize NY Finance Program

The Energy Improvement Corporation is a New York State not-for-profit, established specifically to increase the demand for energy efficiency and renewable energy building upgrades. With a growing memb...
Resource Executive Branch

DOE report, Energy Investment Partnerships

DOE’s 2015 report, Energy Investment Partnerships: How State and Local Governments Are Engaging Private Capital to Drive Clean Energy Investment, provides a national survey of state and local Energy I...
Example States and State Governments

Colorado’s Community Solar program

Colorado’s Community Solar program (2011) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, utility- or non-utility-owned solar system up to 2 MW. Crediting is based on a total aggregate retail rate,...
Example States and State Governments

Hawaii Green Energy Market Securitization program

The Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority was created by Act 211 in 2013. The Hawaii Green Energy Market Securitization (GEMS) Program was created by the Green Infrastructure Authority and other agenc...
Example States and State Governments

Minnesota Performance-Based Regulation proceeding

Minnesota legislation (Stat. 216B.16) allowed the PUC to “initiate a proceeding to determine a set of performance measures that can be used to assess a utility operating under a multiyear rate plan.” ...
Resource States and State Governments

NASEO report, The Role of Clean Energy Banks in Increasing Private Investment in Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure

The National Association of State Energy Officials and the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions published a 2014 report, The Role of Clean Energy Banks in Increasing Private Investment in Electric ...
Example States and State Governments

Tennessee SB 0795 (2021)

This April 2021 legislation authorizes local governments in Tennessee to establish and adopt commercial property assessed clean energy and storm resiliency (C-PACER) programs that ensure that free and...
Example Local Governments

Medford, MA CCA

The Medford Community Electricity Aggregation program for residents and businesses begins in December 2019 and will go through December 2022. It allows Medford customers to “opt-up” into a 100% renewa...
Example Public Utilities

California’s Integration Capacity Analysis working group

In the Integrated Capacity Analysis proceeding, the California Public Utilities Commission ordered investor-owned utilities to work with DER providers to develop a methodology to identify where DERs c...
Example States and State Governments

New York rules for energy sales to adjacent properties

New York permits qualified renewable energy and cogeneration facilities to sell to customers located “at or near the project site.” Public Service Commission decisions have interpreted this grant to e...
Example Private Entities

Marin Energy Authority’s establishing documents

In furtherance of establishing community choice aggregation, the Marin Energy Authority executed a Joint Powers Agreement among a number of localities. The full text is available as a model. It has al...
Resource Congress

Proposed National Climate Bank Legislation of 2019-20

Senator Ed Markey introduced legislation calling for a National Climate Bank (S. 2057), a nonprofit institution independent of government, designed to reduce energy costs and leave consumers and busin...
Example Local Governments

Montgomery County, MD Green Bank

The Montgomery County Council unanimously passed Bill 18-15 in 2015, which called for the creation of an independent non-profit to serve as the County’s Green Bank. The Montgomery County Green Bank wa...
Example States and State Governments

California Community Choice Aggregation

Established by 2002’s AB 117, California’s community choice aggregation program allows for communities to join together to purchase electricity on behalf of their community members. Community choice p...
Example Local Governments

Westchester Power

Westchester Power is a CCA program initiated and implemented by Sustainable Westchester Inc. on behalf of member municipalities that have chosen to participate in the program (including 41 of 44 munic...
Example Public Utilities

Report, California Aims to Incentivize Utilities to Adopt Third-Party Energy Resources

The Lexington Institute’s 2017 report, California Aims to Incentivize Utilities to Adopt Third-Party Energy Resources, surveys California’s pilot program to incentivize utilities to incorporate cost-e...
Resource Private Entities

Coalition for Community Solar Access

The Coalition for Community Solar Access is a national coalition of businesses and non-profits working to expand community solar. They work with customers, utilities, local stakeholders, and policymak...
Resource Private Entities

Windustry and Midwest Wind Energy Center

Windustry is a nonprofit organization working to advance community wind projects across the Midwest, developing information and tools for evaluating wind energy easement contracts, landowner options, ...
Example States and State Governments

New Hampshire’s Community Aggregation Law

Authorizes municipalities to procure power on their own, using the collective buying power of all of their residents and businesses to secure competitive prices.
Example Private Entities

Florida’s Solar and Energy Loan Fund

Florida’s Solar and Energy Loan Fund (SELF) is a certified Community Development Financial Institution and a national non-profit, 501(c) (3) corporation. SELF provides microloans for residents who oth...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts’ Community Choice Aggregation

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 164 §134 contains provisions for community choice aggregation in the state, adopting language from the enabling Utility Restructuring Act of 1997. The Department of Energy Resource...
Example Executive Branch

FERC Order 841

FERC Order 841 (2018) directed regional grid operators to remove barriers to the participation of electric storage in wholesale markets. By directing the regional grid operators to establish rules tha...
Resource Private Entities

Grid Alternatives

Grid Alternatives is a nonprofit organization that brings together community partners, volunteers, and job-trainees to install solar power and energy efficiency improvements for low income families. T...
Example States and State Governments

Minnesota’s Community Solar Garden program

Minnesota’s Community Solar Garden program (2014) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, utility- or non-utility owned solar system up to 1 MW. Crediting is based on a Value of Solar analy...
Example States and State Governments

Montana C-PACE Legislation

This bill authorizes local governments to adopt commercial property-assessed capital enhancement (C-PACE) programs to promote energy conservation measures or renewable energy systems on the customer’s...
Resource Local Governments

Annapolis, MD Clean Energy Loan Program

The Annapolis Clean Energy Program finances and encourages energy efficiency projects and renewable energy projects with an electric generating capacity of not more than one hundred kilowatts. On the ...
Example States and State Governments

