Environmental Defense Fund’s Investor Confidence Project (ICP) recently announced Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), the largest utility in the United States, has received approval from the California Public Utilities Commission to accelerate energy efficiency retrofits in existing buildings by providing interest-free loans to projects that follow ICP’s rigorous protocols. ICP Protocols define industry best practices for energy efficiency project development and a credentialing system that includes third-party validation.
“Together, ICP and PG&E are welcoming a new era of market-driven energy efficiency performance,” said Matt Golden, Project Director for EDF’s Investor Confidence Project. “By establishing a series of benchmarks and best practices for the retrofitting of existing buildings, ICP slashes transaction costs, accelerates project timelines, and shows a clear path to profitability for the finance and performance contracting sectors.”
Customers participating in PG&E’s On-Bill Financing program, which provides interest-free loans for energy efficiency projects, can now make upgrades based on measured energy savings via SmartMeter™ technology. For this new pilot, customers will work with energy performance contractors who use ICP’s Investor Ready Energy Efficiency™ (IREE) certification. This certification brings rigorous measurement and verification metrics to energy efficiency retrofit projects, standardizing the way such projects are developed and brought to market — and making them more attractive to investors and building owners alike.
PG&E’s On-Bill Financing program offers qualifying businesses interest-free loans ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, or up to $250,000 for government agencies. Supporting the energy efficiency provisions of recent California state legislation Assembly Bill 802, this new On-Bill Financing pilot could increase investment in energy efficiency retrofits across California, and provide a model for similar efforts in other states.
“Standardization is key to attracting the capital necessary to meet energy efficiency’s true potential, achieve climate targets, and generate financial returns,” said Andy Darrell, chief of strategy for global energy and finance at EDF. “PG&E’s new pilot with EDF’s Investor Confidence Project is a step toward making the vision of bringing energy efficiency to market a reality.”
EDF’s Investor Confidence Project, which came to fruition in 2014, is also running a pilot through the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU), and is the standard for property-assessed clean energy loans (PACE) in the state of Texas. Additional ICP programs for building owners, investors, and performance contractors exist in a half-dozen other states in the U.S. and across the European Union.
For more information on the Investor Confidence Project, visit www.EEperformance.org.
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