Connecticut Green Bank

Connecticut was the first state to establish a green bank pursuant to SB 1243, Pub. Act No. 11-80 (2011). Since its inception, the Connecticut Green Bank and its private investment partners have deplo...
Example Public Utilities

ISO-NE demand response

ISO-NE, a Regional Transmission Organization serving the New England states, outlined their plans to achieve full implementation of demand response in a 2017 FERC filing, Revisions to Implement Full I...
Resource Congress

Proposed CLEAN Future Act (2020)

The proposed Climate Leadership and Environmental Action for our Nation’s (CLEAN) Future Act (2020) is a large, economy-wide climate bill released by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Among ...
Example Local Governments

Columbus Community Aggregation Ballot Measure

In November 2020, Columbus, Ohio voted on the ballot measure Issue 1, which would start a citywide community choice aggregation program, giving officials the right to purchase energy in bulk from loca...
Example Public Utilities

Con Edison’s Commercial Battery Storage Project

In New York, Con Edison’s Commercial Battery Storage Project seeks a new ownership model whereby the utility sites batteries at customer sites which it is free to draw on during peak periods, but whic...
Resource Local Governments

DOE Best Practice Guidelines for Residential PACE Financing

DOE’s Best Practice Guidelines for Residential PACE Financing covers programmatic choices including program scope and eligibility, consumer and lender protections, public recording and disclosure, inc...
Example Public Utilities

New York’s Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding

The Reforming the Energy Vision proceeding in New York is a comprehensive effort to change how utilities perform system planning, what financial incentives they face, how they make use of distributed ...
Example Public Utilities

Vermont’s Group Net Metering program

Vermont’s Group Net Metering program (2009) allows multiple customers to engage with a common, non-utility owned DG system up to 500 kW, using solar, wind, or certain other renewables defined by law. ...
Example Public Utilities

California Integrated Distributed Energy Resources proceeding

California’s Integrated Distributed Energy Resources proceeding included a competitive solicitation incentive pilot and a utility regulatory incentive mechanism pilot which will facilitate the deploym...
Example States and State Governments

Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank

The Rhode Island Infrastructure Bank was created in 2015 through bipartisan legislation. The legislation expanded the authority of the existing Clean Water Finance Authority to include the energy sect...
Example States and State Governments

New York Green Bank

New York’s Green Bank was established in 2013 pursuant to a Public Service Commission order. Its product offerings include warehousing and aggregation credit facilities, term loans and investments, cr...
Example Local Governments

DC’s MEDSIS proceeding

The District commenced a Modernizing the Energy Delivery System for Increased Sustainability (MEDSIS) in 2015, which, in Phase 2, considered separate tracks related to data and information access and ...
Resource Congress

Proposed PACE Act of 2017

The proposed Pace Act of 2017 would have amended the Truth in Lending Act to extend that Act’s requirements to real property retrofit loans. A “real property retrofit loan” is a loan that is: (1) secu...
Example States and State Governments

Massachusetts’ Neighborhood Net Metering and Community Shared Solar programs

Massachusetts’ Neighborhood Net Metering and Community Shared Solar programs (originally passed as part of An Act Relating to Green Communities, 2009) allows multiple customers to engage with a common...
Resource Private Entities

Coalition for Green Capital

The Coalition for Green Capital is a 501c3 non-profit, and a leading expert and implementer of Green Banks, with a decade of work around the world that has led to over $2 billion of clean energy inves...
Example Local Governments

Climate Action Fund Ballot Measures

In November 2020, Denver as well as three California cities—Berkeley, Long Beach, and Albany — all considered ballot measures to create climate action funds. These funds would allocate the funding tow...
Example States and State Governments

New Jersey Community Choice Aggregation

NJ Stat. Ann. §48:3-92 through §48:3-95 establishes the rules for government energy aggregation programs. Community Choice in the Garden State came into being in 1999 as part of the electricity deregu...
Resource Local Governments

PACE Nation

PACE Nation is national non-profit organization that works to expand access to Property Assessed Clean Energy financing. They maintain a national database of PACE programs around the country.
Model Law Local Governments

LPDD Model Law: Green Bank State and Local Legislation

Green banks are independent nonprofit, public, or quasi-public financial institutions that leverage public or philanthropic dollars – and government backing – to attract private capital to zero and lo...
Example States and State Governments

Maine PACE program

Maine signed PACE legislation into law in April 2010, authorizing municipalities to establish a loan program to provide financing for clean energy improvements to property owners via local ordinance. ...
Example States and State Governments

Rhode Island’s Power Sector Transformation proceeding

In 2017, Rhode Island’s governor requested the PUC embark on a Power Sector Transformation proceeding. The PUC responded with a Phase One report later that year identifying work to be done developing ...
Example Local Governments

Boulder’s Climate Tax

In November 2022, voters in Boulder Colorado approved a new Climate Tax on electric and natural gas bills to fund climate mitigation and resilience efforts. The new tax replaces and expands an existin...
Example Local Governments

Melrose MA CCA Case Study

Greater Boston’s MAPC published a 2017 community choice aggregation case study on the city of Melrose, which added the equivalent of a one-megawatt wind turbine while saving local customers $200,000 o...
Example States and State Governments

California rules for energy sales to adjacent properties

California permits sales from a customer-generator to a customer on an adjacent property so long as the wires do not cross a public road.
Resource Congress

Proposed Green Bank Act of 2017

HR 2995 of 2017 would have established a U.S. Green Bank that provides financial support to assist regional, state, and local institutions finance clean energy or energy efficiency. It would have rece...